Which figure in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment represents Minos?

In Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, Minos appears as a serpent-tailed judge in the lower-right section of the fresco.

Minos comes from classical Greek mythology, where he was a king of Crete who became a judge of the dead in the underworld. Michelangelo adapted this pagan figure for the crowded lower zone of the composition, placing him among the damned rather than among the saved.

The figure has a coiled serpent around his body, with the creature’s tail wrapped around him to indicate the circle of Hell assigned to his soul. The imagery reflects the influence of Dante and classical mythology on Renaissance representations of the afterlife.

Minos is sometimes confused with Charon, the ferryman shown nearby in a boat transporting the dead. The two figures have different mythological roles: Charon carries souls across the underworld river, while Minos judges and assigns them. The fresco was unveiled in 1541 on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.