Other versions of the myth spoke of Ariadne as
originally
in love
with Theseus.
with Theseus.
Ovid - 1934 - Metamorphoses in European Culture - v2
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? KING MINOS AND SCYLLA
in a still more unscrupulous manner. Pasiphae was a fit consort for
Minos, yet even she had reason to prefer a bull. After this innovation
Ovid returned to ideas of the Cirit and the Aeneid. Vergil had imagined
Scylla declaring that Minos heard her reproaches. Ovid showed her more
doubtful. Dido had announced that, however unwelcome, she still would
accompany Aeneas. Ovid showed Scylla ending with a similar threat.
Vergil had made the speeches of Dido dignified and tragic. Ovid let
Scylla descend to ineffectual and scurrilous scolding. Probably he real-
ized that he was making a less favorable impression and thought it in
harmony with Scylla's abandoned character.
While Scylla railed, the ships were launched and were rowed away
to some distance. Scylla referred to them as hardly in sight of her native
land. Resolved not to be left behind, she plunged into the water, swam
with the strength of despair, and overtook the ship of Minos. It was a
striking idea, in keeping with her reckless character, but Ovid suggested
too great a distance. Following Vergil, he spoke of her as reaching a
position high on the stern. Presumably she caught hold of the rudder
and climbed to a relatively secure place well above the sea.
Ovid altered Vergil's conclusion. Nisus, he said, was metamor-
phosed first. On tawny wings he flew after the ship, threatening Scylla
with his crooked beak. In terror she let go and fell towards the water.
The air sustained her, for she had become the ciris. Ovid did not describe
the process and appropriately gave no hint that her transformation was
an honor.
The Manual had noted that, after taking Megara, Minos proceeded
against Athens. This would have been natural, for his quarrel was chiefly
with the Athenians. But Ovid, who was not interested in the war, fol-
lowed Vergil and showed him returning at once to Crete.
Ovid's account of Scylla was the best which survived until later
times. It attracted several poets of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Petrarch in the Triumph of Love spoke of seeing the cruel daughter of
Nisus flee on wings. Chaucer in The Parliament of Fowls saw her story
pictured on the walls of the temple of Venus. In The Legend of Good
Women, Chaucer retold the tale briefly and in a manner as favorable as
possible to Scylla. He did not speak of her transformation. But in the
Troilus he implied that she became a lark, an idea rather common dur-
ing modern times. Camoens referred to Teresa as even more culpable
than Scylla. Giles Fletcher in Christ's Victory, likened Nisus to Samson,
because his strength lay in his hair.
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
The Minotaur and Ariadne
While recording the arrival of Minos in Crete, Ovid spoke of the
island as home of the Curetes. This was the usual tradition but contrary
to his previous statement that Curetes were natives of Phrygia (see
Salmacis, Bk. 4). After noting that Minos adorned his palace with the
spoils of Megara, Ovid resumed the subject of Pasiphae and her passion
for a bull.
The story, like those of Io and Europa, appears to have originated
with Semitic worship of deities in the form of cattle. The Sun God had
a daughter named Pasiphae (All Light), whom Pausanias identified with
the Moon. She loved a god in the form of a bull, and their offspring was
a deity like Moloch or Baal, who was represented by the figure of a man
with a bull's head.
The Greeks ordinarily altered this idea radically. They thought of
Pasiphae as a mortal woman, wife of Minos of Crete, and of her lover as
only an extraordinarily beautiful animal. In this form the myth re-
sembled a Babylonian tale of Queen Semiramis and a stallion. The
Greeks explained the queen's abnormal passion as punishment by an of-
fended deity. The usual account was as follows. When Minos tried to
succeed his stepfather as ruler of Crete, his claim was disputed. Minos
declared that he was entitled to rule because he enjoyed the favor of the
gods. To demonstrate this, he prayed that Neptune might send him a
bull and promised to offer it as a sacrifice. But, when the animal ap-
peared, Minos delighted so much in its beauty that he kept it and sac-
rificed a different bull. Neptune punished him by causing Pasiphae to
lust for the animal.
This tale seems to have been known before the time of the Odyssey,
but we find it recorded first in a passage that survives from the Cretans
of Euripides. The Manual gave the story in full, noting how the mon-
strous offspring usually was called the Minotaur (Bull of Minos). *
Although the Greeks ordinarily were impressed by the horror of
Pasiphae's conduct, there was room for sympathy. Euripides in his
Cretans showed her pointing out that she was the innocent victim of a
curse, and in his Hippolytus, he spoke of her as ill-starred in love. Vergil
*To the Alexandrian poet, Theodorus, the fate of Pasiphae may have suggested
that of Polyphonte, who offended Venus and was punished with lust for a bear.
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
carried the idea further. Greek authors had implied that the bull did not
respond easily to courtship by a human being. Vergil in the Sixth
Eclogue described Pasiphae as wandering over mountains in search of
the animal, praying the nymphs to bring him near, while he lay at ease
in a meadow or courted some heifer. In the Aeneid, Vergil mentioned
Pasiphae as among the unhappy lovers of Hades. Ovid in his amatory
poems followed Vergil's example, but was inclined to stress humorous
aspects of the affair. In the Art of Love he treated the story at some
length. Pasiphae, he said, courted the animal, despite his indifference to
the allurement of dress, riches, and personal ornament. She envied the
happier fate of Io and Europa and jealously sent her cow rivals to the
plow or the altar. Vergil spoke of the bull as white, an idea repeated by
Propertius and Ovid.
