Did The Minotaur's Labyrinth Really Exist? | Myth Hunters | Odyssey

Delve into ancient Crete and the Minoan civilization as archaeologists attempt to find the legendary labyrinth of the minotaur. Did this monster of the ancient Greek world really exist and is his massive subterranean home just waiting to be discovered?
Odyssey is your journey into the world of Ancient History; from the dawn of Mesopotamia to the fall of Rome. We'll be bringing you only the best documentaries that journey into the mysteries and ruins of worlds long lost.
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[@syracusealumnus79]

For the record, Schliemann did more to demolish what was left of Troy than discover it. His heavy-handed use of TNT during excavations and inarticulate handling of artifacts at the site was a true Greek tragedy.

[@joshuatoms7664]

It's true. And he was also a fraud. But without him, people might not ever have bothered to go looking, thinking it was all just stories.

[@baliyae]

I love Greek mythology, especially the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

[@jimmynolet3752]

It's all real.

[@mb9326]

The old civilizations used story to verbally record stories of events. They think they found where the Beowulf legend took place. It was a story of a young hero king slaying a monster, but the monster was a butchering king, mangling his subjects. They found a mass grave where the halls would be, bones mangle and damage by axes, and torcher devices.

[@garycastronova7939]

​@@jimmynolet3752no amigo...it's half man, all bullshit.

[@BriarLeaf00]

Hey just a tip when on mobile, when you put a red frame around the thumbnail it looks like a previously viewed video.

[@Ash-rb4lf]

legit I miss so many videos thinking I’ve watched them already

[@CKlegion7272]

Awesome tip. Uhm, how do put a red frame around the thumbnail? Greetings from Netherland

[@cardboardface52]

@@CKlegion7272 The creator is the only one who can do that lol they were just pointing out a flaw in the development that could lead to a decrease in viewership as people might think they’ve already watched it and not even look at the video

[@squidgert566]

While there is war on education right now (learning a trade isn’t bad at all and I did it before going to engineering to learn more), it is always the wealthy and people with connection being able to spend time on discoveries or writing ground breaking novels for the time. Now is the disclaimer. As frivolous some might think about wasting time and/or resources to find stuff, archeological or otherwise), this is important for all of us to understand and know where all is coming from.

[@Darkstar-se6wc]

The “war on education” is coming from within the academy, from those more dedicated to deconstructing (i.e., destroying) western civilization than transmitting it to the next generation. Then they’re astonished that the public doesn’t want to finance them. 🙄

[@themysteryofbluebirdboulevard]

Just because New York City is real doesn't mean that Spiderman is.

[@WhiteTrashTennessee]

Thats apples and oranges man.

[@carnagejlu]

Blasphemy!

[@meorsoithought]

It does mean the subway system and sewers exist... and maybe the ninja turtles

[@MikeJ-pw7ig]

Big trouble in little China!

[@jadedrakerider518]

It's true. But there were pizza restaurants, asshole industry titans, obssessed scientists, and people who think their ends justify their means. The details are almost entirely fabricated, but there are still many truths embedded in the stories of even Spider-Man.

[@YusufGinnah]

Schliemann was great in his discovery of Troy... But did he have to use dynamite 🧨??

[@maszkalman3676]

He was great at destroying history....

[@YusufGinnah]

@@maszkalman3676 It's something I could never understand. You can't claim to preserve history by destroying it.

[@maszkalman3676]

@@YusufGinnah Exactyl he was a b@stard of archeology i don't know why peopels see in him the discoverer of troy...

[@REIDAE]

@@maszkalman3676 Because he did discover troy?

[@williammills3632]

Thank you for all the Mythhunters uploads recently 👏 keep em coming.

[@jclark2752]

All that peering at seal stones through a loupe makes my dang head hurt! Somebody get the man some damned Clay Already!!!

[@UATU.]

This was great, thank you

[@MysticChronicles712]

Fascinating question!

