Although our country, externally, is identified with bullfighting, paella, sun and flamenco, there is something that is not entirely true. It is true that bullfights are typical of our culture and tradition, but the first bullfighter was not Hispanic... it was the Greek Theseus.
At the death of the king of Crete, Asterion, his sons disputed the throne. The eldest son, Minos , he said to have the favor of the gods. He begged Poseidon to raise a bull from the sea, as a show of support for his "candidacy", which he would then sacrifice as thanks. Indeed, the bull came out of the sea and Minos was named king but... the bull was a magnificent specimen and he left it as a stallion. Poseidon's fury fell on Minos and the bull "seduced" his wife, Pasiphae . Fruit of this unnatural love was born the Minotaur (body of a man and head of a bull) . Minos, ashamed, ordered Daedalus to build a palace – which was really a labyrinth – where to lock up the monster.
The tribute that Crete demanded from Athens was the payment of 7 young men and 7 maidens (every nine years) who served to satisfy the needs of the Minotaur. The Greek Theseus volunteered with the promise of Minos that if he succeeded in killing the Minotaur he would be free. The king played with an advantage, even in the unlikely event of killing the bull, there was still a way out of the labyrinth.
When Theseus landed on Crete, Minos' daughter Ariadne fell in love with the Greek hero. Aware of the difficulty of getting out of the labyrinth, she handed over a ball of thread to find the way out with the Greek's wedding promise. Theseus entered the labyrinth and with his hands managed to kill the Minotaur, managed to get out of the labyrinth and fled from Crete with Ariadne.
It is shown that the first bullfighter was the Greek Theseus.