ARIADNE
abandonment
Before she entered the realm of myth, Ariadne seems to have been one of
the manifestations of the moon, and was part of the star-worshipping
pantheon of the prehistoric Aegean. In this sense we are dealing with an
early form of Artemis which, like the corresponding figure of Lemnia
Hypsipyle, is associated with the mythological tradition of the
matriarchal society that gave rise to the creation of the land of the
Amazons.
Her name means immaculate, pure; in Crete, indeed, she was called
Ariagne, or Aridela, which is possibly an epithet of the goddess of
vegetation. In keeping with her origins, myth made her the daughter of
Minos and Pasiphae, and sister of Phaedra.
'And Phaedra and Procris I saw, and fair Ariadne,
the daughter of Minos of baneful mind,
whom once Theseus was fain
to bear from Crete to the hill of sacred Athens.'
Homer, Odyssey XI, 321-324 (Loeb edition)
Ariadne fell in love with Theseus, a foreigner and her father's enemy,
betraying the royal house for his sake, by using her knowledge and her
ingenuity to help the hero overcome the obstacles. She was thus directly
implicated in the murder of her brother, the Minotaur. She went with
Theseus when he escaped from Crete, but did not enjoy the gifts of love.
The victorious hero, having achieved his goal, abandoned Ariadne on
Naxos, where his ship anchored. Dionysos fell in love with the abandoned
Ariadne, and as a wedding present gave her a beautiful ornament made by
Hephaistos, the 'crown of Ariadne', which the gods later took up to the
heaven, where, the corona borealis, it shone as brightly as the stars.
Poets from Ovid to the present day have loved Ariadne, who paid for love
with betrayal, later to shine brilliantly as compensation for her
abandonment.
'Learn to live alone
in the deep darkness
until the pain itself
like a naked sword
will open the road
for your mind to follow
and in a flash you will cleave
the black heavens.'
Angelos Sikelianos, Dionysos's words to Ariadne
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