The Real Minotaur

To be clear, all of this is merely my opinion. How could I possibly know the evolution of a myth thousands of years ago? But that said, some myths have meanings, like false memories of a real event.
And at least as I see it, the meaning behind Theseus and the Minotaur is nothing less than the conquest and destruction of one of earth's oldest civilizations. It's an echo, being repeated over a thousand years later in the stories of the victors.
In my eyes, the Minotaur was real. And I hope you too come to understand that Theseus was not just his murderer, but also kind of his son.
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Thanks for watching! You're clearly one of the good ones.

[@RareEarthSeries]

I now realize that I say 9 men and 9 women, then just after 7 men and 7 women. This is because the myths differed on the number and I forgot I'd already used the nine. I am a fool. Support my Patreon anyway please. www.patreon.com/rareearth ko-fi.com/rareearth Also I realize he plays Thor, this one is a different Hemsworth.

[@turtlefront]

I know it's pride month but the son of minos was ANDROGEUS, not ANDROGYNOUS 😅

[@Daniel-gi3jo]

Then you'll need to pull up the Robert Goulet song and sing: What kind of fool am I.

[@LiluBob]

Evan, loved this video, plan to watch again, BUT ... a point of correction here, Ishtar is not the goddess of Sumer or the Sumerians, that would be Inanna, for whom Ishtar was later based upon by the Akkadians "... the first known ancient empire of Mesopotamia, succeeding the long-lived civilization of Sumer." "Inanna[a] is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with sensuality, procreation, divine law, and political power. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadian Empire, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar[b] (and occasionally the logogram. Her primary title was "the Queen of Heaven".

[@LiluBob]

Also you might find this interesting: something to be taken into account, but still a point of controversy, is that all those bulls we see are not necessarily bulls, but cows who also had horns. And as you pointed out cattle be they male or female were often associated with the feminine as well as the masculine when it came to deities. Western civilization's propensity to perceive history through the lens of its own era have put the bias of hornless cows upon ancient society without any regards to what was actually present during that time. Since we debud cows and breed them not to have horns, we think that's the way it's always been. It's not. A great deal of controversy around when and where depiction of cattle with horns should always be depicted as or thought of as male when in fact they might be female. It is long been understood that the image of the head of a cow plus the horns could be a symbol of the uterus and the fallopian tubes. If you take the "cult of Mithras" which "was among the most notable, particularly popular among soldiers and based on the Zoroastrian deity, Mithra," you find the God slitting the throat of the cosmic bull, causing the blood to run forth and create the universe and what not. Now if the head of a bull or a cow with horns is in fact symbolically a uterus and fallopian tubes blood rushing from just below its mouth is equivalent to the feminine blood shed every month and the bloodshed during childbirth. It is possible that this is a mixed metaphor, a changing of mythology from procreation which is the act of giving birth, to creation which is the act of physically causing something to either happen or to make it. In other, words going from matrafocal to patrafocal. A lot happened in Mesopotamia over several thousand years, including changing the way humanity looked at who had power and who didn't. It used to be you had to sleep with the queen or the earthly representation of the goddess, often the high priestess, before a man had the right to rule. This was taken all the way into Europe for hundreds or thousands of years. We still know stories about it and mythology. Anyway it's something to think about and taken into consideration.

[@hope1575]

​@LiluBob I find it implausible that ancient peoples would have used something as a symbol of female reproductive organs, because they didn't know what those organs looked like. They didn't do a whole lot of exploratory dissections back then. Sure it could have been a feminine symbol in some more vague way, but probably not by way of visual similarity to internal organs.

[@danielschein6845]

I wonder how many people watch these videos without noticing what a treat the ending credits page is. I’ve learned to always pause there to read it.

[@leighsanders8825]

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't read it because it's so difficult on my phone screen. But it was worth squinting for! 🙂

[@teeteetuu94]

Always have, for the funny and/or self-deprecating quips... Also the closing blooper/B-roll

[@chrisrosenkreuz23]

I used to think so too but that is just lorem ipsum by another manner

[@zinkist]

It made the difference between me just Liking versus Subscribing too. And has now gotten me to write two Comments. If nothing else those single Frames of Text are an enormous return of investment.

[@tardismole]

Funnily enough, I noticed it for the first time on this video.

[@Nyingmaba]

I usually dislike the approach of "oh its actually true, just in a different sense than you're thinking" but this was fascinating

[@LowellMorgan]

It was a popular model in the 1800s and it’s often used by crypto-history enthusiasts when it serves their narrative, but is largely considered invalid. Finding evidence of an ancient Briton named Arthur doesn’t speak to the historicity or significance of any of the Arthurian legends as they developed over the centuries. But I’m admittedly not well-versed enough in Minoan history and myth to dissect the assertions of this video.

