The Minotaur guards the entrance to the seventh circle of Hell, the realm of violence.
In Inferno, Dante and Virgil must pass the Minotaur before entering the seventh circle. Dante identifies him as the “infamy of Crete,” linking the monster to the Greek myth of Theseus, Ariadne, and the labyrinth. The Minotaur becomes enraged when Virgil reminds him of Theseus, giving the travelers a chance to slip past.
The seventh circle is divided into three rings for different kinds of violence: violence against neighbors, against oneself, and against God, nature, and art. The Minotaur’s placement reflects his association with savage, irrational violence and the destructive consequences of uncontrolled appetite.
The creature is sometimes confused with the centaurs encountered inside the first ring. Those centaurs patrol the river of boiling blood, Phlegethon, and shoot sinners who try to escape. The Minotaur is the threshold guardian, while the centaurs are wardens within the circle.