According to Greek tradition, Pasiphae was able to attract the
animal only by a ruse. She obtained the help of Daedalus, an Athenian
who had taken refuge in Crete. He had invented the art of sculpture,
and he excelled in mechanical contrivances. To aid Pasiphae, Daedalus
constructed the wooden image of a cow, put it on wheels, covered it with
the skin of a real cow, and arranged for the queen to be hidden inside.
He then conveyed the image to a meadow where the bull was in the habit
of coming to feed. The animal mistook the image for a cow. This idea
was recorded in the Manual and became the accepted version. A Pom-
peiian Mural showed Pasiphae obtaining the aid of Daedalus. Vergil in
the Aeneid spoke of the myth as carved by Daedalus himself on the
temple at Cumae. Propertius noted the wooden image floating on the
Infernal River as a horrible example of lust.
A few Greek authors rejected the myth as incredible. They sup-
posed either that Pasiphae had played false with a man whose name was
Bull (Taurus) or that the Minotaur was a man of that name. In the
Tristia, Ovid himself referred to the Minotaur as something clearly past
belief.
In the Metamorphoses, Ovid already had shown Scylla alluding to
the device of the wooden cow. He now mentioned the birth of the Mino-
taur and the scandal which it occasioned in Crete.
With the story of Pasiphae and the Minotaur, Greek tradition as-
sociated that of Ariadne. She was worshipped in the Aegean isles as a
goddess, who personified the fertility of nature and who often was iden-
tified with Venus. Festivals in her honor included a peculiar form of
dance. In many countries of Europe, men have enjoyed performances
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
depending on an intricate figure. They first marked out a large area on
the ground, which had the form of a circle, a square, or an octagon. In
the middle of this area they left an open space. Then between the outer
edge and the middle they indicated by turf, stones, or other means an
elaborate figure, and this figure included a route, which, if it was fol-
lowed accurately, would lead the performer by a devious way from the
outside of the area to the middle and back again. Often the figure con-
sisted merely of a single path, which described a very long, circuitous
route. There was no doubt where this route lay. With time and patience
any one could follow the entire course and reach the proper destination.
But sometimes the figure included many paths, criss-crossing in a net-
work. Unless the performer understood the pattern, he continually was
liable to take a wrong path and wander indefinitely. In records of an
elaborate figure, men usually failed to distinguish between a pattern
which was merely elaborate and a pattern which was confusing. Draw-
ings were apt to represent a particular figure as a single, devious line;
written accounts were apt to speak of the same figure as a network which
was bewildering.
The route from the outside of the area to the middle might be traced
by a single performer but usually was traced by a group of persons fol-
lowing a leader. In modern Finland and Lapland the performance be-
came merely a children's game. In earlier times it had a solemn, and
often a religious character. Such were the Trojan Games described by
Vergil in the Aeneid, when boys on horseback followed an elaborate
course to commemorate the dead Anchises. Such were those pilgrimages
called the Road to Jerusalem or the Journey to Calvary, when medieval
penitents on their knees followed the devious route marked by colored
tiles on the floor of some French cathedral. And such was the ancient
Greek performance known as Ariadne's dance.
The Iliad spoke of this dance as similar to one which Vulcan carved
on the shield of Achilles. Coins of Cnossus in Crete represented it by an
elaborate figure. Various accounts were given of its origin. The Iliad
spoke of Daedalus as inventing the dance for Ariadne; Propertius im-
plied that she herself invented it to celebrate her marriage; Plutarch
said that Theseus invented it in commemoration of her.
Use of an elaborate figure took other forms. During modern times
it often appeared in the plan of some formal garden. The central area
was marked by a pavilion, and the paths were set off from one another
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
by tall hedges. Of such gardens the most celebrated were those of Louis
Fourteenth at Versailles and William the Third at Hampton Court.
The elaborate design appeared much earlier in architecture. About
the year 2300 B. C. an Egyptian king, Amenenhat Third, constructed a
building of this kind near his capitol, Arsinoe, in the oasis of Fayum.
It was called a labyrinth and gave its name not only to similar buildings
of later times but also to the modern gardens of intricate design. Herod-
otus, who visited the Egyptian labyrinth, was impressed with its size and
beauty. It was built, he said, in two stories, the lower story below the
surface of the ground. There were twelve courts, each of them sur-
rounded with marble pillars; and there were three thousand rooms, the
walls of which were adorned with sculpture. The lower story included
burial vaults for the kings and their sacred crocodiles.
When the prehistoric Greeks heard by report of this labyrinth,
they imagined that Daedalus had invented a similar building for King
Minos. This idea may have been suggested to explain ruins of the Cretan
palace at Cnossus, a building very elaborate compared with the simple
Greek residences of later times. The Egyptian labyrinth had been a
mausoleum, the Cretan was said to have been a prison. Minos desired to
lessen the scandal of Pasiphae by keeping the Minotaur not only invis-
ible but inaccessible.