[@lincolnnoronha4128]

Brasil's religious history is full of this mix and match approach do religious icons. Thus, for example, Ogum, the orixá god of war for the enslaved people becomes Saint Jorge, the warrior saint slayer of dragons in its iconography.

[@RareEarthSeries]

​@@LowellMorganthey're not quite assertions, as nobody knows for certain - just a story about a story, but one with my assertive backing for certain

[@urrywest]

@@RareEarthSeries Language changes from time to time.... Important meaning that are very real to people die and are reformed... Our age is full of lies put forward by bankers that want to steal everything... That fiction leads to death of civiliztions and is ages old as well.

[@hfbdbsijenbd]

​@@RareEarthSeries We know for certain most mythology is made up and/or allegory. There was no half bull. No one flew too close to the sun with wings made of wax. A snake lady didn't turn people to stone. I get that you are an entertainer providing entertainment, just want to add to the voices pointing out "no one can say for sure" is used as the basis for a lot of pseudoscience.

[@LiluBob]

Just a point of correction here, Ishtar is not the goddess of Sumer or the Sumerians, that would be Inanna, for whom Ishtar was later based upon by the Akkadians "... the first known ancient empire of Mesopotamia, succeeding the long-lived civilization of Sumer." "Inanna[a] is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with sensuality, procreation, divine law, and political power. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadian Empire, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar[b] (and occasionally the logogram 𒌋𒁯). Her primary title was "the Queen of Heaven".

[@kgoblin5084]

Honestly, Evan made about a dozen different potential errors in that spiel... though I say potential for a reason - the nature of the material is that these legendary personas have been remixed & mixed up literally thousands of time throughout history & pre-history... something which I dare say Evan was getting at in afore said spiel. I'm kind of a mixed mind about the whole thing - on one hand I agree with what he is saying because as stated the identities of these gods, monsters, & heroes is symbolic & a bit fluid - Ishtar is Hera is Astartes etc etc... but on the other hand there ARE patterns, & there is a bad history of creating grand narratives re: European myth & legend by playing fast & loose with the details (see The White Goddess, & all the many, many other books advancing very similar theories). I think Evan's ultimate intent here is really to just comment on the fluidity & ubiquity of the symbolism, vs claiming a continent-spanning cult of Astarte... and the specific names named should not be taken as a recitation of fact. But I also think a more prominent disclaimer to that effect would not be amiss, lest people play at being Madam Blavatsky. For anyone who wants to really tug on this thread - I recommend reading up on ancient Egyptian myth/deities in particular - which fair warning is complicated as f#$k. Literally many multiple pantheons, competing & replacing each other but also mooshed together willy-nilly... at least 3 creation myths. About the best proof Evan could ask for re: the core point about ideas & symbols being given new form & interpretation. BUT - at the same time a casual survey of deities reveals that they didn't revere the bull in particular... yeah they used it as a symbol, but they also used the falcon, goat, & lion as a representation of divine power... and the oldest (as in dateably worshiped) deities like Knum & Bast are represented using the latter over the bull. Hathor & Ra, mentioned in the video, are actually rather lately worshiped deities, primarily popular a full 1200 years after the Bronze Age Collapse. I reiterate my point about not forming grand sweeping narratives from incomplete details.

[@AA-ke5cu]

Start reading Zecharia Sitchin he will set you straight.😊

[@LiluBob]

@@kgoblin5084 I tend to agree with most of what you say, and I was about to suggest you look at the artwork, and the murals found at Çatalhöyük; also Çatal Höyük and Çatal Hüyük) "... a tell (a mounded accretion due to long-term human settlement) of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 6400 BC and flourished around 7000 BC." There you will find a lot of murals with bulls and cattle and vultures, as well as rooms with bullheads or cattle heads with horns. And then something caught my eye when I was getting information to give to you and it turns out that somewhere around 2012 it was possibly discovered that the archaeologist Mellaart, who is famous for discovering this nearly 10,000 year old settlement, may have forged not only some of the artifacts but the murals themselves. I haven't been able to find anything else on whether or not they were radiocarbon dated or not. But the connection to vultures and other carrion eating birds used to strip the rotting flesh from bodies laid out in the open in order to clean the bones for burial as well established around the world and throughout history. And asked to the bull,, the Inanna, the goddess that Ishtar was based on, had a sister who is the queen of the underworld named Ereshkigal and her husband Nerga was associated with the image of a bull as well as lion and other powerful creatures. I've read that he was referred to as the bull, but I can't attest to that.

[@LiluBob]

@@AA-ke5cu Zecharia Sitchin has been resoundingly debunk and discredited. This whole idea of aliens or other people like the lost people of Atlantis, are racist attempts to discredit the achievements of non-Europeans and to find some sort of link to a special heritage outside of the human race in general for white Europeans.

