A dark tale of punishment, revenge, and the harsh lesson a Queen must learn when she denies the gods a proper sacrifice.
My name is Daedelas, and I have a story to tell. It is a dark and terrible story; one filled with vengeful gods, a beautiful woman, and a terrible curse that would bring about the ruin of an empire. It is a story of corruption, passion and lust; but most of all it is a story of revenge.
Perhaps I should start at the beginning.
In my youth I had been an inventor of great reknown. So famous was I, that every king and prince throughout the ancient world vied for my talents. I had created chalices that kept water cold in the summer, and crafted scuptures so lifelike that you would have had to have touched them to know otherwise. So great were my skills that they even brought me to the attention of King Minos, ruler of Crete.
In those days Crete was unrivaled in its power. It held sway over all, with princes from every corner of the world bowing to Crete’s awesome power. Minos’ rule was absolute; if there was something he desired he would have it. When it came time to take a wife there was only one woman for him - Pasiphae, the jewel of the ancient world, and the most sought after woman of her time.
Pasiphae was a beauty like no other. She had skin as smooth as ivory, eyes like saphhires, and hair as black as midnight. It was said that a small lock of her hair was enough to ransom a small kingdom. All the princes of the world vied eagerly for her hand in marriage, but none could come offer her what Minos offered - the title of Queen of Crete. Minos soon married the beautiful Pasiphae and she became Queen of the mightiest kingdom in the world.
Pasiphae was a young Queen, barely past her twentieth birthday before she had been married; but what she lacked in years she more than made up for in ambition and arrogance.
For his part, Minos was besotted with his new wife. Pasiphae was like a new toy to him, and he couldn’t help but play with it. The King was a man who valued his possessions, and Pasiphae was his ultimate possession. He eagerly looked forward to the day that his young beautiful wife would carry his child and produce an heir. Until then, he was determined to please in anyway he could.
This is how I came to arrive in Crete.
Minos was eager to indulge his young wife but a Queen such as Pasiphae deserved more than mere presents, she deserved treasures. That is why he sought me out - how better to please a young bride than with gifts from a master craftsman? Minos offered me a great sum of gold to come to Crete and construct amusements for his Queen’s pleasure.
And so I did. I left my homeland of Athens and arrived in Crete to make for Pasiphae whatever she pleased. I crafted necklaces that gleamed like moonlight, perfumes that ensnared the mind, and any other trinket that Minos’ Queen could think of. When I think back to those early days in Crete I cannot help but feel a pang of guilt remembering how happy Pasiphae and Minos were. Crete was the mightest empire in all the world and Minos and Pasiphae ruled it as with one will. But all that was to change on that fateful day when the Queen came to me with her lustful request.
But then I am getting ahead of myself.
Minos paid me well, but in time I grew tired of my service to him. I was a wanderer by nature, but those who contracted with the King did so for life. I was forever beholden to him, forever beholden to craft for his wife simple amusements and petty luxuries. I wanted to craft masterpieces, not trinkets! But above all I wanted to see the world again. I was beginning to feel more like a prisoner than a master inventor and I resented Minos and his spoiled wife all the more for it. I prayed that the gods would hear my pleas and find a way for me to return to my homeland.
My prayers were answered, though I did not know it at the time. Perhaps I should have, for when I slept I no longer dreamed, but had visions. I know now that these visions were sent to me by the gods, visions of the dark things that they were about to unleash into the world.
The first vision came to me about a year before the Queen’s scandal. That night was the first of many such prophetic dreams for me. It was also the last night that Pasiphae’s mind would be her own.
I had been working late one evening when I feel asleep at my work bench. I dreamt that it was night and I was in the royal stabiles. All the animal stalls were empty though, all except one. Minos and Pasiphae were there too. Pasiphae looked bored, but Minos seemed more eager than usual to show his wife his newest gift for her...
“So, what do you think of it, my love?” Minos asked excitedly, eagerly awaiting his wife’s reaction.
There was a long pause as Pasiphae looked from her husband to the stabile in which she found herself.
