Minotaur

Head And Tail Of A Bull, The Body Of A Man

Zeus and the goddess, now his concubine, have a child who becomes the King of Minos. (16) The King of Minos upsets Poseidon, brother of Zeus, and as a result his wife gives birth to a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The Minotaur, grandson of Zeus. (17 and 18). Illustration 12 shows this creature in the hand.

Illustration 12: The half-bull, half-man minotaur 

We've already seen the head and the horns of the bull. If you twist your fingers inwards you can create a two-legged creature with a tail between its legs. It might look a little odd but it fits the description: The body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The storyteller already had figures for a bull and a man. Why not combine them to create a new mythical creature and so keep the story going?

Illustration 13: Minotaur in the hand with labelled sketch 

The Labyrinth

The minotaur is thrown into a labyrinth by his shamed parents and blinded to ensure he never gets out. And it just so happens that the palm of the hand lends itself to depicting a maze.

Illustration 14: Lines of the palm

The major palms lines twist and turn across each other. Between the main lines there are innumerable smaller lines crossing the palm in all directions and forming swirls and loops. If storytellers were using the palm lines to create characters they may also have found those same lines could be used as scenery, especially if the stories were being told to a very small child. Imagine how the palm lines in Illustration 14 would look to a child's eye.
Perhaps it wasn’t really the blind minotaur but a small child. Let's suppose the story was being told to a child by his mother. Perhaps she would cover the child's eyes and get him to run his finger along the lines of her palm, to explore the labyrinth. And all the while the minotaur is lurking in the background.

The Storyteller's Trick

No one ever gets out of the labyrinth. Perhaps there’s a reason for that. Maybe the storyteller would get the child to learn his way around the main lines of her palm with his eyes covered. But when he was familiar with it she would play a trick - by turning her hand. The unsuspecting child would feel his way along the familiar paths, picturing in his head where he would be. But when Mum took her hand from his eyes he would never be where he thought he was.  Amaze-ing.
Illustration 15 shows “Mum” leading the "child’s finger" into the mouth of the minotaur simply by turning her hand. You will see the monster bite and trap the startled child’s finger. It's one thing being told about the minotaur crawling around the maze in search of water. But imagine a child with his eyes covered, feeling his way through the maze with his finger and squealing with delight as he gets bitten by the minotaur. That's not just storytelling, it's interactive storytelling.

Illustration 15: Into the mouth of the minotaur

Death Of The Minotaur

Each year seven young men are thrown into the labyrinth to be eaten by the minotaur as a sacrifice to Poseidon. One year a brave young man called Theseus volunteers to be one of these sacrifices, vowing to slay the monster. (19) Everyone agrees that even if he does, he will never get out of the maze alive. No one ever has. But the daughter of King Minos falls for our brave hero and helps him. She gives Theseus some thread he can trail behind him in the maze so he can find his way out. With the help of his lover, brave Theseus does kill the monster and by leaving a trail of thread behind him, finds his way out. (20) This video shows that by curling your fingers around one by one, you can recreate Theseus leaving thread behind him as he runs around the maze. And you will see the minotaur lying dead behind him.

Illustration 16: Theseus leaves thread in the maze

References

16. Minos, Britannica Encyclopaedia Online https://www.britannica.com/topic/Minos

Minos, legendary ruler of Crete; he was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Europa.

17. Kern, Hermann (2000). Through the Labyrinth. Munich, London, New York: Prestel. P34 (Wikipaedia) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minotaur

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man.

18. Minotaur, World History Encyclopaedia Online https://www.worldhistory.org/Minotaur/

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The Minotaur was the offspring of the Cretan Queen Pasiphae and a majestic bull. Due to the Minotaur's monstrous form, King Minos ordered the craftsman, Daedalus, and his son, Icarus, to build a huge maze known as the Labyrinth to house the beast. The Minotaur remained in the Labyrinth receiving annual offerings of youths and maidens to eat. He was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

19. Myth of Theseus and minotaur Greek Mythology.com https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-theseus-and-minotaur/

Son of Minos, Androgeus, went to Athens to participate to the Panathenaic Games, but he was killed during the Marathon by the bull that impregnated his mother Pasiphae. Minos was infuriated, and demanded Aegeus the king of Athens to send seven men and women every year to the Minotaur to advert the plague caused by the death of Androgeus.The third year, Theseus, son of Aegeus decided to be one of the seven young men that would go to Crete, in order to kill the Minotaur and end the human sacrifices to the monster. King Aegeus tried to make him change his mind but Theseus was determined to slay the Minotaur.

20. Apollodurus, Epitome, Translated by Sir James George Frazer, Epit E.19, Perseus Digital Library https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DEpitome%3Abook%3DE%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D9

And at his suggestion she gave Theseus a clue when he went in; Theseus fastened it to the door, and, drawing it after him, entered in. 9 And having found the Minotaur in the last part of the labyrinth, he killed him by smiting him with his fists; and drawing the clue after him made his way out again. And by night he arrived with Ariadne and the children10 at Naxos. There Dionysus fell in love with Ariadne and carried her off11; and having brought her to Lemnos he enjoyed her, and begat Thoas, Staphylus, Oenopion, and Peparethus.