Theseus persuades his father to allow him to go to Crete, with the aim of killing the Minotaur. And if he kills the creature he will signal his success by flying a white sail on the return journey.

Minos has long been associated with the tale of the Minotaur. As punishment for refusing to sacrifice a white bull to Poseidon, the sea god forced Minos’ wife to bear the beast’s child — the ...