Definition of "Minos"

Minos

/ˈmaɪnɒs/

proper noun
1. (Greek mythology) The mythological first king of Crete, a son of Zeus by Europa, who imprisoned the Minotaur in a labyrinth and after death was made a judge of the dead in Hades; a putative corresponding historical person.
  Quotations
  At length we arrived at the gate of Elysium. Here was a prodigious crowd of spirits waiting for admittance, some of whom were admitted, and some were rejected; for all were strictly examined by the porter, whom I soon discovered to be the celebrated judge Minos.
  1749, Henry Fielding, “A Journey from this World to the Next”, in Thomas Roscoe, editor, The Works of Henry Fielding: Complete in One Volume, Henry G. Bohn, published 1851, page 602
  That the Cyclades were subject to Minos, is confirmed by numerous traces; and the general belief of the ancients was, that he founded colonies even in Lemnos and Thrace.
  1856, Leonhard Schmitz, Connop Thirlwall, A History of Greece From the Earliest Times to the Destruction of Corinth, 4th edition, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, page 37
  Whether or not Minos really existed and ruled at Knossos, the ruins on Kephala hill today are known by the name Evans gave them.
  2003, Chris Scarre, Rebecca Stefoff, The Palace of Minos at Knossos, Oxford University Press, page 38