King Minos promised his prize bull to Poseidon each year as a sacrifice, however, one year the bull was such a magnificent animal that Minos decided to keep it for himself and sacrifice his second best, hoping that Poseidon would not notice. Poseidon was very angry when he realised what had been done so he caused Minos's wife Pasiphae to be overcome with a fit of madness in which she fell in love with the bull. Pasiphae went to Daedalus for assistance, and Daedalus devised a way for her to satisfy her passions. He constructed a hollow wooden cow covered with cowhide for Pasiphae to hide in and allow the bull to mount her. The result of this union was the Minotaur.
The Minotaur was finally slain by Theseus who was sent as part of the tithe to Crete but managed to overcome the Minotaur and escape the labyrinth with the help of Minos's daughter, Ariadne?.