“Think of what?” The Queen asked in bewilderment. “All I can see is an old barn filled with hay. Surely you did not bring me here to show me that?!” she said, pointing to the large white object in front of her.
Minos nodded. “What else? Is it not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?”
“Not in the least,” Pasiphae said, wrinkling up her nose.
“You do not like it?” Minos sounded hurt.
“No! In fact, I think it is the ugliest thing I have ever layed eyes on. It’s repulsive; positively beastly!”
“Pasiphae! How can you say that?”
“Because it’s is a bull, Minos, a bull!” exclaimed Pasiphae. The large, horned creature snorted loudly in its stall causing Pasiphae to glare at it accusingly. “And it’s a big, stupid, ugly bull at that!”
“It’s not a bull,” Minos explained. “It’s a white bull.”
“Yes, and with a particulary bad smell about it!” Pasiphae complained, putting the back of her hand to her nose. “When you said you had something special to show me I expected something a little more... refined.”
“But it is special, my love.”
“Oh?” Pasiphae raised a skeptical eyebrow. “How so?”
“The priests tell me that it came from the sea. That it rose out of the ocean and swam to our shores.”
“Oh it did, did it?” Pasiphae said wryly.
“They say it’s a sign from the Gods. A test of our devotion!” Minos looked proudly at his wife.
“Yes, and these are the same superstitious fools that make omens of doom out of bird droppings.” Pasiphae rolled her eyes. “You will excuse me if I put little stock in what they say.”
“Well, I am sorry to hear that you do not like the bull. I was going to give it to you as a present if you had.”
“Me? A bull?” The Queen took a step back in surprise. “That’s a rather strange gift!”
“I just thought you might like it, is all.”
“It’s a bull Minos! What could I possibly want with a bull?”
“Well...just look at it! There is something about it. It is so simple, pure, and raw! It is like a force of nature given flesh and form.” Minos paused and looked appreciatively at his newest possession, penned inside his cage. “I dare say, next to you my wife, it is the most beautiful thing I own.”
“How flattering,” Pasiphae said icily, shooting her husband a whithering look. “Perhaps you will next compare my beauty to that of a cow’s?”
“Pasiphae, you misunderstand me! Of all my possession you are the most dear...”
“I am no possession Minos,” Pasiphae interrupted. “Remember that!”
“I did not mean to...”
“Of course you didn’t. Now, if you will excuse me, this night has been rather strange, and I cannot abide the smell of manure a second longer. Goodnight husband.”
“But Pasiphae!” Minos called after his wife as she headed for the stabile doors. “What about the bull?”
“What of it?” Pasiphae called over her shoulder. “It’s your pet; do with it as you like.”
“You do not want it?”
“What possible use could I have of a bull? Keep it, my husband.”
Minos thought for a moment. “Then I think I shall give it in thanks to the gods as a sign of our devotion. In fact, I think I shall sacrifice it on a Festival day so that all our subjects may see.”
“Good,” Pasiphae agreed, reaching to open the door. “Give it to Zeus or Posedion. Better a god should have it.”
“Yes,” Minos. “Or perhaps a goddess.”
Pasiphae paused at the doorway.
“Minos,” she said carefully over her shoulder, “tell me, which Festival did you have in mind for this sacrifice?”
“The Festival of Love is only two weeks away. I think that would make for a suitable occassion for such a grand creature as this.“
”Oh,” Pasiphae said icily. “I see. That Festival. Aphrodite’s Festival.”
“Now Pasiphae,” Minos began, “I know how you feel about the goddess of love and...”
“She’s a cow,” Pasiphae said contemptuously, turning around and glaring at her husband, “Of all the gods and goddesses to choose from why her?”
“The people like her! It is always such a popular Festival. Each year they look forward to her Festival more than any other.”
“Small wonder,” Pasiphae sniffed indignantly. “Her rituals are full of wanton and lust. They have orgies in the streets! Is this the example we should be setting? If you ask me the goddess of love needs to learn a lesson in chastity.”
“It is only one day, and if it makes them happy, why not?”
“But it’s not just one day! Aphrodite already has three other Festivals as it is! What does she need a fourth for? She already gets too much attention as it is.”
