The Athenians had to pay tribute to Minos, ruler of Crete. Now Minos' wife had been naughty, not her fault entirely. Here goes:
One day Minos was walking with his lovely wife Pasiphae on the sea-shore when out of the waves came a truly splendid, snow-white bull.
Poseidon, king of the seas ὁ τῆς θαλάττης βασιλεύς had sent him.
Not for keeps, but for Minos to sacrifice in his (Poseidon's) honour. Minos thought to himself: "My, my, such a lovely animal, I'd rather keep that one for myself." So he cheated a little bit, thinking he'd be safe. He is a son of Zeus after all (with Europa as his mother, another story involving a bull, in disguise this time). Poseidon didn't like that sort of attitude and decided to punish him appropriately. He made Pasiphae fall madly in love with that fabulous bull. Outcome: a strapping baby-boy, half human, half bull, the Minotaur, who loved humans so much he could eat them - and did. And where does he get his human flesh from? Tribute to be paid by the Athenians! Every year 7 adolescent boys and 7 young maidens are sent over from Athens and lead into the labyrinth for the monster to feast upon. Will Theseus and his companions come out alive, or will they suffer the same fate as their predecessors?

In this first part we'll learn about Ariadne (Minos' daughter) and the part that love can play in life's game. Minos is decidedly not very lucky with his women.