At least as early as the sixth century B. C. this idea had become
part of the traditional story. It was implied first in a vase painting of
this period and then in the account of Pherecydes. Sophocles mentioned
the labyrinth in his Daedalus, and the Manual gave a brief description
of it. The subject appeared in fifth century vase paintings, in works of
art at Pompeii, and in several mosaics of Roman times. Coins of Cnossus,
during its later period, altered with the fashion. They called their devi-
ous figure the labyrinth and added near by an object called the Mino-
taur. Apparently they showed the monster before he was immured in his
new residence. Even the performance of Ariadne's dance and the Trojan
Games was supposed to imitate the notorious Cretan prison.
As early as the fifth century B. C. Greek artists associated the pe-
culiar form of the labyrinth with that of the Maeander River. This river,
which formed the boundary between Lydia and Caria, was notorious for
its crooked course. It proceeded by a series of devious windings, and
apparently it also divided itself into many streams, which were con-
nected at various points until the course was even bewildering. The name
Maeander became proverbial and was applied to certain elaborate dec-
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
orative patterns, which architects used for ornamenting buildings and
weavers used for adorning cloaks. A fifth century vase painting showed
a doorway inscribed with this pattern to represent the Cretan labyrinth.
Following the Manual, Ovid noted that King Minos tried to lessen
the scandal of the Minotaur's origin by having Daedalus imprison the
creature in the labyrinth. Following the tradition of Greek art, he de-
scribed the building by comparing it at some length to the course of the
Maeander River. It is probable that Ovid had seen the stream during
his travels and that he added a few brilliant touches from personal obser-
vation. He described the labyrinth as so confusing that Daedalus him-
self could hardly find the way out.
The goddess Ariadne was supposed to have been at first a mortal
woman, a beautiful daughter of Minos and Pasiphae. She was loved by
Bacchus, the male god of fertility. According to the Theogony, Bacchus
married the fair haired Ariadne and made her ageless and immortal. But
usually it was supposed that the course of true love did not run smooth.
In one version of the myth, Ariadne deserted Bacchus to elope with The-
seus. Bacchus warned Diana of her infidelity. The goddess overtook the
fugitives at an island called Dia and shot Ariadne dead. The Odyssey,
alluding to this account, observed that Ulysses recognized Ariadne's
ghost in the world of shades. This may have been consistent with the
idea that she became a goddess, for Ulysses observed in the same region
the shade of the deified Hercules. Apparently following the Homeric
version, the early Christian poet Prudentius stigmatized Ariadne as a
beautiful harlot. According to the Odyssey, the island of Dia was an
uninhabited isle only a few miles from the shores of Crete. But after-
wards, it often was identified with the large Aegean island of Naxos.
Other versions of the myth spoke of Ariadne as originally in love
with Theseus. He promised to marry her and take her to Athens. The
lovers interrupted their voyage to rest on the island of Dia. Here, ac-
cording to the Manual, Bacchus fell in love with Ariadne and forcibly
carried her away. But usually it was supposed that Theseus deserted
her and that later Bacchus arrived and comforted her with a better hus-
band. In the worship of Ariadne at Naxos this event was commemorated
with a festival symbolizing first the mourning of the deserted Ariadne
and then the joy of Ariadne as bride of the god. The festival also sym-
bolized nature, first in winter and then in spring.
Various reasons were given for the perfidy of Theseus. The Cata-
logues declared that he deserted Ariadne for a sea nymph called Aegle.
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
Others thought that the Cretan princess would not have been acceptable
to Aegeus or to the people of Athens. Often no reason was given or even
implied. Usually it was supposed that, while Ariadne lay asleep near
the shore of the island, Theseus departed quietly to his ship and sailed
away. The idea, although improbable, proved congenial both to artists
and to poets. Painters and sculptors pictured the sleeping Ariadne and
the departing figure of Theseus. At times the same picture showed the
arrival of Bacchus and his attendants. Theocritus and Propertius
alluded to the silent departure of the Athenian prince; Apollonius, to
the arrival of the god.
Some Alexandrian author evidently recorded the ensuing events as
follows. For a while Bacchus gazed in admiration at the sleeping girl.
Then he concealed himself until Ariadne awoke and lamented her fate.
She tried vainly to call Theseus back, protesting that, if he did not wish
to marry her, he should at least take her to Athens as a slave. Catullus
imagined that Ariadne awoke before the coming of Bacchus, and he gave
a memorable description of her as she stood with dishevelled locks and
with clothing fallen to the waves at her feet, gazing at the distant sail of
Theseus and reproaching his perfidy. Both Tibullus and Ovid alluded to
this description, and Ovid followed the general conception of Catullus in
his beautiful and pathetic epistle, Ariadne to Theseus.
Greek artists often indicated the marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne
by showing them seated under a spreading vine. The unknown Alexan-
drian author told of the marriage, Ovid alluded to it both in his Art of
Love and in his Fasti, and Seneca in his Oedipus gave an elaborate de-
scription. At the wedding Ariadne was said to have worn a crown. The
Alexandrian author described it as made of flowers, an idea which Ovid
repeated in his Fasti. But usually the crown was thought to have been
made of gems, and elsewhere in the Fasti, Ovid followed this account.
According to some authorities Theseus had received the crown from
Amphitrite and had given it to Ariadne before leaving Crete. This idea
inspired four extant vase paintings and also Micon's picture in the
Theseum at Athens. According to others, Ariadne received the crown at
her wedding. Nonnus declared that it was given by Cupid, Ovid that it
was given by Venus.