“You know, I am starting to wonder if you aren’t a little jealous of Aphrodite,” Minos said with a sly smile.
”I am not jealous!” Pasiphae said indignantly. “I just don’t see why she should get four Festivals and my bull!”
“But Pasiphae...!” Minos said, startled. He looked from his wife to the bull. “I thought you said it was ugly and didn’t want it?”
“I did and I don’t. But...,” Pasiphae thought for a moment. “But I never had a pet before.”
“Bulls don’t make very good pets, my dear. If you want a pet I could easily send for a bird from Africa, or a...”
“I don’t want a bird. I want a bull!”
“But what about Aphrodite?”
“What about her?” asked Pasiphae, folding her arms. “She already has everything she wants. Why should she get my bull too?”
Minos thought this over and looked back at the bull who stared patiently back at him. “I just don’t want to risk offending the gods. They might see this as a slight against them.”
“Please tell me you don’t believe in those silly myths, Minos!”
“No, of course not, not really,” Minos said, looking unsure of himself. “But if they were true it would not hurt to pay proper tribute.
“They aren’t true.”
“Still...”
“If it makes you feel any better then sacrifice an old goat and a few hens to Aphrodite; that should be more than enough for the likes of her.”
Minos sighed. He could see that his wife was determined on the matter. And he did so like to induldge her...
“You really want to keep the bull? And not just because I was going to sacrifice it to Aphrodite? I could always sacrifice it to another god you know.”
“I know and I do want to keep it. Besides, who knows what a bull from the sea will breed on our cows?”
Minos sighed. “You sure are a difficult one, you know that?”
“So I can keep it?”
“You can,” Minos said with a smile.
“Oh, thank you, Minos!” Pasiphae exclaimed, putting a hand lovingly to her husband’s cheek. “You won’t regret this, I promise!”
Pasiphae looked at the bull for a moment. “Perhaps it isn’t such an ugly brute after all. But the next time dear - save us both the headache and just buy jewelry!” Pasiphae said with a laugh, before kissing her husband. “Now if you don’t mind, I will take leave of you husband and return to the palace. A stabile is no place for a Queen!”
And with that the Queen left the royal stabile and my dream faded.
I remember the days following my dream well, for they created a minor scandal at the palace, though nothing like the one that was to come.
Two weeks later the Festival of Love arrived, only it was no longer to be called as such. It was renamed The Festival of the Queen, and though I was not in attendance, I heard that the mood of the people was quite sour.
They had expected to worship Aphrodite and revel in all the licentiousness such worship involved. Instead they got something else entirely. Aphrodite had been usurped and with Aphrodite went her orgies and bawdry reenactments in the market square. Insteaqd there were new celebrations - celebrations that stressed reason and order over emotions and passion. And at the heart of it all was Pasiphae, our Queen, who was celebrated on this new Festival day.
It was the greatest mistake the young Queen would ever make.
What happened next is not so well known if only because Minos did his best to keep the scandal quiet. The night after the Festival the Queen slept alone in her chambers, Minos being busy with matters of state. I am told that the Queen fell into a deep and immpenetrable sleep.
Then, sometime just after dawn, Pasiphae’s haidmaidens arrived to awake their mistress and dress her for the new day, but when they arrived they found the Queen’s bed was empty! When the Queen could not be found anywhere within the palace walls the alarm was raised and the King alerted to his missing wife. The entire Elite Guard was sent to search for the Queen. But when the Queen could not be found the King began to fear the worst.
He had no idea what the worst actually was.
Even in my workshop, far away from the city walls, I could hear the alarm in the streets. I was summoned to the palace to begin work on new seige weapons, Minos being convinced that his wife had been abducted by a jealous prince. It was while I was at the palace that the Queen was discovered again.
A peasant had found her. She had been down in the fields, sitting under an olive tree, watching the royal herds graze. She had been down there the entire day and though it was well past noon the Queen was in a state of near undress, wearing nothing but her thin night cloths, and with her hair unbound and undone. The court knew at once that something was terribly wrong.
