Pasiphaë

[puh-sif-uh-ee]

noun

1. Classical Mythology.,  the wife of Minos, mother of Ariadne, and mother of the Minotaur by the Cretan bull.

2. Astronomy.,  a small moon of the planet Jupiter.

Pasiphaë

¹

/ pəˈsɪfɪiː /

noun

1. Greek myth the wife of Minos and mother (by a bull) of the Minotaur

Pasiphaë

²

/ pəˈsɪfɪiː /

noun

1. astronomy a small outer satellite of the planet Jupiter

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pasiphaë¹

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

The frescoes depicting mythological scenes, one of Venus and Mars and one of Daedalus and Pasiphaë, along with paintings of Dionysian themes, were said to have been common features in the homes of rich people in Herculaneum.

Read more on The Guardian

Her family members, who treat her with cruelty or indifference, become infamous in their own right: Her sister Pasiphae marries King Minos and gives birth to the Minotaur, a bullheaded, man-eating monster; while her brother Aeetes grows up to rule Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece, and fathers Medea, who later murders her children.

Read more on New York Times

In 1800, Benjamin Mosley of the Royal College of Physicians alluded to the story of the Minotaur—offspring of Queen Pasiphae and a Cretan Bull— warning “the human character may undergo strange mutations” thanks to exposure to cowpox.

Read more on Slate

Especially excellent is “Swinburne’s Pasiphae,” a video by Mary Reid Kelley replete with her signature hand-drawn style and stagy recitation.

Read more on New York Times

One instance is his work for a modern retelling by Henry de Montherlant of the myth of Pasiphaë.

Read more on New York Times