Usually it was thought that Bacchus and Ariadne remained on
earth until the death of Ariadne, many years later, and then Bacchus
made his wife a heavenly goddess. In the Fasti, Ovid elaborated the
story. Bacchus, he said, took Ariadne with him to India. During their
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
return to Naxos he appeared to be so fond of an Indian princess that
Ariadne again wandered lamenting on the lonely shore. She spoke of
being fascinated with the bull horns of the god, as her mother had been
fascinated with those of the animal. Bacchus comforted her and took
her to heaven. Ovid identified Ariadne with the Italian goddess Libera.
The crown which Ariadne wore at her marriage was still on earth.
Bacchus raised it to the skies and transformed it into the more northerly
and the brighter of the constellations called Corona. Callimachus, Apol-
lonius, and Aratus mentioned Ariadne's starry crown, Vergil referred to
it both in his Lydia and in his Georgics, and Ovid alluded to the idea in
his Art of Love and in his Fasti.
In Semitic countries it was a frequent practice to propitiate the
bull-headed god, Moloch, with human victims, and it may well have been
usual to make the number of victims seven or some multiple of it, for the
Semites had a special veneration for the number seven. The Greeks
imagined an offering of this kind to the Minotaur and thought of it as
the occasion for the meeting of Theseus and Ariadne. After the fall of
Megara, they said, Minos proceeded against Athens. At the same time
disease and famine played havoc in the city. Appealing to an oracle, the
Athenians were told to give Minos whatever he wished. He demanded
tribute at regular intervals of seven young men and seven maidens to
feed the Minotaur. The victims were sent unarmed in a ship having black
sails, were shut in the labyrinth, and were left as a prey to the monster.
This tribute was paid twice, before the arrival of Theseus in Athens.
Theseus himself was included in the next assignment of victims. Ariadne,
falling in love with him, appealed to Daedalus in his behalf. The artificer
advised her to give Theseus a thread, which he might attach to the
entrance of the labyrinth and unroll as he proceeded in search of the
Minotaur. By this means he could retrace his steps. Theseus killed the
monster with his fists and escaped, taking with him his fellow Athenians
and Ariadne.
This story of Theseus and the Minotaur appeared in the work of
Hellanicus and Pherecydes, in the Theseus of Euripides, and in the
Manual. Many vase paintings and coins portrayed either the gift of the
thread or the combat with the monster. Vergil spoke of the whole story
as pictured in the sculpture at Cumae. Catullus and Ovid repeated part
of it in their account of the deserted Ariadne. But Ovid imagined that
Theseus was armed with a knotted club.
Accounts differed about several details. The interval at which vic-
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
tims were to be sent usually was given as a year. But some Greek author
appears to have made it nine years, for this period was named after-
wards by Plutarch. The method by which victims were selected was ex-
plained variously. Hellanicus declared that Minos chose them and that
he selected Theseus. Most authors thought of them as drawn by lot.
Some declared that Theseus was included for this reason, but most of
them spoke of his going as a volunteer. Since Minos had command of
the sea, it might seem probable that he would overtake the fugitives.
Pherecydes explained that Theseus bored holes in the Cretan ships;
Apollonius spoke of Ariadne as appeasing her father; most authors
ignored the difficulty, and Ovid in the Heroides showed Paris mentioning
the story to Helen as a case where the lovers were not even pursued.
Before Theseus left Athens, Aegeus had promised to watch for the
return of the ship and had warned Theseus to indicate a successful
voyage by replacing the black sails with white. Theseus forgot his in-
structions, and the grief-stricken Aegeus threw himself over the cliff of
the Acropolis. Such Yorgetfulness on the part of Theseus often was
associated with Ariadne. The Manual explained it as grief at losing
her, Catullus as the result of her curse.
In the Heroides, the Art of Love, and the Fasti, Ovid already had
noted all important incidents in the myth of Ariadne. In the Metamor-
phoses, he merely recalled them briefly by alluding to the use of the
thread, the desertion of the princess, and her rescue by the god. He did
not think it necessary to name either the Minotaur or the princess. The
general plan of Ovid's work required him to make some innovations. He
implied that tribute was imposed after Theseus arrived in Athens and
that two lots of victims were sent before Theseus was included. If he
had made the interval a year, this would have been plausible. Immedi-
ately after the arrival of Theseus, tradition had spoken of his engaging
in several exploits which took him away from the city and occupied con-
siderable time. Conceivably he might have been absent until the third
year. But Ovid gave the interval as nine years and made the situation
preposterous. Tradition had supposed that Bacchus rescued Ariadne
before his own ascent to heaven. Ovid implied that he rescued her long
afterwards. Ovid said nothing about the death of Aegeus. But in the
story of Medea (Bk. 7) he had suggested that Aegeus was to perish be-
cause he welcomed that evil enchantress.
Ovid ordinarily would have reserved for his Fasti the account of
any transformation into stars. This time the Fasti was concerned with
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
a transformation of Ariadne into the goddess Libera. Nowhere had Ovid
given special attention to Ariadne's crown. In the Metamorphoses he
saw a chance to end picturesquely with its ascent to the sky. In the
whole course of his poem this was the only description of metamorphosis
into a constellation. * The stars of Corona appear in the heavens be-
tween the constellation of Hercules and that of the Herdsman (Bootes).
But Aratus had placed them erroneously between Hercules and the Ser-
pent Holder (Ophiuchus) and Ovid repeated his mistake.