My services were no longer needed and so I was told to leave. I can still remember hearing Pasiphae’s voice, for the first time insane, echoing down the winding corridors as I left the palace.
“I am alright, I tell you! I just wanted a little air, nothing more! What is so strange about that?”
“But your majesty, the fields are no place for a Queen. What if one of your subjects had seen you in your night dress or...” I heard one of her handmaidens say.
“Can a Queen not go where she likes in her own kingdom anymore! It is my field! I can do what I like in it!“
I heard whisperings from her servants, imploring Pasiphae to keep her voice low. This only infuriated her, making her voice grow louder and angier.
“I will not be careful what I say! Let them hear! Let the whole kingdom hear! To Hades with this palace! I just want to go back to the field! Let me go!”
More whisperings, this time frightful and cautious ones.
“Lies! Who do you believe, a blind old farmer, or your Queen? I tell you, I am fine! I was just watching the cattle graze; nothing more! Let me go! I want to go back to the fields!”
I knew at the time that the Queen’s words sounded strange, but how could I have known that her mind was even then, being controlled by another?
Days passed. Weeks. Months. And all the while I worked for Minos, toiling away bitterly for his spoiled little wife, dreaming of my homeland that I would never see again.
It was late, and dark one cool summer night, about a year after the Festival of Reason, when I heard a light knock on my door. Before I could answer I saw the door push open. It was nearly midnight, a strange hour for visitors, so I reached for a weapon, when to my great surprise Queen Pasiphae entered my workshop with a small entourage of her handmaidens behind her. So stunned was I, that my weapon fell from my hand and I forgot to lower my eyes or kneel before my royal sovereign. Instead I simply stood and stared like a man struck dumb. It was the first time I had ever set eyes on the Queen so up close and personal, and what I saw put all legends of her to beauty to shame.
Gods but she was as beautiful as she was arrogant! She was Aphrodite’s equal in every manner and by the look of her mocking smile she knew it. Her dark hair shined like the blackest midnight, her skin was as white and as pure as the smoothest ivory, and her lips, so full and red, were like looking into a picture of the sweetest heaven. And those legs! She had long slender legs that were kept partially hidden by her long flowing robes that lead up to a figure that would have made Helen of Troy weep with jealousy. Her hair was bound with bright, glittering jewels, and enough gold decorated her gown to buy a small kingdom. But of course, it was said that Pasiphae was Crete’s most precious jewel of all, and seeing her now I could readily see why. Had I a choice between any the jewels on her dress, or Pasiphae herself, I would have readily have chosen the Queen.
To see her was to want her. Desperately.
She entered my workshop as though it were her own and with taunting eyes and a faint smile on her lips, she gave me a look that hinted at shared secrets. Without a word the Queen walked about my workshop, taking her time to carefully inspect my tools; running a hand over my instruments. She would hold one up to the light before putting it down again and then moving on to inspect another. With each new tool that she passed over, the Queen’s gaze turned back to me and she smiled approvingly. Apparently she liked what she saw. I could not fathom why the Queen was here, in my workshop, in the middle of the night, but I knew it was not my place to ask. I was not speak until ordered to do so. Despite my curiousity I waited patiently as the Queen continued to inspected my workshop. At last she spoke.
“Daedelas, I have come to you to commission a project.” Pasiphae explained, with the tone of one who was used to strict obedience. “A very... special... project.”
“My talents are yours to command, your majesty.” I replied with a slight bow, my curiousity all the more heightened. What sort of trinket would require the Queen to make her request in person? “I am at the King’s service.”
“Yes, the King, my husband,” she said dismissively. “It is to him that you have taken your oath, isn’t it? Not me. But I wonder...would you serve me just as faithfully as you have served him?”
“My Queen? I don’t understand. You are my royal sovereign and the King’s wife! I am as bound to you as I am to him. By serving you I am serving the King.”
“I am heartened by your answer,” Pasiphae said simply. “And know that I feel as you do.”
I nodded, all the while wondering what it was that Pasiphae was working herself up to asking me. She began walking slowly about my workshop again, like a cat on the prowl.