[@DH-zd3de]

That was fabulous ❤

[@user-js6rz4vk6d]

Mary Renault's "The King Must Die" about Theseus and the bull dancing was the first of her books I read and the best--it's fantastic for anyone interested in the Cretes and the Minator's labyrinth, written to be spellbinding.

[@veram1803]

Wonderful documentary, thanks for sharing!

[@CoopedUp74]

Very Educational! Thank You!

[@dp6003]

Wrong site for the labyrinth, understanding the language is the clue

[@MrVinniboy]

"Odyssey - Ancient History Documentaries" is a great channel, I play "Asassin's creed odyssey" very often, So getting insite into what may be real rather just hearsay/fable is great, Thanks Odyssey

[@jonskinz79]

now this is a history lesson ty

[@HumanBeanbag]

The labyrinth probably never existed but the minotaur is absolutely, very real.

[@heyitspete6472]

No

[@pectenmaximus231]

Feels like you got it the wrong way around

[@Diego-fd3we]

Sure buddy

[@clevelandplonsey7480]

I’ve been to the labyrinth

[@EmilyCheetham]

I always thought it the other way round. That a maze existed but not the Minotaur.

[@DDAWGY1]

Excelent!

[@Chris.Davies]

I could never understand how a cow could eat human flesh. It's got the wrong kind of teeth, for a start. And guts. And a Bull's head would make the Minotaur very top-heavy, and super unstable on his poor little feet. :)

[@curiositycloset2359]

Because, as has been said. There were two monsters in the labyrinth. Worth looking to theses is

[@bonnieagliata4780]

What,?... Of course! 🍿🍿🍿🧈. Poor little feet? Didn't he have hooves?

[@YusufGinnah]

@@bonnieagliata4780 Yes! That also gave me reason to paws... 🫠

[@jasonwebb7978]

3:03 Head of Bull Teeth of a Lion.

[@thedude8046]

Cows can eat meat.

[@Godsgurl]

Love it..

[@curiositycloset2359]

Worth watching the satyricon, has a good rendition of something closer to the truth.

[@maszkalman3676]

Well i wouldn't cite satyricon as a good example it's literally a menippean satyre written in the 1st century AD so 1100-3000 years later then the minoan civilisation.

[@g4m3life86]

Yes! Minoans, denizens of the island of Crete, that spectacular mysterious island

[@1972hermanoben]

Fantastic stick-on moustache on Evans! 😅

[@LuDux]

There did they keep Minotaur while they were building the labyrinth?

[@maszkalman3676]

Under a shoebox 🤣😆🤣😆

[@themysteryofbluebirdboulevard]

In the other labyrinth

[@fairyboy444]

i may be wrong, but wasn’t it a cage or room where the father was helping restrain him? only to put him in the labyrinth as he was getting older and bigger bc they didn’t want to kill him?

[@xxiloveitallxx]

Yes the king comssioned deadalus to build the labyrinth as soon as the minotaur was born. It took years to build, and the minotaur was kept in increasingly large cages in the castle until quite a was finished. It was only just finished in time as they were struggling to control the increasingly large and dangerous beast as it grew

[@fairyboy444]

@@xxiloveitallxx ahh there you go! Daedalus, the master craftsman/carpenter

[@EmilyCheetham]

Interesting video. Iv always assumed a maze had existed but just not the Minotaur (that being a mythological animal).

[@DorsetExplorers]

Great filming location, Portland Dorset ?

[@JessicaD.-vb9ho]

I definitely believe so.

[@LaRusso]

Damn this was a good one.

[@bonnieagliata4780]

The " Minot Magicians" 🧙 My hometown High School. Named for the legend, in Minot, North Dakota. A dark legend for sure.🪄🎩(Founded by a French Canadian, lol.🇨🇦)

[@thomass9234]

Why wouldn’t the team have just been named the “Minotaurs”?

[@ryanradpictures]

This video is a fascinating and informative look at the myth of the Minotaur and the labyrinth. The hosts of Myth Hunters do an excellent job of investigating the evidence and presenting their findings in a clear and concise way. I learned a lot about this ancient myth, and I highly recommend this video to anyone interested in history, mythology, or archaeology.

