Ariadne

Ariadne is a figure in Greek mythology, best known as the daughter of King Minos of Crete and his wife Pasiphae. In the most familiar episode, she comes to aid Theseus, the Athenian hero, by giving him a ball of thread (a clew) to unravel as he enters the Labyrinth. With the thread, Theseus is able to find his way to the Minotaur, slay the beast, and return by retracing his steps.

After the victory, Theseus sails away with Ariadne, promising to take her to Athens. In many versions, however, he abandons her on the island of Naxos, leaving her to the gods. In some traditions, the god Dionysus (Bacchus) finds Ariadne on Naxos and marries her; she becomes a consort of the god and, in later myth, is sometimes granted immortality. The varies accounts reflect differences between Greek storytelling and later Roman adaptations, and Ariadne’s fate is often left enigmatic.

Etymology of the name is uncertain. Ariadne appears in classical literature and art, where she is associated with themes of ingenuity, loyalty, and abandoned beauty. Her story has been elaborated by later writers and composers and has influenced visual art as well as stage and film works. Notable depictions include Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne and John William Waterhouse’s painting Ariadne. In modern times, the myth has been revisited in operas such as Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, which explores themes of performance, illusion, and liberation.