[@Astr0SpaceInSpace]

@@kgoblin5084 The Sacred Bull was more than a mere Symbol in the Nile Valley as clearly attested by the Apis, Mnevis & Buchis Bull traditions of which the Apis can be traced to at least the 1st Dynasty. Also most likely Neith was the Original "Deity" that Inanna, Ishtar etc are based on.. Your comments on Hathor & Ra don't make sense!! Ra (so far) has been 1st attested 2nd Dynasty. 1200 y after the BAC (Shortly after Troy) is Augustus/Christ times. WTF you talking about??? Trolling like a Goblin 4 sure...

[@dessertstorm7476]

"The Mythical Monster That Was Actually Metaphorical" probably wouldn't be a good video title

[@earvonhisser7098]

Context. Perception is rooted in known science and technologies at the time of documentation. If I tried to explain 3000yrs ago a craft flying under clouds fast I would call it a chariot as it's the fastest thing around and it's pilot, maybe Enki😊? The lord of the sky. Being in the genetic age with cloning and splicing tech available in public sector. . When I looked through the same material through that lens a much cleared picture emerges coz those insane lifespans and much of the offspring impossibilities ❤

[@michaelcherry8952]

I for one would love to start using the word "gams" again, but I think all I'd get is puzzled looks. This story proves what Sir Terry Prachett wrote: “The anthropologists got it wrong when they named our species Homo sapiens ('wise man'). In any case it's an arrogant and bigheaded thing to say, wisdom being one of our least evident features. In reality, we are Pan narrans, the storytelling chimpanzee.” ― Terry Pratchett, The Globe

[@ForumArcade]

Like Panera Bread?

[@rolfs2165]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[@jonophant]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[@erinmac4750]

My all-time favorite author and genuinely beautiful human.🍀🧙🏼‍♀️🐢

[@therealdannymullen]

Sad part is we'll probably eventually learn chimps DO tell each other stories, thus revealing us to be even less special. 😂

[@RisingMooon]

You have such an amazing way of engaging storytelling. It's seriously impressive and I learn so much every time. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making all of these brilliant videos. Rest in peace, Asterion.

[@jamesmaxdavissands]

Well put . . . my feelings exactly -

[@hikawaTube]

Mooving story

[@tribequest9]

I see what you did there.

[@anthonydoyle7370]

Udderly ridiculous

[@aranduyo4597]

Nah, i dont buy it, its all bull

[@MartinCollier-w5v]

Don't have a cow man

[@dougpool4730]

🤣🤣🤣 That was bad

[@JonnoPlays]

Studying the chronology and development of religion is extremely fascinating. This was a cool way to explore the subject. It's important to understand that there is thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of years of religion that come before all this. The religion of pre-history (before written records) is also generally the religion before farming when people were still hunter gatherers. The channel Crecganford is a great resource if you're looking for academic level material on this subject that is easy to understand as a layman.

[@niall_sanderson]

Esoterica, Let’s Talk Religion, and Religion for Breakfast likewise are also really good channels here that discuss those sorts of things

[@erinmac4750]

I was going to mention the same. It's awesome that this video meshes so well with their work. 💚

[@Demane69]

If we can translate Linear A language, so much could be revealed. A frustrating point of history without it.

[@jimmyisawkward]

Evan, you have such a magical knack for storytelling. Usually I don’t care for old mythology, but I sat and listened to this whole video with no lack of interest.

[@Zahaqiel]

...Actually Moloch/Molech was probably not a god, but a particular sacrificial practice itself. There isn't evidence of a god matching the medieval perspective on Moloch outside of the medievalist art itself (which does not come from Carthage/Canaan/Tophet).

[@Ofallthings089]

Yeah. It wasn’t a “sacrifice to Moloch.” It was a “Moloch sacrifice.” Whatever that means.

[@tribequest9]

@@Ofallthings089 there is strong evidence it means child sacrifice.

[@Z3nHolEminD]

Mo’ luck

[@florian8599]

Also, "melech" may as well be a royal title. Like, a double meaning, meaning not only "Don't sacrifice your kids to this foreign deity from Phoenicia or any deity -- actually all human sacrifices are an abomination to the Lord", but also "and don't send your sons to serve as mercenaries or soldiers for the Phoenician king or any other foreign ruler".

[@bromandude1]

These pot edibles kicking in right on time

[@JohnVance]

Congrats on hitting a million subs! I've always enjoyed your informative, non-hyped style that respects your viewers.

[@paul5715]

RE the word gams: In german, the Chamois, an alpine goat species, is called Gämse, derived from Gams. Hunters actually call it Gams or Gamswild

[@zavierlee695]

Similar etymology of Gemsbok? Afrikaans or something?

[@FirstDagger]

@@zavierlee695 Afrikaans gets it from Dutch, which in turn gets it from German.

[@ChrisLawton66]

0:01 Yes, I have heard. And don't call me Shirley.