[@mr.bill.8236]

Now I'm curious of how much farther back we could go.

[@rosesacks7430]

I think there's some additional information about the Minoan and bull jumping

[@VaderPopsVicodin10]

"Myno-tore"..Idk, I've always preferred "Minn-a-tar" 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@doncarlodivargas5497]

Would barbecuing the minotaur be considered cannibalism or would it be ok?

[@ilium6740]

Also would it taste like beef or human ?😮

[@dakotacole3713]

Indeed.

[@DM19905]

@@ilium6740or would it be 50/50? 🤷‍♂️

[@DanielEleveld]

“The Minotaur- the monstrous son of King Minos” … um… yeah let’s go with that. That sounds way better!

[@charlisays]

Evans is giving me rich bored overgrown boy / British Museum thieving antiquities from other countries.

[@johnransom1146]

Wait. The telephone was invented in brantford, Ontario, Canada. The light bulb by Edison in Canada or the USA. So, huh

[@sarahmillard6401]

The invention of the telephone is much disputed: Bell filed the first proper patent, but others had previously filed caveat patents (notably Meucci). Bell was born and educated in Britain but I wouldn’t say it was a British invention though! Swan started work on lightbulbs 28 years before Edison, and demonstrated his bulb a year before Edison’s. The Swan and Edison companies later merged, but the lightbulb is definitely a British invention.

[@johnransom1146]

Nope . Vienna Ontario @@sarahmillard6401

[@melanierhianna]

Bell was still a British citizen so it’s a bit of a stretch but a possible interpretation. Swan definitely invented the light build before Edison. In fact Edison quite often claimed inventions that he didn’t invent.

[@shauntempley9757]

Yes. A Dominion at that time, so anything invented in Canada during that time is claimed by Britain by default. It is one of the key reasons the Empire turned to the Commonwealth of some Realms sharing the same Monarch.

[@johnransom1146]

Whatever you say bud@@shauntempley9757

[@JeanLioyd]

So what? Columbus thought he'd found a shortcut to India, but had "only" instead, discovered "The New World"! It doesn't take one bit away from the greatness of his discovery, as is fortunately noted at the end of the documentary!

[@jayplay8140]

The entire story is a metaphor, a fable. JFC

[@JessicaD.-vb9ho]

All myths are rooted in truth.

[@killerincgames839]

Yes you can see it on Google Maps

[@frazionetomaselli]

Long story short, no it did not.

[@adamsteven1142]

Im surprised there are no afro centric here claiming minoans were black too 😂

[@nerdvana101]

Sod the bloody labyrinth are we honestly expected to believe the minotaur actually existed seriously people get a brain

[@EmilyCheetham]

No the labyrinth may have existed and someone might have slain some long dead/extinct creature but probably wasn’t a Minotaur. The Minotaur part was probably added by the greeks as a metaphor.

[@Hadoken.]

@@EmilyCheethamThe Romans? You mean the Greeks.

[@andyhayes7828]

Minoan Palace's (layout/design were the labyrinth). The Minoans were the link between the middle East (first great civilizations, Babylon, Egypt, etc) and Europe. The Mycenaens were completely enriched by the Minoans and copied their everymove. Most of the Greek dark ages was filled with tales dating back to the Minoan/ Mycenaen era (Menataur, Medusa ( snake goddess of Crete) and the story of Atlantis is most certainly decended tales (tall for sure 😂) of theThera eruption.

[@pectenmaximus231]

13:38 that is a statement no modern historian or archaeologist would agree with. I realise that maybe in Evans' mind this was a plausible hypothesis but it's left ambiguous if this is even what the narration means, so quite reckless.

[@MelissaSnowden-eh7ug]

Incorrect. The Minotaur (real name Asterius) was the son of Pasiphaë, Minos’s wife, not Minos’s. Pasiphaë developed an unnatural lust for a pure white bull that was to be a sacrifice to Poseidon. After having sex with the sacred bull, as punishment she gave birth to an infant that was half-man, half-bull. The rest of the story you know.

