(cont…)

Many years later, after a war with Athens, Minos imposed a gruesome tribute: every nine years (or every year, depending on the version), Athens had to send seven young men and seven young women to be released into the Labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur.

Theseus Bravery

Theseus, the prince of Athens, volunteered to be one of the tributes, intending to kill the beast and end the suffering of his people. Before leaving, he told his father, King Aegeus, that if he were successful, he would return with white sails on his ship instead of the usual black ones.

Ariadne’s Help

In Crete, King Minos’s daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus. Knowing he could not navigate the Labyrinth alone, she gave him two things: a ball of thread and a sword.

Theseus entered the Labyrinth, unspooling the thread as he went. He found the Minotaur at its center, killed it after a fierce struggle, and followed the thread back to the entrance to lead the other Athenians to safety.

Happy return turns into tragedy

While Theseus and Ariadne fled Crete together, he famously (and controversially) abandoned her on the island of Naxos.

In his haste or grief, Theseus forgot to change the black sails to white. As his ship approached Athens, King Aegeus saw the black sails and, believing his son was dead, threw himself off a cliff into the sea. That sea is known today as the Aegean Sea, named in his honor.

Ariadne’s fate

After helping Theseus, Ariadne fled Crete with him, but their “happily ever after” was short-lived. She was left on the island of Naxos, and the reasons for this vary wildly depending on who is telling the story:

• Betrayal: Theseus simply grew tired of her or fell in love with someone else (a woman named Aegle) and abandoned Ariadne while she slept.
• Divine Intervention: The god Dionysus saw Ariadne and wanted her for himself. He either commanded Theseus to leave her in a dream or kidnapped her. Dionysus found the weeping Ariadne on the shore and married her. He was so devoted to her that when she eventually died, he took her wedding crown and threw it into the sky, creating the constellation Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown).

• Darker Version: Some myths say she was killed by the goddess Artemis on Naxos before she could find happiness with anyone.