[@LilFeralGangrel]

I have been obsessed with bronze age civilizations for as long as i can remember, and i have to say, this video left me very pleased. And i'm also happy to see other people who know the ridiculous amount of influence that Ishtar had and still has to this day.

[@kaysb80]

I didn't think the day would come; a Rare Earth episode filmed in a location I've actually been. I didn't like Knossos Palace. Too obviously fake and constructed. But after watching this, I understand that the stories it tells are maybe more important than the location itself. Thank you.

[@napatora]

i see rare earth, i immediately click

[@deadseadiver3214]

Despite the obvious clickbait.

[@YBnormal1337]

Thank you for highlighting some of the most interesting aspects of our world. Your story about Remy to this day still helps me when I need to overcome myself. You are a treasure to humanity.

[@RareEarthSeries]

So happy to hear Remy's story mattered to you dude

[@YBnormal1337]

I'm happy you shared it, it's inspiring as hell. Keep doing what you're doing, all of it. It's fucking awesome.

[@specialkman4857]

This is one of my favorite episodes you've done. Really top notch story telling in this one

[@ZoroarkChampion]

I'm fascinated by everything you touch on in this video: the meaning of myths, the origins of gods, the practices of cultures long dead and almost forgotten, both totally alien and just as human as we are. Thank you for bringing this story Evan! Do you have any sources, or even just recommendations on what to read? I can't get enough of this!

[@Weisz]

Every couple months, I come back and binge your last 4-8 videos. These are so consistently good, and thoughtfully written. Keep up the great work!

[@RareEarthSeries]

I really appreciate that. Thank you!

[@thealmightyaku-4153]

It must also be remembered that back then, there would still have been aurochs, and cows would not have been particularly different. As such, bulls would have been even more enormous, aggressive and powerful, a true force of nature.

[@AV-we6wo]

What we shouldn't forget either is that all cows had horns at that time, not just bulls. Hornless cows are a comparatively recent thing, so some of the depictions of 'bull-gods' could actually be 'cow-goddesses' that we just misunderstood because of our current views of bulls and cows.

[@thealmightyaku-4153]

@@AV-we6wo Yes, but you can tell the particular animals depicted are bulls from their form & shape - the larger dewlaps, & of course the genitals (which can be very plainly seen in the famous bull-leaping fresco, for example), the lack of any visible udders or signs of nursing in depictions, &c. Some things are far deeper & more permanent than our present concerns or view.

[@onbearfeet]

I already knew much of this story, but you told it beautifully. And the puns in the credits are glorious.

[@michaelriverside1139]

It's quite interesting to consider that Çatalhöyük, one of the oldest settlements of human history is also rife with bull imagery and symbolism, while also being close to Crete due to it's location in current Turkey! However, minoan archaeology is weird on and in itself due to Arthur Evans' hand on the sites and artifacts, which lent him to believe said civilization was some sort of lost utopia, but did he had that pre-conceived idea or he got it during the excavations...? Minoa might be a metaphor refusing to surrender to the tides of history, such a great episode Evan!

[@ExMachinaEngineering]

Wow, what a beautiful breaking down of the myth of Minotaur. Like Theseus killing the Minotaur and then renaming it and making it his own but greater and more powerful, you too have destroyed the mythical story of the Minotaur only to reconstruct it as something far more impressive, deep, and meaningful. Oh and, Welcome to Heraklion. Let me know if you need any more Raki. We always have some for guests. (even though you might have already left)

[@dr.briandecker496]

Man I’m so down for a bunch of videos exploring this part of human history. Love this, keep it up

[@sabbyd1832]

I'm half Greek half Scottish and I have a tattoo that reflects that. I have Pictish/Celtic swirls at one end and a Griffin at the other. In the middle I have stylized horns 😊

[@markburd8541]

congratulations!your are complete

[@mrmr446]

I could swear for most of my life I only ever heard it pronounced 'my-no-tor' and at some point it changed. I am still adjusting.

[@therealdannymullen]

Welcome to this timeline. It sucks, but we have educational youtube videos!

[@markwuahlbuargg4780]

I love that rare earth has well-defined arcs like in anime. Right now we're in the Crete arc, there was the Micronesia arc and the Argentina arc and the Balkan arc and so on.

[@mythosandlogos]

What an interesting reading! Of course we have no idea if the Ancient Greeks understood the myth this way, but using the story framework to tell a story in a changing world is exactly what makes mythology such a versatile, timeless medium.

[@dougwalker4944]

always have to pause the last few seconds to really appreciate end title card.. i imagine the 'cow' with the gams also has impressive teats! ..milk those puns...🙏

[@kwisin1337]

Your storytelling skills are amazing. Great work

[@StolenPw]

Oh man this is one of my favorite places its so cool how that stuff is still preserved

[@GlobalHopo21]

Amazing story as always

[@mariosfamilytable]

Very well presented and gaps now understood. Thank you.

