Ariadne and the God Dionysus
Theseus Stop 2 of 2
In brief
- After helping Theseus escape the labyrinth, Ariadne fled Crete with him, only to be abandoned, asleep, on the island of Naxos.
- The god Dionysus found her weeping on the shore and fell in love with her, offering her immortality instead of the mortal life Theseus had taken from her.
- Ariadne became Dionysus's wife, and her bridal crown was placed among the stars as the constellation Corona Borealis.
Ariadne had betrayed her own father, King Minos, to save Theseus, giving him the thread that let him escape the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur. She fled Crete at his side, believing he intended to marry her.
Their ship put in at the island of Naxos, and while Ariadne slept on the shore, Theseus sailed on without her. Ancient sources disagree on why: some say he simply abandoned her, others that a god commanded him to leave her behind for a different fate entirely.
That fate arrived not long after: Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, found Ariadne alone and grieving on the beach. Rather than pity her, he fell in love with her, and offered what Theseus never could: a place among the immortals.
Ariadne married Dionysus and was made a goddess in her own right. At their wedding, Dionysus took the golden crown she wore and threw it into the night sky, where it still burns today as the constellation Corona Borealis, the "Northern Crown."
