Ariadne
Publié le 22/02/2012
Extrait du document
Greek Daughter of Minos and
Pasiphaë of Crete; sister of Androgeus, Phaedra,
and others.
Ariadne fell in love with the hero Theseus when
he came to Crete to kill the Minotaur, a monstrous
creature, half human, half bull, that lived in the tortuous
labyrinth. The labyrinth had been invented
and built by Daedalus so that no one, once inside,
could find the way out. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball
of string to trail behind him so that he could follow it
and escape. After Theseus had done battle and slain
the dreaded beast, he emerged triumphantly from the
Labyrinth and carried Ariadne off.
Some stories say that Theseus deserted Ariadne
on the island of Naxos. Other stories say that it was
the god Dionysus who commanded Theseus to leave
because he wanted the beautiful Ariadne for himself.
Scholars think that the second version of the tale is
an attempt to make the great hero Theseus less of a
scoundrel for deserting Ariadne. Still other versions
of the story say that Ariadne was slain by the goddess
Artemis; or that she was pregnant and died in childbirth.
All of the different stories seem to indicate that
part of the original story of Ariadne was lost.
In any case, it is said that Zeus gave her a crown
and set her among the stars.
Liens utiles
- Pasiphaë Greek Daughter of Helios (the Sun); wife of Minos, king of Crete; mother with Minos of Ariadne, Androgeus, and Phaedra.
- Phaedra Greek Daughter of Minos of Crete and of Pasiphaë; sister of Ariadne and Androgeus; wife of Theseus, king of Athens.