Ariadne · the thread through the turning house
The labyrinth is built to defeat anyone trying to find a way out. Ariadne gives Theseus the thread that can lead him back through its turnings.
Context
In Ovid’s account, a way through the maze depends on a young woman’s help. The thread answers a building designed to confuse the memory.
Source
Original Gajimaru summary, based on Metamorphoses, Metamorphoses VIII, 152–182. Henry Thomas Riley (1851).
Read the primary text ↗Artwork & credits
Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523)
Titian · National Gallery, London · Wikimedia Commons
Ariadne is at the left. This later episode includes classical adult nudity and severed animal remains in Bacchus’s procession.
Public domain. Unmodified downloaded image, scaled to fit. The full downloaded composition is retained.
Historical artwork. See artwork credits above.
The Night Parade
50 beings
ZeusΖεύς · father of gods and men
AthenaἈθηνᾶ · the grey-eyed
PoseidonΠοσειδῶν · the earth-shaker
CirceΚίρκη · the enchantress
MedusaΜέδουσα · the Gorgon
The SirensΣειρῆνες · singers of the rocks
PolyphemusΠολύφημος · the one-eyed
The MinotaurΜινώταυρος · the bull of the maze
PersephoneΠερσεφόνη · queen of the dead
Psyche & ErosΨυχή · the soul and love
ApolloἈπόλλων · the far-shooter
ArtemisἌρτεμις · the huntress
AphroditeἈφροδίτη · foam-born
HermesἙρμῆς · the guide of souls
Hadesᾍδης · lord of the dead
DionysusΔιόνυσος · the twice-born
HephaestusἭφαιστος · the smith of the gods
PrometheusΠρομηθεύς · the fire-bringer
HeraclesἩρακλῆς · the strongest of men
PerseusΠερσεύς · the Gorgon-slayer
TheseusΘησεύς · the hero of Athens
OrpheusὈρφεύς · the singer
CerberusΚέρβερος · the hound of Hades
PegasusΠήγασος · the winged horse
The HydraὝδρα · the many-headed
The ChimeraΧίμαιρα · the fire-breather
The SphinxΣφίγξ · the riddler
The FatesΜοῖραι · the three spinners
The FuriesἘρινύες · the avengers
CharonΧάρων · ferryman of the dead
AchillesἈχιλλεύς · the greatest of the Greeks
OdysseusὈδυσσεύς · the man of many turns
IcarusἼκαρος · the boy who flew too high
ChironΧείρων · the wise centaur
Demeter · the mother who withheld the harvest
Hecate · the torch beside the searcher
Pan · the music in the mountain paths
Selene · the brightness travelling through night
Iris · the bearer of the binding water
Triton · the call that turns the watersAriadne · the thread through the turning house
Atalanta · the runner no suitor could pass
Andromeda · the woman on the sea rock
Europa · the shore disappearing behind her
Hestia · the place kept beside the hearth
Nike · victory at the side of Zeus
Narcissus · the face beyond the water
Echo · the voice that can only answer
Phaethon · the borrowed reins of the sun