Ariadne at Naxos

Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, fell in love with Theseus, son of the King of Athens, who was sent to Crete to kill the legendary minotaur, to whom Athenian youths were regularly sacrificed. She effected his escape from the Labyrinth by passing him a ball of string so that he could retrace his steps. They sailed away together to Naxos, but Theseus soon tired of Ariadne, and abandoned her. The gods punished Theseus by causing him to forget to change the black sails of his ship to white. On seeing the black ship return his father flung himself from the cliffs fearing his son dead. Ariadne remained on the island, mourning the loss of her lover until consoled by Bacchus, who flung her crown into the heavens to form a constellation of stars, and married her.

We are grateful to both Alexander Robertson and Christine Harper for their help in preparing this entry.