In Greek mythology, Ariadne was a Cretan princess and the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are different variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus saw Ariadne sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her. Many versions of the myth recount Dionysus throwing Ariadne's jeweled crown into the sky to create a constellation, the Corona Borealis.
Ariadne asleep at Hypnos's side. Detail of ancient fresco in Pompeii
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian: Dionysus discovers Ariadne on the shore of Naxos. The painting also depicts the constellation named after Ariadne.
Bacchus and Ariadne, Guido Reni, c. 1620
The abandoned Ariadne, ancient fresco from Pompeii, National Archaeological Museum, Naples
In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by the Minotaur. After his death,
King Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld.
Gustave Doré's illustration of King Minos for Dante Alighieri's Inferno
17th-century engraving of Scylla falling in love with Minos
A Roman mosaic from Zeugma, Commagene (now in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum) depicting Daedalus, his son Icarus, Queen Pasiphaë, and two of her female attendants
Amphora showing Theseus slaying the Minotaur, 460 BC. Ref:1837,0609.57 .
