Minos is the infernal judge of the Second Circle of Dante’s Hell and the major antagonist of the Descent. He judges souls with his tail: the number of turns indicates the circle of destination.
In combat he acts more often than the eye can follow, with telluric strikes, hurled bodies and a terrifying presence. The companions defeat him, and he falls from the precipice together with Helter, who survives, falling light as a feather.
He is distinct from the general mythological Minos: this is the cycle’s own version, with its own laws.