[@1972hermanoben]

Half-man, half-bull? Physically impossible, sorry. Full marks for scholarship though - yours is far better than that which informs this documentary - they lost me on that score about a minute in, by describing Theseus as “the ultimate hero”.

[@Supergiantgeckos]

Ancient version of Running Man

[@4everseekingwisdom690]

It like all myths are complex symbolic allegories.. in this case the minotaur is the ego which must be destroyed. It's not a maze its.a labyrinth.. meaning a definite path to the center.. you can lost in a maze not a labyrinth

[@iiiKingLongSwipeiii]

They should keep digging till they find the body of the Minotaur

[@jamesjohno1180]

“What the experts don’t understand!🤓” the experts understand that you’re not an expert and just some kid who watches KZbin videos thinking they know more than anyone in the comments😂

[@bonnieagliata4780]

I'm a 66 year old kid that learns something new every day! If we don't stay curious... We are dead, and boring. A fate worse than death. 🌷🌷🌷.

[@jamesjohno1180]

@@bonnieagliata4780 exactly! My old friend you said it right…”learn” most of these people you see commenting in comments don’t learn anything factual or they watch a KZbin video and feel they should shoot shots at experts who do this for a living😂 We should always stay curious and learn instead of not agreeing to things and saying it’s all wrong because it’s not what you think or you watched a video and it’s not the same so it’s fake. I said “kid” because many are kids who don’t even go outside but feel they can stand up to experts😂

[@bonnieagliata4780]

@@jamesjohno1180 Agreed 🌷🌷🌷. Oh, anyone under the age of 50 is a "kid" to me, 🤣🤣🤣

[@1972hermanoben]

You never know who might be commenting…

[@garethrossbuddell9436]

Yes it was in Syria just recently demolished.

[@artiz32000]

yes, it did. vast storage on the ground floor of Knossos . impoverished people who live in the area of today's Athens never ever dreamed of having such huge storage complexes.

[@Toyota_Supra-cp2ug]

i mean a guy with a bulls head is super realistic

[@johnsterling5425]

not buying the argument that they "need writing" to tell the story of Troy, just a scene earlier the narrator said it was an oral folk lore? lol

[@lenabreijer1311]

It is missing the quotation marks. This is Evans thinking that, not the narrator. Victorian concepts.

[@curiositycloset2359]

It was just folk law. Then they found script A - edit. sorry, linear B Always get it mixed up.

[@user-kv8ti6bp5n]

Writing You Mentioned, That Be The Same Type Of Fabricated Writing. Attributed To KHUFU, &, Flinders Petrie, Telling Folks He, (KHUFU), Built The Great PYRAMID, At Giza.! Anyone Who Believes That LIE, Should Throw Themselves Of A Mountainside, The Genepool, Is Messed Up Enough.! We All Know Why, The Egyptologists Defend Such Bullshit, Its Due To Them Realising All Their PHD's ARE WORTHLESS, &, Not Worth The Paper The Ink Was Printed Upon.! 😮😊😅😂😅

[@DJJ81]

Yeah, as interesting as these are, they’re generally chock full of holes and contradictions

[@ilium6740]

You're correct, but this documentary is about Evans and his motivations, and what HE believed.

[@3566angi]

Don’t even make it through the introduction without an ad. Really?!🙄

[@maggieaulabaugh9124]

Womp womp

[@LiveSilence3]

A Tip For all first Time KZbin users/viewers. Before you start to Watch a video on here scream! Yell! Then scream some more! Then have a nap For 10 seconds. Your Now ready to Watch KZbin

[@pHpTjMoney]

I wonder if he made his dad call him sir?

[@LoveLestat]

im sorry i heard 'the ultimate hero fecies"

[@MrBeckenhimself]

I LOVE Greek mythology to the point of obsession. I love it so much that based on that alone Assassin's Creed Odyssey is my all time favorite game. For those of you who didn't know the word labyrinth probably originated from the word labrys. Which was what they called the two headed axe that was famous in Crete during that time. Theseus obviously never really existed and Athens never defeated Crete in war and ended their reign. Instead natural disasters and likely internal conflict was what started the down fall of their Civilization. But it makes for a much more compelling story.

