Blue Dolphins Palace

Before describing the Palace of the Blue Dolphins, I must mention Bronze Age Crete.

During the Bronze Age, the Minoan civilization existed in Crete. We know this from the ruins, and the greatest legend of this civilization is the legend of Minos's Labyrinth. I was unaware of it myself, but I learned about it thanks to this book. According to the legend, Minos was the king of Crete. When his favorite son was killed in Athens, the Athenians were sentenced to a punishment. Of course, the fact that they accepted this punishment was largely due to disasters like famine and floods, which they believed were punishments from their gods, and the fact that their oracles warned of their punishment.

The punishment for the Athenians was that 7 girls and 7 boys from the children of the Athenian nobility would enter Minos' labyrinth in Crete and face the mythological creature the bull-man, the minotaur, and if they could, they would get out. This minotaur was born like this;

According to legend, when King Minos of Crete refused to sacrifice a beautiful bull given to him by Poseidon as a test, his wife, Pasiphae, became interested in bulls as a result of Poseidon's curse. After having intercourse with a bull, she gave birth to a son who was half bull, half man. This child was the minotaur.

According to legend, Theseus was among the last children to join and fell in love with Minos's daughter, Ariadne. The two lovers hatched a plan to destroy the labyrinth and end the punishment. Theseus, using a rope held by Ariadne, entered the labyrinth and found his way back. Having slain the Minotaur, Theseus destroyed the labyrinth on his way back, marking the end of Minoan civilization.

There's a reason I'm telling the legend of Minos's Labyrinth. If you're going to read the book, knowing about it will be helpful. I recommend doing more detailed research online.

The back cover of the book mentions that this patriarchal legend is told from a matriarchal perspective. While the book initially started slowly and bored me, it quickly captivated me, and I devoured every word like a hungry animal. I was eager to see what would happen next, and I couldn't put it down.

My favorite part of the book was how it showed that a matriarchal society, just like a patriarchal one, can be bigoted. Our protagonist, Asterios, the legendary minotaur, is torn between Minos, who desires male dominance, and Pasiphae, who wants to maintain female dominance but is unwilling to embrace innovation. He longs for a civilization where both genders have equal say. As a result, he is ostracized by both sides, essentially left alone.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves mythology and fantasy. I happened to find it secondhand and read it, but it's also available new.