Ariadne, Part 2, revised (original) (raw)
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Ariadne Cretan Princess or Great Mother Goddess
Ariadne is best known as a Cretan Princess from Greek mythology, the daughter of Minos, who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur. There are various versions of the myth, which have led to different interpretations of her character, and in the different versions she is variously connected with the deities Dionysos, Artemis and Aphrodite. Various elements of the myths as well as the meaning of her name, "the most holy one", hint at a divine origin, and Ariadne has also been identified with the Minoan Great Mother Goddess. She is given a central role in the religion and ritual of Minoan revivalists. There have been various perceptions of Ariadne through time, as Cretan Princess, deified human wife of the God Dionysos, symbolic representation of the human soul, and as the Great Mother Goddess of Crete. This essay will examine the various versions of the myth of Ariadne in Greek and Roman literature, stories of her life and her death, her relationships with the hero Theseus and with the God Dionysos and identification with various Greek Goddesses, the archaeological materials from Crete, including inscriptions and seals, and then examine how she is seen in modern times by Goddess worshippers, feminists and Minoan Reconstructionists.
The tale of Ariadne, and her abandonment by Theseus, which dates back to Homer and before, is a "helper-maiden myth" with many counterparts in classical literature. If it has any basis in history, it may represent the conquest of Minoan Crete in the 15th century BCE by the warlike Mycenaeans. Ovid's sympathetic treatment of Ariadne in his Heroides was the basis for many retellings of the story from Chaucer onwards. Her outpouring of grief in his "Letter to Theseus" is a raw and powerful cry for help, from a woman abandoned unjustly by a man.
This presentation aims to research the erotic/nuptial connotations of Ariadne's role in the story of Theseus and the Athenian youths in the Cretan Labyrinth, a story of initiation to adulthood. Certain features in the iconography of Ariadne and Theseus in the two main episodes of the "Cretan adventure", the Battle with the Minotaur in Crete and the victorious dance in Delos, as treated on Athenian vases, point to abduction as an alternative form of wedding/marital union, which is regarded as the ultimate passage rite to adulthood, especially for young women. It will therefore be taken into particular account that Theseus is promoted as the emblematic ephebe hero in Late Archaic and Classical Athens. My analysis will be particularly focused on the emphatic use of crown/wreath as Ariadne's attribute, rather than mitos, exploring its peculiar symbolic meaning and its pivotal role in "conquering" the Labyrinth.
MINOAN GODDESS AND HER HIDDEN WORLD. CHAPTER 1 -GREEK PORTRAYAL OF FATE AND DESTINY
Constantinos Philippou, 2020
The subject of what has come to be described as "Minoan Goddess" is tackled by a number of scholars from several fields of study (Archaeology, Anthropology, Sociology, History of Religion, Political activism to name a few). Proposed interpretations are biased by the overexposure of selective icons and motivated by different stimuli, ignoring evidence that does not fit in the model of their preference.
Ariadne engineers Phaedra's escape from Athens and helps Theseus come up with a story condemning crooked Phaedra.