Ariadne

Ariadne (ărēăd`nē), in Greek mythology, Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë. She loved Theseus, and gave him the skein of thread that enabled him to make his way out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur. When Theseus left Crete, Ariadne went with him, but before they reached Greece, he abandoned her at Naxos. There the god Dionysus consoled and later married her. She bore him several children, including Oenopion, whom Dionysus first taught the art of winemaking. It was said that Zeus granted Ariadne immortality and that Dionysus set her bridal crown, the Corona Borealis, among the stars. Subsequent treatments include nearly 50 operas by Monteverdi, Handel, Massenet, Richard Strauss, Milhaud, Martiṅ, and others.

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Ariadne

In Greek mythology, the daughter of Pasiphaë and King Minos of Crete. She fell in love with Theseus, who had promised to slay the Minotaur confined in Minos's Labyrinth. She gave Theseus a ball of thread or glittering jewels that enabled him to mark his path and thus to escape the Labyrinth after killing the monster. Endings to the legend vary. In one, Theseus abandons Ariadne and she hangs herself; in others, he carries her to Naxos, where she either dies or marries the god Dionysus. See also Phaedra.

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Ariadne

deserted by her lover Theseus at Naxos. [Gk. Myth.: Benét 48]

See : Abandonment

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Ariadne

Minos’s daughter; gave Theseus thread by which to escape labyrinth. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 31]

See : Escape