Reloaded

The story of Ariadne (Ancient Greek: Ἀριάδνη) begins upon the island of Crete, for Ariadne was a daughter of King Minos, normally said to have been born to Minos’ wife Pasiphae. Thus, Ariadne would have many siblings including Androgeus, Phaedra, Catreus, Deucalion and Glaucus.

Nothing much is said about the childhood of Ariadne, for the Cretan princess only comes to prominence years later, after king Minos had subjugated the city state of Athens, with King Minos demanding tribute from Athens. This tribute came in the form of human sacrifice, in the form of 7 youths and 7 maidens - every 1, 7 or 9 years (depending on the source); sacrifices that would be offered to the Minotaur. Eventually, the Athenian prince Theseus would arrive upon Crete as one of the sacrificial youths, and for Ariadne, it was a case of “love at first sight”, as Ariadne spied the new arrival from a distance.

Ariadne would approach Theseus and promised to help the Greek hero to overcome the Minotaur in its labyrinth on the condition that Theseus would marry her, and take her back to Athens. When Theseus readily agreed to wed the beautiful Ariadne, and swore an oath to do so, the daughter of King Minos requested assistance from Daedalus, the master craftsman who had designed the Labyrinth. Following the instructions of Daedalus, Ariadne would give Theseus a ball of thread, so that by tying one end to the entrance of the maze, Theseus could always navigate back to his starting point. Ariadne also gave Theseus a sword, a sword which the hero would successfully use to kill the Minotaur in its lair.

After being successful in killing the Minotaur, Theseus would gather Ariadne and the other Athenians, and set sail from Crete. The journey from Crete to Athens was a long one and Theseus’ ship would make a stop upon the island of Naxos. On the island of Naxos, the life paths of Ariadne and Theseus separated, for Theseus would travel onwards to Athens without the Cretan princess. The reason for this separation is normally attributed to the intervention of the Greek god Dionysus; who having spied the beautiful Ariadne, decided to make the princess his wife. Thus, Dionysus came to Theseus, and told the Athenian to leave Naxos without Ariadne.

Now, it is most commonly said that Dionysus ordered or encouraged Theseus to leave Ariadne behind upon Naxos; but it was also said, by some, that Theseus left Ariadne behind through no instigation of the god. In this case Theseus might have been worried about the possible reaction of the Athenians, if he were to bring back a Cretan, and a daughter of king Minos on top of it, to be their future queen. Or perhaps, Theseus was worried about trusting a woman who was all too willing to betray her own father. Alternatively, possibly Theseus did not plan on leaving Ariadne behind, with the couple being separated because of a storm that blew Theseus’ ship away from Naxos, whilst Ariadne was on the island.

The island of Ariadne’s abandonment is normally identified as Naxos, an island also called Dia, but as the name Dia also means divine, the name is also used to depict many other Greek islands. One such island called Dia, is only a few miles off the coast of Crete, and so events in the Ariadne story are sometimes placed on this island, but equally the island of Cyprus also appears in some storytellers’ tale of Ariadne.

The most romantic versions of the story of Ariadne, tell of Dionysus marrying the princess as soon as Theseus had departed from Naxos. There are though many dark versions of what happened to Ariadne when left behind. One version tells of Ariadne hanging herself when she found out that Theseus had abandoned her, whilst others say that Ariadne was killed by the goddess Artemis, at the behest of Dionysus, perhaps because Theseus and Ariadne had made love in a grotto or cave sacred to Dionysus. Now, if Ariadne did die, then some tell of how Dionysus descended into the underworld, and brought Ariadne back to the world of the living.

Continuing with the mainstream versions, Ariadne and Dionysus did become a couple, and it was said that Zeus granted Ariadne immortality, thus the daughter of King Minos lived forever, never aging a day. Ariadne and Dionysus would wed, and as was the norm, the bride received gifts from the other deities, amongst the most notable of these gifts was the Crown of Ariadne, a gift from Aphrodite and the Horai (aka, Horae). The likeness of the crown would be placed amongst the stars as the constellation Corona.

After marrying Dionysus, she was usually depicted in the presence of her husband, either with him upon Mount Olympus, or present at the ritualistic events associated with the god. Ariadne would become mother to Oenopion, Staphylus, Ceramus, Peparethus, and Thoas, each of whom was primarily thought of as sons of Dionysus; although Oenopion and Staphylus were occasionally named as sons of Theseus and Ariadne. Truth be told, depending on the source, all the above, in regards to their children changes: like, the number of them, their names, having only children with Dionysus etc.

Oenopion would become king of Chios, a land given to him by his mother’s uncle, Rhadamanthys; Oenopion is famed for having blinded Orion and making wine (a close link with Dionysus).

Staphylus would live on Naxos but also benefited from the patronage of Rhadamanthys, for the son of Ariadne became one of Rhadamanthys’ generals.

Ceramus would become lord of one of the districts of Athens.

Peparethus would become king of the island that would then bear his name; which is the ancient name of the famous Greek island, called: Skopelos.

Thoas would also receive land from Rhadamanthys, for he was given the island of Lemnos over which Thoas would rule, before subsequently becoming the king of Tauris, where he was encountered by Orestes.