“Did you know, Daedelas, that my husband says that you the greatest inventor in all the world?” She said it with an air of courtly indifference. “In fact he tells me that you are a genius and that if I but name it, you can create it. Is this true?”
“It would not be proper of me to boast, your majesty,” I said, choosing my words carefully, “but nor do I wish to disagree with the King. Or his wife,” I added hastily.
“Then it is true, what my husband said of you. You can create anything! Anything at all? Anything I ask of you?”
“Anything at all,” I repeated.
“And I have only to describe it?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “I do believe that the King’s words are as wise as ever.”
“Then let us hope so for both our sakes,” the Queen said with a slight smile, “that this is true, for what I am about to ask of you will put that wisdom to the test!”
Cold and arrogant she might be, but as she smiled she warmed my entire being. But that smile became strained as the Queen looked hesitantly over her shoulder to where he handmaidens still waited.
“Away!” She snapped over her shoulder, without so much as looking at them. “I would speak with the commoner alone. Await for me outside.” Commoner? I was the royal inventor!
Obediently her ladies bowed and left my workshop, closing the door quietly behind them, and making me feel very uncomfortable. To be alone in the presence of the Queen - the wife of Minos - was an offense that carried with it the penalty of death after torture. I was certain that Pasiphae could sense my discomfort, but this only seemed to amuse her. She smiled pleasantly at it me, moving casually toward me so that there was little space between us.
“Now then Daedelas,” she said to me in a soft, dulcet tone, “Let us talk you and I. I want you to build something for me. Something very...personal and private. It shouldn’t be too difficult to make, not for a man of your talents.”
“Your words are kind and generous,” I said obediantly, still wondering what was so important that the Queen had to make her request in person. “You have but to name it, and I shall build it.”
“Good.” Pasiphae’s smile widened. She made my unease all the greater as she took another step closer to me. I tried to to take a step back but ran into my own workbench.
“What...what did you have in mind, your highness?”
“I shall tell you, but first I must have your word that what I say here tonight shall remain a secret. You can’t tell anyone about it! Is that understood?”
“A secret? Is this something the King wishes me to...” I began but Pasiphae cut me off.
“My husband is to know nothing of this!”
“Keep a secret from the King? But that would violate my oath to him. I can’t...”
“Did you not just say that in serving me, your Queen, that you are serving the King?”
“Yes...yes, I suppose I did,” I said, uncertain of myself.
“And is not the will of the Queen the will of the King?”
“Yes...of course it is, but...”
“Then you will do for me what I ask.” It was less a question and more a statement. I could only agree.
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Good, because I have a bit of a problem at the moment and you are going to help me. There is something I want, something that I need, but not everyone would understand if I told them what it is that I need. And that is why I have come to you, Daedelas, because I know that you can be...discreet.” With a look of feigned innocence, Pasiphae took another step closer to me and I was becoming painfully aware of just how near I was to the royal person.
“Yes...yes I can.., your majesty,” I stammered. “And...and what you have me build...your majesty?”
“Well...” Pasiphae blushed, letting her eyes drop to her chest as she spoke. She was wearing a thin, low cut dress that, given her reputation for modesty, showed a surprising amount of her figure. I could not help but follow her eyes down to her chest where I quickly became lost in her cleavage that was so near me. So near that I could touch it...
Suddenly the Queen lifted her gaze, catching my eyes with her own. Pasiphae smiled knowingly. She had caught me, and we both knew it. And then, taking a deep breath, she sighed, causing her breasts to swell outward and push tightly against her thin linen dress, so that it seemed as though her breasts might tear through at any moment.
“It’s simple really,” Pasiphae sighed. “I want a costume. Just a silly little costume for me to wear. See? Simple!”
I tried to make sense of what I had just hear as the Pasiphae’s cleavage swirld through my mind. A costume? Had I heard her right? What need would a Queen have for a costume? And why have me, the court engineer, build it? I didn’t make sense.
“A costume, my Queen?” I repeated slowly. “But why ask me to make a costume? Why not one of your seamstresses or handmaidens?”