Although Ovid's account of the Minotaur and Ariadne was brief
and obscure, it was the first account read by men of later times. It made
them acquainted with the myth and encouraged them to seek further in-
formation elsewhere, especially in the Heroides.
Medieval authors treating any part of the story were apt to show
recollection of the Metamorphoses. Some authors recalled the scandal
of Pasiphae. Dante observed in his Purgatorio that one group of peni-
tents referred to their sensual indulgence by repeating the name of her
who in a bestial shape played the beast. Chaucer in the Wife's Prologue
spoke of Pasiphae as included in Jankin's book of wicked women. A num-
ber of authors were interested in the Minotaur. Dante pictured the mon-
ster as opposing his descent into the region of violence and being defeated
by its own irrational fury. And Dante's guide suggested that the crea-
ture still recalled the Duke of Athens guided by his sister's thread.
Boccaccio and Machaut told the story. Following the implication of the
Metamorphoses, they declared that Theseus was drawn by lot. Chaucer
retold the story in his Legend of Ariadne and, misunderstanding Ovid's
phrase, added that lots occurred every three years. Ancient authors had
implied that all fourteen victims were offered to the Minotaur at once.
Medieval authors thought* of their being offered one at a time and of
Theseus as being the first.
Both Machaut and Chaucer recounted the desertion of Ariadne.
Chaucer treated the theme first in his House of Fame and then at some
length in his Legend, both times emphasizing the perfidy of Theseus.
Ovid had assigned no cause for the desertion. Hyginus happened to end
his account with a statement that Theseus married Ariadne's sister,
Phaedra. Machaut supposed that Theseus took both sisters with him
and found Phaedra the more attractive. Chaucer imagined also that
*The tale of the Four Ages (Bk. 1) included a similar transformation of Astraea
to the constellation Virgo, and the tale of Myrrha (Bk. 10) included metamorphoses
of Erigone and Icarius to the constellations Virgo and Bootes. But in these tales
Ovid was content with a brief allusion.
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
Phaedra suggested the use of the thread. Dante in his Paradiso likened
the circles of great theologians to a double Ariadne's crown.
Modern authors occasionally recalled Ovid's account in the Meta-
morphoses. Gray observed in his Progress of Poesy that
Maeander's amber waves
In lingering labyrinths slowly creep.
Burke in his Conciliation with America mentioned the labyrinth from
which no one could escape without a clue, in order to describe the hope-
less results of a policy recommended by Lord North. And his allusion
to the subject was typical of many rather vague references by authors
of modern times. Spenser compared the Graces dancing round Colin's
lady to Ariadne's Crown in the sky. Hazlitt in Table Talk referred to
poets as translating their ladies to the skies with this constellation and
afterwards described the ladies in boxes at the opera as beautiful and
wholly inaccessible, like Ariadne's crown.
But modern authors were apt to recall chiefly Ovid's pathetic de-
scription of Ariadne in the Heroides. Ariosto imitated it in the latter
part of his account of Olympia. Shakespeare in The Two Gentlemen of
Verona and Fletcher in The Maid's Tragedy made long references to it,
and Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice gave a similar description
of Dido. Thomas Corneille made the desertion of Ariadne his theme in
a famous tragedy.
Modern artists found Ovid's material of great interest but were
inclined to draw also on other sources. The Minotaur inspired both a
painting by G. F. Watts and statues by Canova and Barye. The story
of Ariadne, Theseus, and Bacchus was a favorite with modern painters.
It appeared in work of the Italian artists Peruzzi, Albani, Giordano,
L'Orbetto, Giovanni Bellini, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, and Guido Reni, and
in the work of the north European artists Jordaens, Callot, Greuze,
Makart, and Angelica Kauffmann. Often a modern artist was so im-
pressed with the idea of the starry crown that he included it, even when
treating an earlier incident of the tale. The story inspired masterpieces
by Conegliano and Titian, and Titian's picture of Bacchus and Ariadne
had a very important influence on the entire history of British painting.
The story of Ariadne became a theme also for statues by Dannekar,
Lescornd, and Rodin and for a quadriga by Schillings.
The desertion of Ariadne inspired a famous opera of Monteverdi
and a recent work by Richard Strauss.
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
Icarus and Perbix
Ovid then told how Daedalus left Crete.
According to tradition, Minos was offended with the artificer be-
cause he aided Theseus and Ariadne, and he imprisoned in the labyrinth
both Daedalus and his son Icarus. Herodotus had spoken of the Egyp-
tian labyrinth as being entirely covered with a roof. Evidently the
Greeks thought of the Cretan labyrinth as having at least one court
open to the sky. Daedalus planned to escape by flying through the air.
Collecting a large number of feathers, he attached them to light frames
and made them into two pairs of wings. One pair he fastened to his
arms with glue, the other he fastened to the arms of his son. A bird,
which has the advantage of a light body and powerful muscles, is able to
fly by beating his wings. Many peoples have supposed erroneously that
a human being can do the same. Daedalus planned to rise in this manner
and escape from Crete.
Before leaving the ground he cautioned Icarus to avoid flying low,
because damp of the sea might weigh down his feathers, and to avoid
flying high, because the sun would melt the glue. Daedalus and Icarus
then departed in a northeasterly direction towards Miletus. No reason
was given for their taking this particular course. It was assumed that
Icarus must have been associated with the region of Miletus, because
that part of the sea was called Icarian and because one of its islands
was called Icaria. Daedalus flew safely at a middle height.
