Ariadne (Thread)
heroCretan princess who saved Theseus with a ball of thread, was abandoned on Naxos, and became the immortal wife of Dionysus.
The Myth
She saved the hero's life — and he left her sleeping on a beach. Then a god married her and made her immortal. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread (or a glowing crown) that let him navigate the Labyrinth. She fled Crete with him, betraying her father Minos. On Naxos, Theseus left her. Why is debated: divine command (Dionysus wanted her), cowardice, or simple cruelty. Dionysus arrived and married her, giving her a golden crown that became the constellation Corona Borealis. She was granted immortality. The myth has two readings: a tragedy of abandonment, or a story where divine love surpasses mortal love. Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos uses the ambiguity.
Parents
Minos, Pasiphae
Symbols
Explore Further
Theseus
heroThe hero who navigated the Labyrinth, slew the Minotaur, and became the legendary king of Athens....
Theseus (Labyrinth)
heroAthenian prince who entered the Cretan Labyrinth, killed the Minotaur with Ariadne's help, then...
Ariadne
heroDaughter of King Minos who fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread that allowed him to...
Minos
heroMinos was the legendary king of Crete who ruled the first great maritime empire, commissioned the...
Minos (Judge)
heroKing of Crete who after death became one of three judges of the dead in the Underworld, deciding...
Theseus (Athenian)
heroTheseus was the great hero of Athens who slew the Minotaur, united Attica, and established Athenian...
Dionysus
godGod of wine, ritual madness, and theatrical performance. Dionysus was the only Olympian born of a...
Labyrinth
placeAn impossibly complex maze built beneath the palace of Knossos on Crete by the master craftsman...
Labyrinth (Concept)
conceptThe Labyrinth was the maze built by Daedalus beneath Knossos to contain the Minotaur — its name...
Labyrinth of Knossos
placeThe legendary maze built by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur, possibly inspired by the elaborate...
Naxos
placeNaxos was the island where Theseus abandoned Ariadne — and where Dionysus found and married her,...
Aegeus
heroKing of Athens and father of Theseus who threw himself into the sea when he saw black sails,...