:''This article is about the figure in Greek mythology.  For other uses, see [[Asterion (disambiguation)]]''

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Asterion''' ("ruler of the stars"), called "king" of [[Crete]], was the consort of [[Europa (mythical)|Europa]] and stepfather of her sons by [[Zeus]], who had to assume the form of the [[Bull (mythology)|Cretan bull of the sun]] to accomplish his role: [[Minos]] the just king in Crete, [[Rhadamanthus]], presiding over the [[Hesperides|Garden of the Hesperides]] or in the [[Underworld]] and [[Sarpedon]], likewise a judge in the Afterlife.  When he died, Asterion gave his kingdom to Minos, who promptly "banished" his brothers. His Roman name is '''Asterius'''.

According to [[Karl Kerenyi]] and other scholars, Asterion, the star at the center of the [[labyrinth]] on Cretan coins, was in fact the [[Minotaur]] (Kerenyi 1951 p 111).

There is a short tale written by [[Jorge Luis Borges]] ("[[The House of Asterion]]") about the subject.

==References==
*[[Karl Kerenyi]], 1951. ''The Gods of the Greeks''.
*[[Sara Douglass]], 2002-6. ''The [[Troy Game]]'' Series. (Asterion referred to as the name of the [[Minotaur]])

[[Category:Greek mythological people]]

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