Mike Wolfe, age 16, of Baton Rouge, LA for his question:

WHO WAS MINOTAUR?

Minotaur was a mythical monster with a head of a bull and the body of a man. He was kept in the Labyrinth, a mazelike building from which no one could escape. He was kept under control by King Minos of Crete.

Minos sacrificed seven Athenian youths and seven Athenian maidens to it each year, according to the legend.

Theseus of Athens finally killed the Minotaur and escaped from the Labyrinth by following a thread given to him by Minos' daughter, Ariadne. He took Ariadne with him, but later he deserted her.

The palace excavated at Knossos in Crete has so many passageways that it resembled the legendary Labyrinth. Paintings and mosaics found there show bulls and bull baiting games.