Cretan Bull

In Greek mythology, the Cretan Bull was either the bull that carried away Europa or the bull Pasiphae fell in love with. Heracles had to capture it.

The King of Crete, Minos, gave Heracles permission to take the bull away. It had been wrecking havoc on Crete. Heracles used a lasso and rode it back to his cousin, Eurystheus. Eurystheus wanted to sacrifice bull to Hera, who hated Heracles. She refused the sacrifice because it reflected glory on Heracles.

The bull was released and wandered to Marathon, becoming known as the Marathonian Bull, which Theseus was sent to tray and catch. On the way to Marathon to capture the Bull, Theseus sought shelter from a storm in the shack owned by an ancient lady named Hecale. She swore to make a sacrifice to Zeus if Theseus was successful in capturing the bull. Theseus did capture the bull but when he returned to Hecale's hut, she was dead. Theseus built a deme in her honor.