[@MrVinniboy]

I am very frustated that KZbin only let us thank(thumb button) only once,, this is a great show, Thank You so much for all the back story and mythology,

[@heyitspete6472]

😂😂😂😂

[@hudsonfrank1121]

dejavu for a repeated episode from 3 years ago. About a third of this is repeat info :/

[@draganjagodic4056]

Why not say, it was Serbia, where Evans was arrested and jailed.

[@chiasanzes9770]

Yes it does exist I been in there 2-3 times not going anymore as there other things to see in this world and Crete is rather boring now for me.

[@troutbumgypsy9169]

Too many commercials

[@ZeusAmun-pt9dc]

Naw it's a metaphor for something that the Greeks should know but I never had no maze on any island nor asked for human sacrifice. I'm pretty sure that the Minotaur is supposed to be me because I AM The Bull of Heaven and made Crete my earthly paradise. Damn those sea people!!

[@gregbaird9487]

annoying, choppy watch. too many ads includind paid sponsor

[@dp6003]

Greece was the birthplace of Western and Middle Eastern civilisation, full stop

[@user-dt3mm8xw8k]

Mesopotamia is literally called “the cradle of civilization” and that’s in the Middle East, so no, lol

[@dp6003]

@@user-dt3mm8xw8k Just because someone has an illusion,a lack of knowledge a belief that they are an expert Writes a book,follows a blind mice to a uninformed confusion (conclusion) Doesn’t make the conclusion right Greece was the cradle of Western and Middle Eastern Civilisation full stop History began from west (Greece) to East and not from east to west

[@dp6003]

@@user-dt3mm8xw8k I repeat, Greece, was the birthplace of Western and Middle Eastern Civilisation,yes lol full stop “Mesopotamia” is Greek

[@kkk-rx6xh]

@@dp6003 Sumer predates the Mycenaean civilization by about 4 thousand years. Mesopotamia was a historical region, not a country. "Mesopotamia" is the name of this region in modern English, not in Sumerian or Akkadian, so it's completely meaningless вброс. Oh wait, are you just a patriotic Greek and can’t objectively look at civilizations older than the Greek ones?

[@kkk-rx6xh]

@@dp6003 Why this stupid sarcasm? Did I say something wrong? Please point me to this error then. Yes, I am very experienced, because in order to know that, I had to go on countless time machine expeditions, так ведь?) Достаточно ли мой ответ соответствует вашему прекрасному уровню ведения дискуссий?

[@mosescola4174]

100% without a doubt the labyrinth did exist. Yet it did not exist in Greece. The Minoans weren’t the original inhabitants of Crete they only settled there. So some stories of ancient times were either rewritten to hide the truth or details left out due to word of mouth.

[@shauntempley9757]

The Minoans are first. The people that corrupted the information is the Myceneans. They took over Crete, and the histories and thus myths changed, after the eruption that wiped out the Minoans civilisation. Crete is huge in mythology, because it is the island that Zeus was said to be born on, and also where he is said to have died.

[@chivebutter8794]

Anyone else think Theseus is a douche for killing the minotaur. The thing was in a maze it couldn't escape from and thus couldnt harm anyone who stayed out of its lair. And he decides to go in and kill it anyway

[@1972hermanoben]

Um… for years the creature had been fed ‘tributes’ of boys and girls from Theseus’ homeland. Whether the monster - who or whatever it was - can be said to have been less of a savage predator and more of an exploited victim, Theseus at least surely had a strong motive for revenge?

[@chivebutter8794]

@@1972hermanoben not really, the true monsters were the ones feeding children to a minotaur suuurely. That's like me feeding children to a lion only for the lion to be blamed

[@troywilson4027]

I thought titanic was the biggest ship ever made

[@EmilyCheetham]

I think them mean at the time of queen Victoria - so largest ship ever built at that time. George 5th was on the throne when titanic was built.

