Ariadne and Dionysus
After helping Theseus escape the Labyrinth, Ariadne is left on Naxos and becomes associated with the god Dionysus.
The Story
Ariadne had helped Theseus survive the Labyrinth and escape from Crete.
She left the island with him.
Yet her story with Theseus did not end happily.
On the island of Naxos, Ariadne was separated from the Athenian hero.
Many later accounts say that Theseus abandoned her there, although ancient traditions disagree about exactly why this happened.
Ariadne's story then became connected with Dionysus.
The god found her on the island and took her as his wife.
What had begun as a story of abandonment therefore became a divine union.
Later traditions associated Ariadne with a magnificent crown or wreath.
This object was sometimes placed among the stars as a constellation.
Ariadne consequently occupies an unusual position in Greek mythology.
She begins as a mortal princess trapped within the violent history of the House of Minos, helps Theseus defeat the Minotaur, loses the hero she assisted, and then enters the mythology of Dionysus.
Her life extends far beyond the thread for which she is most famous.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
The Naxos tradition completes Ariadne's story beyond the Labyrinth and creates an important connection between the heroic and Dionysian cycles.
Traditions & Variations
Ancient sources disagree about Ariadne's separation from Theseus and her fate. Some traditions involve Dionysus directly in the separation, while others preserve substantially different endings.