Daedalus, Pasiphae, and a wooden cow in a Roman fresco from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii.
The painting, preserved on the north wall of the triclinium, depicts Daedalus constructing a wooden cow for Queen Pasiphae.
In myth, Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete, was cursed by Poseidon. The sea god, angered by Minos for neglecting a sacrifice, caused Pasiphae to fall in love with a wondrous white bull. The queen’s passion was so intense that she sought the help of the brilliant inventor Daedalus, creator of the labyrinth and many other marvels of ancient technology.
Daedalus built a wooden cow into which Pasiphae could enter to satisfy her passion for the animal. From this unusual union was born the Minotaur – half man, half bull, whom Daedalus later locked in a labyrinth, also of his own design.
