The cannibal child of the King of Crete, the Minotaur, was hidden in the palace's underground, in the Labyrinth. There, he was fed with young Athenians.

Theseus learned of this and came to kill him, to save his homeland from disaster. He was a well-known hero because, before this, he had fought against the murderer Periphetes in Epidaurus, with Sinis at the Isthmus, and with Sciron at the Evil Cliff.