[@paulblase3955]

See “The Bull From the Sea” by Mary Renault

[@FobbitMike]

And we worship the Bull on Wall Street ...

[@twonumber22]

Losing more and more Earth everyday.

[@lewismassie]

Pretty cool to see you in a place I've been to myself finally. It was a lot busier when I was there last autumn

[@WilliamRhodes-ko3vq]

As a fellow traveller on Tera, I commend you and your good works on these and other topics. May you live a long and interesting life for your efforts.

[@tubularjay]

This objective deep dive into the nuances of the slow evolution of regional religious history is amazing. I would love to see the same take on the history of the gnostic concept of “The Demiurge”, more explicitly, the lesser god known as Yaldaboth, and the evolution of its creation from a nature spirit to the spiritual reason for binding human consciousness to mortal bodies. This is a huge thing in early Gnosticism, and I’d love to know a deeper explanation in its origins and impacts on cultures in the same way that this video does with the Minotaur!

[@erinmac4750]

I don't know if he's done videos on them, but Creganford has an extensive body of work. He also does deep dives, but in his own way. 🍀

[@crazyquilt]

I strongly recommend checking out Esoterica. I'm fairly sure he's covered the Demiurge explicitly; certainly he's got a lot of excellent Gnostic content.

[@LiluBob]

And another tidbit to be taken into account, but still a point of controversy, is that al those bulls we see are not necessarily bulls, but cows who also had horns. And as you pointed out cattle be they male or female were often associated with the feminine as well as the masculine when it came to deities. Western civilization's propensity to perceive history through the lens of its own era have put the bias of hornless cows upon ancient society without any regards to what was actually present during that time. Since we debud cows and breed them not to have horns, we think that's the way it's always been. It's not. A great deal of controversy around when and where depiction of cattle with horns should always be depicted as or thought of as male when in fact they might be female. It is long been understood that the image of the head of a cow plus the horns could be a symbol of the uterus and the fallopian tubes. If you take the "cult of Mithras" which "was among the most notable, particularly popular among soldiers and based on the Zoroastrian deity, Mithra," you find the God slitting the throat of the cosmic bull, causing the blood to run forth and create the universe and what not. Now if the head of a bull or a cow with horns is in fact symbolically a uterus and fallopian tubes blood rushing from just below its mouth is equivalent to the feminine blood shed every month and the bloodshed during childbirth. It is possible that this is a mixed metaphor, a changing of mythology from procreation which is the act of giving birth, to creation which is the act of physically causing something to either happen or to make it. In other, words going from matrafocal to patrafocal. A lot happened in Mesopotamia over several thousand years, including changing the way humanity looked at who had power and who didn't. It used to be you had to sleep with the queen or the earthly representation of the goddess, often the high priestess, before a man had the right to rule. This was taken all the way into Europe for hundreds or thousands of years. We still know stories about it and mythology. Anyway it's something to think about and taken into consideration, anyway.

[@PlatinumAltaria]

Both bulls and cows were important across human culture, but we know these are male because the female cattle breeds of the time didn't have horns. Cow's heads do not symbolise a uterus, mainly because these people had no idea what our internal organs looked like, but also because the cow as a symbol is clearly established and does not need a deeper meaning. The cow in pastoral cultures is basically money, it's literal wealth. The gods, then, must have the greatest cattle. And we survive by eating the cow, so the gods must enjoy sacrifice too!

[@LiluBob]

@@PlatinumAltaria for the most part that is true, but there are heritage breeds that we are breeding now that are from ancient times where the cows had horns. Dehorning cattle and cows is more modern thing that's been going on, though the practice does go back hundreds if not thousands of years. i'm not an expert in the field and I'm not gonna claim that I am, but I did look it up and cattle and cows have horns on both males and females depending on the breed and the time of history. As to the rest, this is what I wrote to someone else:

[@LiluBob]

