Topical Guide 649

Mark Dorset

Books: Fictional: Ancient Myths for Modern Youth
Sex: Kinky: Bestiality: Pasiphaë and the Bull

What a Piece of Work I Am: Chapter 3:

     “You came home from school one day with that book that generations of Babbington’s youth used in Mrs. Fendreffer’s class—”
     “—the one with the indigo cover that made your hands turn blue—”
     “—Ancient Myths for Modern Youth—” […]
     “ ‘Pasiphaë had another kid, Ma—a monster—half man and half bull! […] Ma, stop and think about it for a minute. How do you suppose that happened? How do you suppose she got this monster child? Think about it.’ ”
     “ ‘Oh, my God!’ ”
     “ ‘It’s not a pretty picture, is it?’ ”
     “ ‘I see what you mean.’ ”
     “ ‘Well, then you see—’ ”
     “ ‘It is kind of interesting, though—I mean, how do you suppose she—and how would he—or it—I mean—wow!’ ”

Wikipedia, “Pasiphaë”:

     Minos was required to sacrifice “the fairest bull born in its herd” to Poseidon each year. One year, an extremely beautiful bull was born, Minos refused to sacrifice this bull, and sacrificed another, inferior bull instead. As punishment, Poseidon cursed his wife Pasiphaë to experience lust for the white, splendid bull.
Ultimately, Pasiphaë went to Daedalus and asked him to help her mate with the bull. Daedalus then created a hollow wooden cow covered with real cow-skin, so realistic that it fooled the Cretan Bull. Pasiphaë climbed into the structure, allowing the bull to mate with her. Pasiphaë fell pregnant and gave birth to a half-human half-bull creature that fed solely on human flesh. The child was named Asterius, after the previous king, but was commonly called the Minotaur (“the bull of Minos”).

Daedalus presents the artificial cow to Pasiphaë: Roman fresco in the House of the Vettii, Pompeii, 1st century CE, via Wikipedia

Pasiphae entering the hollow cow by Giulio Romano (15th century), via Wikipedia

[to be continued]

I prepared this Topical Guide entry during the morning of Wednesday, January 10, 2024, a blustery morning in New York, following 24 hours or more of relentless rain. I provided a silver lining by playing my rain mix. From it, I offer you the Prisonaires:

Wikipedia:

The Prisonaires were an American doo-wop group, whose hit “Just Walkin’ in the Rain” was released on Sun Records in 1953, while the group was incarcerated in the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville. The group was led by Johnny Bragg (born February 26, 1925) who had been a penitentiary inmate since 1943. When at the age of 17, he was convicted of six charges of rape, which were later recanted or considered falsified.

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