Ariadne

Ariadne ("utterly pure," from a Cretan-Greek form for arihagne) was a fertility goddess of Crete. Her name is merely an epithet, for she was originally the "Mistress of the Labyrinth", both a prison with the dreaded Minotaur at its centre and a winding dance-ground. She was especially worshipped on Naxos, Delos, Cyprus, and in Athens. (The Romans called their comparable goddess Libera and their poets associated her with Minoan-Greek Ariadne.)

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In later Greek mythology, Ariadne's divine origins were submerged and she became known as the daughter of King Minos of Crete, who conquered Athens after his son was murdered there. The Athenians were required to sacrifice seven young men and seven maidens each year to the Minotaur. One year, the sacrificial party included Theseus, a young man who volunteered to come and kill the Minotaur. Ariadne fell in love at the first sight of him, and helped him by giving him a magic sword and a ball of thread so that he could find his way out the Minotaur's labyrinth. She ran away with Theseus after he achieved his goal, and according to Homer was punished by Artemis with death, but in Hesiod and most others accounts, he left her sleeping on Naxos, and Dionysus wedded her. With Dionysus, she was the mother of Oenopion.

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She remained faithful to Dionysus, but was later killed by Perseus at Argos (or in other myths hangs herself from a tree, like Erigone and the hanging Artemis, a Mesopotamian theme). Dionysos however descends into Hades and brings her and his mother Semele back. They then join the gods in Olympus.

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According to some scholars there were two Ariadnes, the first was the wife of Dionysus who was slain by Perseus, and later recovered by the god from Hades, while the second, who lived two generations later was the love of Theseus. Little evidence exists for this however.

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Ariadne is associated with the constellation Corona, put there in her honour by Dionysus.

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Some scholars think, due to her thread and winding associations, that she a weaving goddess such as Arachne, and they support the assertion with the mytheme of the Hanged Nymph (see weaving (mythology).)

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Crete: Crete, sometimes spelled Krete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located at approximately ....

Epithet: An epithet (Greek and Latin epitheton; literally meaning 'imposed') is a descriptive word or phrase. It has various shades of meaning when applied to linguistics, religion, and biological nomenclature....

Labyrinth: :This article is about the mazelike labyrinth. For other uses, see labyrinth (disambiguation)...

Ariadne related Images and Photos (experimental)

Bacchus Comforting Ariadne 1793	Bacchus and Ariadne 1742-7	Bacchus and Ariadne	Bacchus and Ariadne
Theseus with Ariadne and Phaedra the Daughters of King Minos 1702