@@PlatinumAltaria sorry was distracted by life. Here's what I wrote on the subject of whether or not ancient people knew what was inside a body. I mean considering they opened up animals to eat they had a pretty good understanding of a lot of things, but anyway here's what I wrote: Ancient people knew very well what was inside of bodies. Besides warfare and stumbling upon dead bodies during your travels, ancient people 5000 or more years ago, going back as far as 10,000 years in Mesopotamia did a thing that is called the double or triple burial. There is a reason the Egyptian vulture hieroglyph is Ma, which means mother. There's a reason that the goddess Hecate is both a midwife and she who leads us into the after.life when we die. Mother, goddess, and vultures have been associated with each other for thousands of years. In ancient Mesopotamia one of the primary forms of burial was the taking of bodies out to where vultures could find them, and purify their remains by stripping the bones clean of rotting flesh. Then those bones were later gathered up and placed in pots which were buried. Sometimes they were buried in one particular village beneath the largest bed in each house which has been determined to be the bed of the mother and the children she was nursing. Other cultures would dig up the buried bones and then re-bury them Somewhere else permanently or would take the bones and put them in some sort of display. Hence the double or triple burial. This was a practice that was done in certain parts of India well into recent history, and may still be done in certain parts of India. Bodies were placed in high areas where vultures could pick the bones clean. Of course other parts of India use fire to burn the remains, but the highest honor in Tibet for a Buddhist monk and a Dali Lama is to be fed to the vultures or to have your body parts thrown into the air and be caught by these vultures (could be Eagles, I can't remember it's been a long time since I studied this) and eaten. It's called a sky burial. So as bodies were taken especially during times of famine or great illness or tragedy or war out to be picked clean by the vultures, you would see bodies quite easily at different stages of consumption. And yes we are discovering more and more how much surgery and other forms of Medical procedures were done on people, let alone human sacrifice. So no it's only recently that we are protected from the remains of the dead, unless we are caught in a war or a natural disaster.

[@gerryhouska2859]

Our modern Australian "governments" also depend on a lot of bull.

[@andreagriffiths3512]

Too true

[@SteveWray]

I remember hearing that in all the art of Crete, there are many many representations of women sitting, but not one seated man. When there are men around the seated women, they are always standing, serving them... I can see the Greeks wouldn't have felt comfortable with this :D

[@chadr4013]

Good knowledge drop on all the civilization connections. Great vid!

[@SenkouNoMahimeEne]

To quote Ishtar in one of her surviving poems "...I shall raise the dead to take the living, and you should know, the dead outnumber the living." What a great assessment. Going to Crete in November, and this series in Greece has me so excited. I've studied pre-christian religions, and as you can see themes, imagery, stories and names EVERYWHERE that are or seem connected to Ishtar/Inanna, I never even considered this perspective on Asterion/the minotaur story. It's right there! How awesome is that? I wish we could find the "authors notes", you know, find evidence that either proves or disproves this

[@alevanderBatman]

Your videos are rarely boring, but this one was an exceptionally great one!

[@shrzhstgrjgcdhhbhokb]

Wonderful video, once again I am curious though, where do you get all your information from? Do you go to local museums and write a script from there? Do you do additional research before or after, or what is the process? Do you have any list of sources where one can gain more detailed information about all this? I really don't want to come across as a "bUt WhAt aRe yOuR sOuRcEs?", i am just genuinely curious Please continue your good work

[@glennchartrand5411]

The story of the Minotaur probably came from Greeks trying to decipher 1000 year old writings about their ancient history that they found...which would have been extremely difficult for them. The language, writing system, place names and cultural meanings would have changed a great deal. Just try to read an 11 century English text and you'll see what I mean. So I dont think the story of the Minotaur was a deliberate attempt at symbolism, but it was just Greeks trying to make sense of ancient writings that they could no longer read properly

[@camden.council.victim9652]

I went to Crete to try & find the Maze but my friend-Ricky got Sun-burned on the 1st day-he was limping about the whole holiday. We went to the Museum which is photographed here. Never made it to Knossos. A week after the holiday was over, the area got a mudslide, so we may have died there. I just realized-my internet name is Asteron.

[@michaeldimare3786]

I had picked up on the bull being a sym-bull (get it?!) of power back when I first learned of Moloch and Lammasu. But I didn’t think it reached so much wider across time and cultures! Had I not seen this video, I may never have revisited information on Minoans, and now I will devour such knowledge when I find it. A hunger I’m grateful to you for stoking 😅. And I finally learned his name. Asterion. Now I understand where the Hades video game got it from….or maybe not. Should look that up. In any case, I must research further. First video I’ve seen of you in a year or so. Glad to know you make still make witty and informative content 😁

[@charmaintrout174]

Thank you. Last year, I flew from Australia and spent 5 weeks in Greece and Crete. Planes, trains, buses, Pirate Ship, cars ,ferries, wooden sailing boats, feet, and RV's. Cooking lessons, pottery classes, live theatre, sword fighting and many walking tours, parks and museums. I tried to thoroughly explore ALL of it! Lol Your video helped to reinforce some of the things I learned and brought back many happy memories. I'm definitely a new subscriber. 😁

[@BaronVonQuiply]

Crete... so if you live there.... Cretins? **gets banned from Isle of Crete by all the Cretans**

[@jamesmaxdavissands]

WOW! That's coooool

[@lpmnewcro]

Cretin is a village in Switzerland with an iodine deficiency...if memory serves..