“This is a very special costume that I have in mind,” Pasiphae explained. “And a very large one too. It must be big enough so that I can fit inside of, almost like a carriage. You can make such a thing, can’t you?”
“Yes...yes...of course,” I mumbled. “What sort of costume did you have in mind?”
But here Pasiphae’s calm demeanor suddenly became aggitated. She blinked at me several times before answering. “I...I...I am not sure!”
“What? But you must know, your majesty or otherwise you would have not come here. Just tell me what it is.”
Pasiphae whirled angrily around so that her back was to me. “I...I would prefer not to speak of it just now.”
“But if I am to create our costume I must know...”
“I told you that I prefer not to speak on it at this instant!” She snapped over her shoulder, wrapping her arms protectively around herself chest.
“Very well your Majesty,” I said, wondering how I was to build something that I could not know about. “I will start work tomorrow perhaps, when you come back and are ready to tell me what it is you want.”
“Enough!” She cried defiantly, wrapping her arms tighter about herself. “Very well, I will tell you. I want...” Pasiphae paused. She looked suspiciously about my workshop. “We are alone, aren’t we?”
I assured the Queen that we were.
“You would swear your life on it?”
“Yes, your highness.”
There was a long pause. Her back was still to me.
“Very well. I want this costume to be in the shape of....of an animal.” she whispered.
“An animal?” I repeated increduously.
“Yes,” Pasiphae whispered mournfully.
“What kind of...?”
“By the Gods, must you ask so many questions!”
“If I am to fashion this costume for you,” I explained, speaking as slowly and as soothingly as I could, “I must know what the design is to be. Without the design I cannot begin work.”
There was another long pause.
“Very well, commoner. I wish to be a...,” She whispered the last word so quietly that I could not hear it.
“A what, your majesty?”
Pasiphae whispered as softly as she could: “make me a cow.”
I was certain I had misheard her. “A cow?!”
“A cow!” Pasiphae whispered angrily.
“You? A cow?”
“YES A COW!” She shouted so loudly that I was certain that her handmaidens outside could hear her.
I still could not believe what I had just heard. “A cow?”
“Yes. A cow.” She said icily. “Must I say it again?”
I tried to summon my voice, to say something, anything, but for the first time in my life words failed me. Instead she spoke, and for the first time she sounded more like a woman than a Queen. “I’m scared Daedelas. It’s like my thoughts are not my own anymore, like someone else is telling me what to say.”
I did not know what to say. In truth I did not know what Pasiphae was saying. I watched as she walked over to my window and looked out at the night sky. For a long moment neither one of us spoke and for the first time I could see in the Queen real fear. She was no longer the cold, arrogant Queen of Crete, but a scared young woman, half my age, and realizing for the first time that she was in over her head. I did not say a word, but instead waited for her to speak.
“Do not take pity on me, Daedelas. I know what it is I do.”
“But if it bothers your majesty so much I could construct any number of things,” I began, trying to be helpful. “A graceful swan perhaps, or a regale unicorn. It doesn’t have to be a cow you know. After all a cow is a rather common beast, hardly fit for one so noble as yourself...”
“It must be a cow. It is the only way.”
“What is the only way? What do you need this cow costume for?”
“You know of the white bull?” The Queen asked longingly. “The one that roams the royal fields?”
I nodded. I had heard the rumors of it being a bull from the sea. A gift from the gods.
“A year ago, Minos kept it from the sacrificial altar in hopes of it breeding divine offspring on one of his cows. It has yet to so much as even touch a cow.”
I waited for her to continue. A long moment stretched between us. At last I spoke.
“What is it you want this costume for?”
“I should think it obvious.” Pasiphae could see the confusion in my eyes. She sighed. “Then let me make it obvious for you: I have come her to join myself to that animal.”
“Join...?”
“I want the white bull, Daedelas.”
“But, you already have it, your majesty. It is yours. You own it.”
“No, not in the way I don’t. I want it...” and here I saw Pasiphae blush. “I want it to own me.”
“My Queen...!” I gasped, horrified at what I had just heard. Pasiphae merely looked at me with sad, desperate eyes.
“I am in love Daedelas. In love the white bull. And you are going to help me.”