Photo by Den Harrson on Unsplash
On the vase depicting Pasiphae nursing the baby Minotaur by Catherine Martin
All children are monsters sometimes
giving parents more sorrow than joy
a mother may call down her curses
on a naughty girl or difficult boy
but then she repents,
her anger spent.
Trapped in your loveless maze
poor Mino-toddler! No sweet glance
will you get from that furious queen
with half a chance
she’ll give you a shove from her lap
or worse, a slap.
Born from passion unnaturally conceived
punishment undeserved, unreprieved
your little life chafes her sore
a reminder of mad cow ardor.
You offer your sweetest “moo,”
yet no “I love you too.”
Strapping little monster man
possessing your father’s force
as you tumble a toddling course
through the labyrinth
no proper nursery
and dad’s good looks showing
most insistent with your lowing
when it’s time for milky.
She never held your baby steps dear
nor told tales or sang you to sleep
but no other nurse dared come near
so you suckle as she weeps.
Bio
Catherine Martin is a longtime Latin teacher at a college preparatory school in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who enjoys writing short fiction and sometimes poems. Her preferred subjects are quirky takes on situations drawn from daily life or, often, Greek mythology. She has also undertaken the foolhardy task of writing a novelization of the Aeneid books 1-4 which she plans to self-publish in 2026 if the gods are willing. She hopes that you like the idea of a baby minotaur as much as she does.
Author's note
Before I saw this vase, I never thought of a baby Minotaur. (The internet has thought about him a lot though; definitely give it a Google.) The idea that Pasiphae resentfully breastfed the baby Minotaur is very sad and funny to me. As a mother of two—fully human—children who nursed into their toddler years, I can relate to the scene depicted. There are times when you are so fed up with your kid, but you have to nurse them for comfort anyway. Hopefully I never looked as angry as the queen does; I fear that I did.
The vase depicts a mythological version of something we all know: children are difficult and parenting them is not always a pleasure. But there is a terrible sorrow here if you imagine with me the life of the toddler Minotaur. If he is a little guy who needs to be nursed for comfort (as depicted, he clearly could eat solid food, even if he wasn’t quite ready to devour Athenians), can’t we also envision him running around the palace playing, hugging his mom when he’s happy and crying for her when he’s not? Doesn’t he need the tender nurture that the act of breastfeeding implies?
And the further sorrow of Pasiphae: an unwilling mother who was the victim of divine possession which forced her into bestiality, forced her to carry a monster-baby, forced her to care for him. Which of them is more trapped?
Finally, who was the artist that came up with this? Did he have awful kids? A miserable wife? Unusual sympathy for monsters? Clearly, there is much more to be considered, and I hope you will!
More inspirational art can be found here.