[@keithprice475]

You think that is bad - here is the Biblical take on Cretans: 'One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”' Titus 1:12

[@Kulayyu]

Singular: Cretin Plural: Critters

[@riowhi7]

I know it's not related but the scenery behind you in the video is so breathtaking

[@Chubles1]

Really loving these Crete episodes, this one especially. The framing of myth and history is a fantastic way to explain how one makes sense of histories that are ancient and old even to the tellers, something I think a lot of us don't consider or even know to consider when we first start to study history in any sort of earnest.

[@iainclark1599]

That was absolutely amazing The way you linked that altogether across civilizations was incredible, I was so impressed, that was such an eye opener Wow that all makes do much sense

[@michaelwhite3615]

The Bull of heaven was seen as the planets Saturn, Venus and Mars, in a polar configuration above earth. The horns of the Bull were the shadows created as the earth rotated and saw different aspects of the plasma being exhibited between Venus and Saturn, before the planetary system breakup. Also, between 6500BC and 4000BC, the golden year would have been the year of the Bull, with the Ram following in roughly 2000BC.

[@stevejohnson3357]

Wow. This is a different video from just about everything out there. One way to see it is that the Athenians killed a state that was demanding an unaffordable tribute.

[@fredhercmaricaubang1883]

MAGNIFICENT! UTTERLY MAGNIFICENT! VERY LOGICAL in presentation & yet MYTHICAL at the same time! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! I have NO regrets subscribing to your channel! Again, THANK YOU so much for this!

[@tardismole]

Excellent. A thoughtful and thought provoking approach to ancient historical theory.

[@asddsa28]

this make me wonder about other miths and now i want to go looking for them

[@PlatinumAltaria]

Keep in mind that most myths are just stories, don't go looking for Gotham City.

[@inconceivableabysses]

"Isis, Astarte, Diana; Hecate Demeter, Kali; Innana. Hoof and horn, hoof and horn, all that dies will be reborn."

[@nicstroud]

Some people pronounce it my-know, some pronounce it min-oh, I honestly don't know which is correct. However, I'm sure it's mino-taur, like Taurus the bull, not mino-tar like the road surface. 🤔

[@RareEarthSeries]

Language evolves and regional accents tend to change words in ways that others don't recognize. 'Taurus' is not how it would have originally been said, either.

[@BrandonS-lk2qc]

This. Was. AWESOME. That conclusion...I sacrificed the like button to Ishtar.... Subbed. What an amazing work. And properly sourced and scripted, to boot. A true marvel in our current age, such academic rigor and creative presentation. I haven't felt this way about learning since 2004. I want to know MORE about these iconic motifs...

[@donsample1002]

There is so much bullshit about ancient gods and civilizations on the internet that I really wish you’d cite your sources for videos like this one.

[@RareEarthSeries]

What are you having trouble finding

[@maltava4534]

Aurochs must have been damned scary powerful to cause this level of generational adoration.

[@Demane69]

Many ancient cultures worshipped it. As cultures expanded, and regions settled, it would also be one of the 1st large beast of burden as husbandry became a more advanced practice, instead of passive adaptation from living near early human settlements, which is the starting point to more modern farming practices.

[@disky01]

I learned so much about Dungeons & Dragons today

[@Alex.HFA1]

Bonus Israelite points - Altars to God (El) had four horns in their corners. You could claim sanctuary by grabbing and holding the horns for dear life. Long Live Ashtoret, the goddess of War and Love!

[@Dr_Oddity]

I'll do my part in bringing back the word gams. It's the least I can do to pay you back for these amazing videos

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

Rule 34 of Greek mythology - if a creature exists, there is a Greek myth about someone turning into/dressing up as that creature so they can get freaky with it.

[@jimparsons6803]

Interesting and thanks. Early religion, I've heard, often couch their stories, their histories, in terms of a metaphor to make the true history easier to remember? Very much, perhaps, like the invention of money and the story of King Midas?

[@Slickboot21]

I'll never forget TIME BANDITS and the experience in Menos. Fascinating, Captain! -- Texas

[@gryphon0468]

What a banger of a closing line.

[@michaelhowell2326]

There is so much 40K lore in this video and never thought I would get that on this channel.

[@toddmcdaniels1567]

It’s all about ritual human sacrifice. The Minotaur was someone wearing a bull’s head as ritual regalia. Most of the comparisons are valid, but unnecessary. The only immediately useful comparisons are internal to West Semitic cultures. I appreciated the video, though.

[@M15115]

Thank you for sharing stories, they are more important than anything else

[@holstorrsceadus1990]

This was not the DLC I was expecting today quest giver

[@ChorltonBrook]

5:00 I've seen depictions were Moses shown with bull horns, when he came back down from the mountain.

[@nathanhale3006]

I have a Salvador Dali print on my wall called "Europa and the Bull" I never knew it was beast on human intercourse. Learn something new everyday.