? KING MINOS AND SCYLLA
in a still more unscrupulous manner. Pasiphae was a fit consort for
Minos, yet even she had reason to prefer a bull. After this innovation
Ovid returned to ideas of the Cirit and the Aeneid. Vergil had imagined
Scylla declaring that Minos heard her reproaches. Ovid showed her more
doubtful. Dido had announced that, however unwelcome, she still would
accompany Aeneas. Ovid showed Scylla ending with a similar threat.
Vergil had made the speeches of Dido dignified and tragic. Ovid let
Scylla descend to ineffectual and scurrilous scolding. Probably he real-
ized that he was making a less favorable impression and thought it in
harmony with Scylla's abandoned character.
While Scylla railed, the ships were launched and were rowed away
to some distance. Scylla referred to them as hardly in sight of her native
land. Resolved not to be left behind, she plunged into the water, swam
with the strength of despair, and overtook the ship of Minos. It was a
striking idea, in keeping with her reckless character, but Ovid suggested
too great a distance. Following Vergil, he spoke of her as reaching a
position high on the stern. Presumably she caught hold of the rudder
and climbed to a relatively secure place well above the sea.
Ovid altered Vergil's conclusion. Nisus, he said, was metamor-
phosed first. On tawny wings he flew after the ship, threatening Scylla
with his crooked beak. In terror she let go and fell towards the water.
The air sustained her, for she had become the ciris. Ovid did not describe
the process and appropriately gave no hint that her transformation was
an honor.
The Manual had noted that, after taking Megara, Minos proceeded
against Athens. This would have been natural, for his quarrel was chiefly
with the Athenians. But Ovid, who was not interested in the war, fol-
lowed Vergil and showed him returning at once to Crete.
Ovid's account of Scylla was the best which survived until later
times. It attracted several poets of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Petrarch in the Triumph of Love spoke of seeing the cruel daughter of
Nisus flee on wings. Chaucer in The Parliament of Fowls saw her story
pictured on the walls of the temple of Venus. In The Legend of Good
Women, Chaucer retold the tale briefly and in a manner as favorable as
possible to Scylla. He did not speak of her transformation. But in the
Troilus he implied that she became a lark, an idea rather common dur-
ing modern times. Camoens referred to Teresa as even more culpable
than Scylla. Giles Fletcher in Christ's Victory, likened Nisus to Samson,
because his strength lay in his hair.
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
The Minotaur and Ariadne
While recording the arrival of Minos in Crete, Ovid spoke of the
island as home of the Curetes. This was the usual tradition but contrary
to his previous statement that Curetes were natives of Phrygia (see
Salmacis, Bk. 4). After noting that Minos adorned his palace with the
spoils of Megara, Ovid resumed the subject of Pasiphae and her passion
for a bull.
The story, like those of Io and Europa, appears to have originated
with Semitic worship of deities in the form of cattle. The Sun God had
a daughter named Pasiphae (All Light), whom Pausanias identified with
the Moon. She loved a god in the form of a bull, and their offspring was
a deity like Moloch or Baal, who was represented by the figure of a man
with a bull's head.
The Greeks ordinarily altered this idea radically. They thought of
Pasiphae as a mortal woman, wife of Minos of Crete, and of her lover as
only an extraordinarily beautiful animal. In this form the myth re-
sembled a Babylonian tale of Queen Semiramis and a stallion. The
Greeks explained the queen's abnormal passion as punishment by an of-
fended deity. The usual account was as follows. When Minos tried to
succeed his stepfather as ruler of Crete, his claim was disputed. Minos
declared that he was entitled to rule because he enjoyed the favor of the
gods. To demonstrate this, he prayed that Neptune might send him a
bull and promised to offer it as a sacrifice. But, when the animal ap-
peared, Minos delighted so much in its beauty that he kept it and sac-
rificed a different bull. Neptune punished him by causing Pasiphae to
lust for the animal.
This tale seems to have been known before the time of the Odyssey,
but we find it recorded first in a passage that survives from the Cretans
of Euripides. The Manual gave the story in full, noting how the mon-
strous offspring usually was called the Minotaur (Bull of Minos). *
Although the Greeks ordinarily were impressed by the horror of
Pasiphae's conduct, there was room for sympathy. Euripides in his
Cretans showed her pointing out that she was the innocent victim of a
curse, and in his Hippolytus, he spoke of her as ill-starred in love. Vergil
*To the Alexandrian poet, Theodorus, the fate of Pasiphae may have suggested
that of Polyphonte, who offended Venus and was punished with lust for a bear.
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
carried the idea further. Greek authors had implied that the bull did not
respond easily to courtship by a human being. Vergil in the Sixth
Eclogue described Pasiphae as wandering over mountains in search of
the animal, praying the nymphs to bring him near, while he lay at ease
in a meadow or courted some heifer. In the Aeneid, Vergil mentioned
Pasiphae as among the unhappy lovers of Hades. Ovid in his amatory
poems followed Vergil's example, but was inclined to stress humorous
aspects of the affair. In the Art of Love he treated the story at some
length. Pasiphae, he said, courted the animal, despite his indifference to
the allurement of dress, riches, and personal ornament. She envied the
happier fate of Io and Europa and jealously sent her cow rivals to the
plow or the altar. Vergil spoke of the bull as white, an idea repeated by
Propertius and Ovid.
