Ariadne The Immortal Wife of the Wine-God Dionysos

Ariadne was the Immortal Wife of the Wine-God Dionysus In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos and his wife, Pasiphae. She was also the wife of the wine-god Dionysos. In that capacity, she appears in several myths about her husband—often as his helper or supporter. Her role as Queen of the Labyrinth is perhaps her most famous mythological story , although it’s not known whether she had that position before or after marrying Dionysos.

That said, we know far more about this minor goddess than many others who appear only once or twice in ancient texts. Keep reading to discover more about this lesser-known figure from Greek mythology . Who Was Ariadne in Greek Mythology? Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos and his wife, Pasiphae. She was also the wife of the wine-god Dionysos. In that capacity, she appears in several myths about her husband—often as his helper or supporter.

Her role as Queen of the Labyrinth is perhaps her most famous mythological story , although it’s not known whether she had that position before or after marrying Dionysos. That said, we know far more about this minor goddess than many others who appear only once or twice in ancient texts. Ariadne played a role in many of Dionysos’ stories. In one of them (the ending of the Lycurgus myth), she helped Dionysos to get rid of King Lycurgus of Thrace by tricking him into wearing a pair of magical shoes that made him crazy.

In another, Dionysos’ mother, Semele, asked Ariadne for help in getting pregnant. Ariadne helped her by giving her a magical veil. Ariadne’s Parents and Family We don’t know too much about Ariadne’s background, but we do know something about her family. Her father was Minos of Crete, a great king who also had a reputation for being evil (mainly because he was the man who killed Theseus, one of the most famous Greek heroes).

Ariadne’s mother was Pasiphae, a rather strange woman who was once married to a bull (or at least, she was impregnated by one). The result was the Minotaur, that strange hybrid creature who lived in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus. The Labyrinth and the Minotaur This is one of the best-known parts of the legend of Ariadne. Her father, King Minos, was the man who built the Labyrinth to hold the Minotaur, a hybrid creature that he had been told to create by the Oracle at Delphi.

This hybrid was said to have the head and upper body of a man, but the lower body of a bull. The Labyrinth was designed so that nobody could find their way out of it (and so that nobody could find their way into it). The Minotaur lived in the Labyrinth, while the people of Crete were forced to send seven youths and seven maidens to be sacrificed to it every year.