[@troywilson4027]

@EmilyCheetham ok thank you get it now I feel stupid lol

[@user-Rocket-Fest]

UK the inventor of so many products and now imports them all?? Stupid or crazy??

[@M335h1]

😅 buuuuuuuut no skeletal remains of a balf human and half bull....😅😅

[@CalciumOxyde]

Yes they did exist. I didn’t even have to watch this video to know that.

[@ilium6740]

How DO you know though ?

[@CalciumOxyde]

@@ilium6740 I was probably drunk when I commented that. Probably had a good answer back then though. We may never know.

[@ilium6740]

@@CalciumOxyde lol

[@philip2010]

Greek mythology is not real the laberinth is not real either Just like the river styx i really like greek mythology but we have to seperate fact from reality I grew up reading comic books fantasy and sci fi novels enjoyed varios movies but none of it was real But i really enjoy mythology stories

[@jamiebizness1]

This is the most believable story of life . The only fake thing about this minotaur story is the people that dont believe it's real . Probably why greeks failed at life . When they did minos dirty is when they no longer had a place in this earth . Doomed. Spoilwr alwrt . Minotaur is not, was not real

[@bristow-smithquentin8691]

what alot of shit

[@ArtFreeman]

Let's not forget Greek slaves. They were not first civilization to have slaves but they used slaves in addition to all the other things they did.

[@gman102formyspace]

Fairly positive you can say that about any society or civilization

[@ArtFreeman]

I agree. Humans have been enslaving each other for a long time. @@gman102formyspace

[@CMP-st5wh]

Wait till you find out there's still slaves today. (And no i'm not talking about the job you choose to go to lol)

[@mb9326]

All the major civilizations did.

[@ArtFreeman]

@@mb9326 I do not know what you mean by "major" but I think most if not all had slaves, were slaves, or both.

[@garrisoncase]

What in the butt is going on here?

[@kushtakaa]

Mustaches are...well...nasty. ;-)

[@bonnieagliata4780]

Fake ones are hilarious 🥸

[@mchinZR]

The labyrinth is under the sand in Egypt ground penetrating radar proved it

[@dp6003]

All Hellenic Mythology is based on fact, full stop You have to understand the language,which obviously many experts don’t

[@1972hermanoben]

I’m no expert - I studied Greek at school but I’m pretty well-versed in my native language. Unless you’re well-equipped to force the issue, either through weight of evidence or the threat of violence, attempting to obviate debate by using the words ‘full stop’ doesn’t really work when arguing anything in English 😂

[@dp6003]

@@1972hermanoben What’s your native language? Full stop means what it means ,no argument to the facts Which can only be used to the premise of the statement ,full stop What’s with the dumb emoji, Seems to come up a lot by people unsure of their argument I’m not arguing English,I’m arguing Hellenic Mythology.

[@fabiodeoliveiraribeiro1602]

Like the German Heinrich Scheleiman, the Englishman Arthur Evans had a classical education, the ambition to become famous, the economic means to achieve something great and the courage to take risks. Born and educated in the mid-19th century, both were products of a world intoxicated by Eurocentrism and the belief in the superiority of the white man. It is not possible to understand the work and motivation of Scheleiman and Evans disregarding the fact that in the 19th century Europeans believed they were the only ones capable of building the future, restoring knowledge of the past and civilizing inferior and fallen peoples. But all that is in the past. Mediocre, culturally impoverished by the American cultural industry and insecure, Europe no longer has great projects. Greedy, violent and petty, the USA can only think about wars. Only China has the resources and ambition to build the future, restore knowledge of the past and enhance its own civilization. It is no coincidence that the biggest and most important archaeological discoveries of recent decades have occurred in Chinese territory.

[@CMP-st5wh]

Lol your antiwhiteism is cringe.

[@willywonka7812]

​@@CMP-st5whthings fasc ists say ^

[@testicularoxide5055]

The horns of Nimon...

[@NationOfMasturbation]

Can we dig up Crete?