According to Greek tradition, Pasiphae was able to attract the
animal only by a ruse. She obtained the help of Daedalus, an Athenian
who had taken refuge in Crete. He had invented the art of sculpture,
and he excelled in mechanical contrivances. To aid Pasiphae, Daedalus
constructed the wooden image of a cow, put it on wheels, covered it with
the skin of a real cow, and arranged for the queen to be hidden inside.
He then conveyed the image to a meadow where the bull was in the habit
of coming to feed. The animal mistook the image for a cow. This idea
was recorded in the Manual and became the accepted version. A Pom-
peiian Mural showed Pasiphae obtaining the aid of Daedalus. Vergil in
the Aeneid spoke of the myth as carved by Daedalus himself on the
temple at Cumae. Propertius noted the wooden image floating on the
Infernal River as a horrible example of lust.
A few Greek authors rejected the myth as incredible. They sup-
posed either that Pasiphae had played false with a man whose name was
Bull (Taurus) or that the Minotaur was a man of that name. In the
Tristia, Ovid himself referred to the Minotaur as something clearly past
belief.
In the Metamorphoses, Ovid already had shown Scylla alluding to
the device of the wooden cow. He now mentioned the birth of the Mino-
taur and the scandal which it occasioned in Crete.
With the story of Pasiphae and the Minotaur, Greek tradition as-
sociated that of Ariadne. She was worshipped in the Aegean isles as a
goddess, who personified the fertility of nature and who often was iden-
tified with Venus. Festivals in her honor included a peculiar form of
dance. In many countries of Europe, men have enjoyed performances
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
depending on an intricate figure. They first marked out a large area on
the ground, which had the form of a circle, a square, or an octagon. In
the middle of this area they left an open space. Then between the outer
edge and the middle they indicated by turf, stones, or other means an
elaborate figure, and this figure included a route, which, if it was fol-
lowed accurately, would lead the performer by a devious way from the
outside of the area to the middle and back again. Often the figure con-
sisted merely of a single path, which described a very long, circuitous
route. There was no doubt where this route lay. With time and patience
any one could follow the entire course and reach the proper destination.
But sometimes the figure included many paths, criss-crossing in a net-
work. Unless the performer understood the pattern, he continually was
liable to take a wrong path and wander indefinitely. In records of an
elaborate figure, men usually failed to distinguish between a pattern
which was merely elaborate and a pattern which was confusing. Draw-
ings were apt to represent a particular figure as a single, devious line;
written accounts were apt to speak of the same figure as a network which
was bewildering.
The route from the outside of the area to the middle might be traced
by a single performer but usually was traced by a group of persons fol-
lowing a leader. In modern Finland and Lapland the performance be-
came merely a children's game. In earlier times it had a solemn, and
often a religious character. Such were the Trojan Games described by
Vergil in the Aeneid, when boys on horseback followed an elaborate
course to commemorate the dead Anchises. Such were those pilgrimages
called the Road to Jerusalem or the Journey to Calvary, when medieval
penitents on their knees followed the devious route marked by colored
tiles on the floor of some French cathedral. And such was the ancient
Greek performance known as Ariadne's dance.
The Iliad spoke of this dance as similar to one which Vulcan carved
on the shield of Achilles. Coins of Cnossus in Crete represented it by an
elaborate figure. Various accounts were given of its origin. The Iliad
spoke of Daedalus as inventing the dance for Ariadne; Propertius im-
plied that she herself invented it to celebrate her marriage; Plutarch
said that Theseus invented it in commemoration of her.
Use of an elaborate figure took other forms. During modern times
it often appeared in the plan of some formal garden. The central area
was marked by a pavilion, and the paths were set off from one another
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
by tall hedges. Of such gardens the most celebrated were those of Louis
Fourteenth at Versailles and William the Third at Hampton Court.
The elaborate design appeared much earlier in architecture. About
the year 2300 B. C. an Egyptian king, Amenenhat Third, constructed a
building of this kind near his capitol, Arsinoe, in the oasis of Fayum.
It was called a labyrinth and gave its name not only to similar buildings
of later times but also to the modern gardens of intricate design. Herod-
otus, who visited the Egyptian labyrinth, was impressed with its size and
beauty. It was built, he said, in two stories, the lower story below the
surface of the ground. There were twelve courts, each of them sur-
rounded with marble pillars; and there were three thousand rooms, the
walls of which were adorned with sculpture. The lower story included
burial vaults for the kings and their sacred crocodiles.
When the prehistoric Greeks heard by report of this labyrinth,
they imagined that Daedalus had invented a similar building for King
Minos. This idea may have been suggested to explain ruins of the Cretan
palace at Cnossus, a building very elaborate compared with the simple
Greek residences of later times. The Egyptian labyrinth had been a
mausoleum, the Cretan was said to have been a prison. Minos desired to
lessen the scandal of Pasiphae by keeping the Minotaur not only invis-
ible but inaccessible.
