The bull Poseidon sent up from the sea,
When Minos had declared deceitfully,
That he would sacrifice whatever came
Up from the deep: he kept it to his shame,
And sacrificed another from his herds.
Therefore, when Heracles drove away the birds,
Eurystheus did hasten and dispatch
Him straight to Crete, and bid that he should catch
The bull. The god in anger turned it wild,
When he beheld the sacrifice defiled
By lesser stock. But Heracles’ besought
Assistance in the labour to be wrought:
But Minos said he must do it on his own,
And so Heracles captured it alone.
Afterwards he took it to Eurystheus,
Then set it free. It later crossed the Isthmus,
After it had roamed through all Arcadia,
And so it came at last to Attica.
The bull there harried all who dwelt nearby;
None could quell its might, or its strength defy.
As Eurystheus did command and will
His seventh labour did Heracles fulfill.
For in the land where Minos kept his seat,
The bull stalked not; it was no more seen in Crete.