[@thequeenofswords7230]

10:15 Right; here it's really important to remember the mythological emergence of Aphrodite as being rather unique amongst the Olympians in that she wasn't created by the titan Kronos (directly) but resulted from his flinging Urinos genitals into the Sea. This maps really well to connecting this imported Goddess to her ancient lineage.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Cows are half tonne cats. Just don't hassle them when they have calves. About five people a year die in the UK, due to cattle.

[@bradzylman3432]

This is really good and aligns with my thinking exactly from deductions on ancient religion. I love how well you articulated this.

[@dylantaylor251]

Excellent writing, well done.

[@zinkist]

The video was interesting, but it was that ending Slide that won me over. "Don't let anyone think for you; most people can barely think for themselves." But don't forget to do regular sanity-checks regardless if they are metaphorical or literal sanity-checks. All of society is just a big old Group-Vote System. People agreeing with each other is basically the only Test-for-Truth. The more people who agree, the more likely something is Truth. So think for yourself, but don't forget to ask other people what they think too.

[@BrokenSoul79x]

it's always bothered me that historians and archaeologists look at ancient stories as simply myths or embelishments, when in reality it was more likely deeper stories and symbology wrapped in metaphor and allegory, based on true events and "simplified" for ease of remembering and retelling. It also bothers me when they take such a narrow focused view on one culture instead of looking at the bigger picture of how these (and so many other) myths tie in to so many other areas and peoples of the same or previous times/eras. when one starts to look at similarities on a more global scale there are FAR to many interconnected/related myths and beliefs for the world to have been so "simple" and isolated.

[@PlatinumAltaria]

He's done a lot to massage the history into fitting the myth, they aren't nearly as connected as claimed here.

[@bardmadsen6956]

You are correct, it is all about The Taurid Meteor Stream, I've been open and posting about it for nine years after I wrote a book about it, no one believes me, fifty five years of research! It is really strange, like being dropped off on the wrong planet, I'm convinced it is a genetic memory of the traumas that make denial step in. I have piles of evidence vs. academia's zero, they think the Iconic Bull is about virility not destruction from space falls. They think it is from some fantastic story fabricated before we left Africa and it spread around the globe, when we all had a front row seat because it is inner solar system space debris. Universally we all are describing the same thing with different view points, in the Old World it is the Bull, the up side down capital letter A, just like what is seen in the sky. In Mesoamerica it is the Feathered Serpent from the Pleiades that takes away the Sun for long periods of time. The Thunderbird is from this radiant, also. In Japan the brother of the Sun Goddess is from this location and kills the horse that propels her across the sky, then she hides in a mountain, thus everything is in darkness, Impact Winter.

[@masahige2344]

Speaking as a historian, the reason we look at things in such a specialized way is, essentially, that connections which intuitively seem to be there are often not supported by specific evidence. When two ideas coincide between cultures, it's not immediately clear whether there was actual transmission between the groups or whether the same idea was arrived at independently. In cases like the idea of the 'bull' here, some of what Evan refers to is either provably or probably transmission in the Mediterranean world while some of it is probably incidental -- Incidental in the sense that bulls are an obvious symbol of power to humans of many different origins. Sometimes the connection is direct, other times it's a marker of our common humanity.

[@UtubeAW]

“Haven’t heard of the Minotaur?” He was running around under a town on daytime tv, in the ‘80’s

[@danielbomgaars1008]

I always look forward to these vids. Great work

[@twonumber22]

it's a fascinating island there

[@roberthicks2191]

Very thoughtfully delivered. Good work!

[@PaszerDye]

0:05 Yes, I have, and don't call me 'Shirley.'

[@marcosantoro7465]

Great video! I knew many of these miths and gods, but never made the connection. This was a very interesting and likely theory.

[@michaelhowell2326]

I didn't know the Minotaur had a name.

[@ChrissieBear]

Fun fact, the Cherub is likely an evolution of Lamassu. Cherub is derive from Kirubu, a title of Lamassu.

[@user-if4br9rf7f]

Early horned ones often showed antlers. See the work of Esther Jacobsen for her work tracing these motifs into very ancient Siberia. Thousands of years later, this art would give rise to the many Scythian examples of art enshrining antlers as sacred.

[@hippomancy]

theseus a hero... in most stories. but in others an absolute creep. the full story of Helen of Troy- she was declared the "perfect woman" while still a child. herakles and theseus went to investigate, kidnapped her, and flipped a coin to be her first "lover"... she was ten years old. theseus won. no word if herakles....

[@rnbpl]

the proliferation of all of these "cow goddesses" is by far one of worst things about modernity.

[@LiluBob]

Also, despite my prior posts making some corrections on archaeological facts and points of view, I actually really loved this episode. And I am going to watch it again because I got distracted by the need to make and point out the corrections I posted. Evan your videos are always worth the wait. ❤

[@LeonidOtSparta]

this video goes hard

[@blaster915]

Keep up the great stories!! What great perspective!!