The half-man, half-bull monster that lived in the Labyrinth of Crete was the Minotaur.
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was born to Pasiphaë, wife of King Minos, after she was enchanted to desire a sacred bull. The creature was commonly depicted with a human body and the head and tail of a bull. Its name means “Bull of Minos,” while some ancient sources call it Asterion or Asterius.
King Minos ordered the architect Daedalus to build the Labyrinth near Knossos to contain the monster. Athens was forced to send young people as tribute, until the Athenian hero Theseus volunteered to enter the maze. Ariadne, Minos’s daughter, gave Theseus a ball of thread so he could find his way back after killing the Minotaur.
The Minotaur is often confused with a centaur, but their body plans differ: a Minotaur is human with a bull’s head, while a centaur is human above the waist and equine below. Archaeologists found the palace at Knossos, but no literal Labyrinth has been identified.