Mythological bovines

second astrological sign in the present zodiac

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (), also known as Asterion or Asterius, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, upon command of King Minos of Crete. According to tradition, every nine years the people of Athens were compelled by King Minos to choose fourteen young noble citizens (seven men and seven women) to

nymph seduced by Zeus in Greek mythology

2nd sign of Chinese zodiac

thumb|Auðumbla licks Búri free as she produces rivers of milk from her udders, an illustration from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript of the Prose Edda thumb|Audumbla milk company in Stockholm 1908. This house was also [[Alfred Nobel's birthplace.]]

In Sumerian religion, Gugalanna ( [GU4.GAL.AN.NA] or [DGU2.GAL.AN.NA]) is the first husband of Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld. His name probably originally meant "canal inspector of An" and he may be merely an alternative name for Ennugi. The son of Ereshkigal and Gugalanna is Ninazu. In ''Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, Inanna, the goddess of love, beauty, sex, and war, tells the gatekeeper Neti that she is descending to the Underworld to attend the funeral of "Gugalanna, the husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal". Some scholars consider Gugalanna to be the same figure as the B

thumb|Ushi-oni, from Bakemono no e scroll, [[Brigham Young University]] right|thumb|"Ushi-oni" (うし鬼) from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi right|thumb|upright|"Ushi-oni" (牛鬼) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Sekien Toriyama]] The , or gyūki, is a yōkai from the folklore of western Japan. The folklore describes more than one kind of ushi-oni, but the depiction of a bovine-headed monster occurs in most. Ushi-oni generally appear on beaches and attack people who walk there.

mythical beast found in European mythology and heraldry

sacred woman of supernatural origin, central to the Lakota religion

thumb|right|350px|Jason taming the Khalkotauri in a painting by Jean François de Troy Khalkotauroi (, from ), also known as the Colchis Bulls, are mythical creatures that appear in the Greek myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

thumb|Ophiotaurus Mosaic, Yorkshire Museum, York (Eboracum)In Greek mythology, the Ophiotaurus () was a creature that was part bull and part snake. Its only known appearance in an ancient work was in Ovid's Fasti. In this poem, it was the subject of a prophecy which warned that whoever burned its innards would defeat the gods. Briareus of the Hecatoncheires attempted to burn the Ophiotaurus' innards, but was foiled by birds sent by Zeus. This story was part of the larger Titanomachy that set the gods against the Titans. Various interpretations of the creature have been presented by scholars of

Gavaevodata ('''') is the Avestan language name of the primordial bovine of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology, one of Ahura Mazda's six primordial material creations and the mythological progenitor of all beneficent animal life.

thumb|The cosmic bull Kuyūthāʾ bears the [[Flat Earth, which is rimmed by Mount Qaf and stands on Bahamut. Ottoman Turkish version of The Wonders of Creation by Zakariya al-Qazwini, c.1553.]] Kuyūthāʾ (), more rarely Kiyūbān () or Kibūthān (), is the cosmic bull in medieval Muslim cosmography. It is said to carry on its back the angel who shoulders the world, and the rock platform upon which this angel stands. The Kuyūthāʾ is said to stand on the back of Bahamut, a giant fish or whale.

thumb|253x253px|Two modern imaginings of the Quinotaur

group of animals in Greek mythology

thumb|A kusarikku on the right holding a lance with an ugallu on the left on a Hittite relief from Carchemish.