The Cretan Bull was a gift from Poseidon to King Minos of Crete and was the father of the Minotaur. However, when King Minos upset Poseidon, the god drove the bull insane, causing it to rampage through Crete, destroying crops and walls. Hercules was sent by King Eurystheus to capture the bull. He traveled to Crete and subdued the bull by grabbing its horns and wrestling it to the ground. Hercules then returned to King Eurystheus with the bull, but the king was afraid of its size. When Hera refused to accept the bull as a sacrifice, Hercules threw the bull into the sky where it became

1. The Cretan Bull

2. Ercole giunse allo stretto e
nel punto più angusto del
mare trasferì in Sicilia i buoi,
ed egli stesso attraversò il
passaggio afferrandosi alle
corna di un toro …
Hercules arrived at the strait
and in the narrowest part of
the sea he made the oxen
cross to Sicily and he crossed
the strait too clinging to the
horns of a bull …
Columns of the Temple of Heracle

3. The Cretan Bull was a gift from Poseidon to King Minos of Crete.
This Cretan Bull was also the father of the Minotaur.
The Cretan bull was a very mild and beast that was until king
Minos upset Poseidon.
Poseidon struck the bull driving the bull insane and then the
Cretan bull ran wild through all Crete knocking down orchard
walls, destroying crops.

4. So it was only natural that King Eurystheus
would send Hercules to capture the bull. Off
Hercules sailed to the island of Crete. Hercules
arrived at Crete and King Minos offered to help
Hercules, but Hercules refused King Minos help.
Hercules set off to find the bull. He found the
bull drinking from a water spring, and snuck up
behind the bull. Grabbing the bull by the horns,
Hercules wrestled the bull to the ground and
tied the bull up so it could not escape.
Bull fresco from the Palace of Minos in Knossos

5. With the bull successfully subdued, Hercules
took the bull with him and sailed back to King
Eurystheus. When the king saw how massive
the bull was he was frightened. He told
Hercules, that they should sacrifice the bull to
Hera. Hera refused to take the bull saying that
the sacrifice would be in Hercules honor,
remember Hera hates Hercules, and all the
labors have been secretly selected by Hera to
destroy Hercules.
So with that Hercules picked up the bull and tossed it high into the sky and the
bull became the constellation Taurus.