Minos (mī´nŏs, –nəs), in Greek mythology, king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. He was the husband of Pasiphaë, who bore him Androgeus, Glaucus, Ariadne, and Phaedra. Because Minos failed to sacrifice a beautiful white bull to Poseidon, the god caused Pasiphaë to conceive a lustful passion for the animal, by whom she bore the Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The craftsman Daedalus constructed the labyrinth in which the monster was confined. When King Aegeus of Athens killed Androgeus, Minos vengefully forced Athens to pay him an annual tribute of seven youths and seven maidens. These he shut up inside the labyrinth, where they either starved or were devoured. Finally Theseus joined a group of the victims and killed the Minotaur. Minos became the most prosperous king of the Mediterranean area, renowned as much for his justness as his power. Along with Aeacus andRhadamanthus, he became one of the three judges of Hades. Minos was presumably the name or title of an ancient Cretan king. The Minoan civilization is named for him.
In the Greek mythology King Minos was the son of Zeus, the god of the storm and cloud, and Europa. He himself had fathered several sons and prominent among them were Adriadne, Androgeus and Phaedra.
It is a matter of debate among the scholars that the word 'Minos' was a name or only a title, because you can find several ancient kings in different civilisations with almost the same name. We can cite the examples of Menes from Egypt, Manu from India and Mannus from Germany; all these kings resemble with King Minos in name and all of them are considered as legendary in their respective countries.