"The House of Asterion" (original Spanish title: "") is a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. The story was first published in 1947 in the literary magazine Los Anales de Buenos Aires and republished in Borges's short story collection The Aleph in 1949. It is based on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and is told from the perspective of Asterion, the Minotaur. One of Borges's shortest stories, it was written over a period of two days and received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics and authors. The story explores themes of death, redemption, and the nature of monstrosity. Its narrative style has been referred to as a "literary puzzle", with the narrator's identity not fully revealed until the end of the story. Literary critic Gene H. Bell-Villada noted that "there is no instance of a major author so inverting the hero–monster relationship" prior to "The House of Asterion". Plot summary Asterion begins the story by suggesting to the reader that certain defamatory claims—that he is arrogant, misanthropic, or mad—are untrue. He describes his house in detail: that it has no locked doors; that it has many corridors and rooms, pools, and courtyards. He explains his hermetic ways by recounting how once, when he left his house, the commoners were so agitated that he now does not go out, believing that, as a child of a queen, his royal blood sets him apart. Asterion explains how he spends his days in solitude: running through the corridors; pretending to sleep; and sometimes pretending that "the other Asterion" has come to visit, and giving him a tour of the house. Asterion goes into detail about the infinitude of his house, comparing it to the universe. He also suggests that perhaps he created the world and has forgotten about it. Finally, he makes mention of other people: nine men who come every nine years "so that I may deliver them from all evil", and whose bodies he leaves in the empty rooms to distinguish one room from another. Asterion speculates about his own death, and eagerly awaits the coming of his "redeemer", who will take him away from his infinite house. The story ends with a line from Theseus—"Would you believe it, Ariadne? The Minotaur scarcely defended himself."—revealing that Asterion, who is indeed the Cretan Minotaur, has been slain. Background and publication history In the epilogue to his 1949