Ariadne

ar-i-ad'ne, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Minos, king of Crete. The story runs that she fell in love with Theseus who had come from Athens to destroy the Minotaur. Ariadne gave Theseus a sword with which to slay the Minotaur, and a silken thread as a clue to guide him out of the labyrinth when the monster should be killed. Theseus was successful in his undertaking, and the two fled from Crete. Theseus, however, was warned by Minerva that Ariadne was not to be his wife. He therefore abandoned her while sleeping on the island of Naxos. Ariadne awoke to find herself deserted. While bewailing her sorry fate, she was found by the god Bacchus, who straightway made her his wife. He gave her a crown studded with gems as a wedding gift. On her death, the god threw this crown into the sky, where the gems still shine in a constellation known as the Northern Crown. Ariadne sleeping on the isle of Naxos furnishes the subject for one of the finest pieces of sculpture in Italy. It is spoken of as the Ariadne of the Vatican. The scene where Ariadne holds the thread to guide Theseus out of the labyrinth appears on a very early vase preserved in the British Museum.