At least as early as the sixth century B. C. this idea had become
part of the traditional story. It was implied first in a vase painting of
this period and then in the account of Pherecydes. Sophocles mentioned
the labyrinth in his Daedalus, and the Manual gave a brief description
of it. The subject appeared in fifth century vase paintings, in works of
art at Pompeii, and in several mosaics of Roman times. Coins of Cnossus,
during its later period, altered with the fashion. They called their devi-
ous figure the labyrinth and added near by an object called the Mino-
taur. Apparently they showed the monster before he was immured in his
new residence. Even the performance of Ariadne's dance and the Trojan
Games was supposed to imitate the notorious Cretan prison.
As early as the fifth century B. C. Greek artists associated the pe-
culiar form of the labyrinth with that of the Maeander River. This river,
which formed the boundary between Lydia and Caria, was notorious for
its crooked course. It proceeded by a series of devious windings, and
apparently it also divided itself into many streams, which were con-
nected at various points until the course was even bewildering. The name
Maeander became proverbial and was applied to certain elaborate dec-
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
orative patterns, which architects used for ornamenting buildings and
weavers used for adorning cloaks. A fifth century vase painting showed
a doorway inscribed with this pattern to represent the Cretan labyrinth.
Following the Manual, Ovid noted that King Minos tried to lessen
the scandal of the Minotaur's origin by having Daedalus imprison the
creature in the labyrinth. Following the tradition of Greek art, he de-
scribed the building by comparing it at some length to the course of the
Maeander River. It is probable that Ovid had seen the stream during
his travels and that he added a few brilliant touches from personal obser-
vation. He described the labyrinth as so confusing that Daedalus him-
self could hardly find the way out.
The goddess Ariadne was supposed to have been at first a mortal
woman, a beautiful daughter of Minos and Pasiphae. She was loved by
Bacchus, the male god of fertility. According to the Theogony, Bacchus
married the fair haired Ariadne and made her ageless and immortal. But
usually it was supposed that the course of true love did not run smooth.
In one version of the myth, Ariadne deserted Bacchus to elope with The-
seus. Bacchus warned Diana of her infidelity. The goddess overtook the
fugitives at an island called Dia and shot Ariadne dead. The Odyssey,
alluding to this account, observed that Ulysses recognized Ariadne's
ghost in the world of shades. This may have been consistent with the
idea that she became a goddess, for Ulysses observed in the same region
the shade of the deified Hercules. Apparently following the Homeric
version, the early Christian poet Prudentius stigmatized Ariadne as a
beautiful harlot. According to the Odyssey, the island of Dia was an
uninhabited isle only a few miles from the shores of Crete. But after-
wards, it often was identified with the large Aegean island of Naxos.
Other versions of the myth spoke of Ariadne as originally in love
with Theseus. He promised to marry her and take her to Athens. The
lovers interrupted their voyage to rest on the island of Dia. Here, ac-
cording to the Manual, Bacchus fell in love with Ariadne and forcibly
carried her away. But usually it was supposed that Theseus deserted
her and that later Bacchus arrived and comforted her with a better hus-
band. In the worship of Ariadne at Naxos this event was commemorated
with a festival symbolizing first the mourning of the deserted Ariadne
and then the joy of Ariadne as bride of the god. The festival also sym-
bolized nature, first in winter and then in spring.
Various reasons were given for the perfidy of Theseus. The Cata-
logues declared that he deserted Ariadne for a sea nymph called Aegle.
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
Others thought that the Cretan princess would not have been acceptable
to Aegeus or to the people of Athens. Often no reason was given or even
implied. Usually it was supposed that, while Ariadne lay asleep near
the shore of the island, Theseus departed quietly to his ship and sailed
away. The idea, although improbable, proved congenial both to artists
and to poets. Painters and sculptors pictured the sleeping Ariadne and
the departing figure of Theseus. At times the same picture showed the
arrival of Bacchus and his attendants. Theocritus and Propertius
alluded to the silent departure of the Athenian prince; Apollonius, to
the arrival of the god.
Some Alexandrian author evidently recorded the ensuing events as
follows. For a while Bacchus gazed in admiration at the sleeping girl.
Then he concealed himself until Ariadne awoke and lamented her fate.
She tried vainly to call Theseus back, protesting that, if he did not wish
to marry her, he should at least take her to Athens as a slave. Catullus
imagined that Ariadne awoke before the coming of Bacchus, and he gave
a memorable description of her as she stood with dishevelled locks and
with clothing fallen to the waves at her feet, gazing at the distant sail of
Theseus and reproaching his perfidy. Both Tibullus and Ovid alluded to
this description, and Ovid followed the general conception of Catullus in
his beautiful and pathetic epistle, Ariadne to Theseus.
Greek artists often indicated the marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne
by showing them seated under a spreading vine. The unknown Alexan-
drian author told of the marriage, Ovid alluded to it both in his Art of
Love and in his Fasti, and Seneca in his Oedipus gave an elaborate de-
scription. At the wedding Ariadne was said to have worn a crown. The
Alexandrian author described it as made of flowers, an idea which Ovid
repeated in his Fasti. But usually the crown was thought to have been
made of gems, and elsewhere in the Fasti, Ovid followed this account.
According to some authorities Theseus had received the crown from
Amphitrite and had given it to Ariadne before leaving Crete. This idea
inspired four extant vase paintings and also Micon's picture in the
Theseum at Athens. According to others, Ariadne received the crown at
her wedding. Nonnus declared that it was given by Cupid, Ovid that it
was given by Venus.
Usually it was thought that Bacchus and Ariadne remained on
earth until the death of Ariadne, many years later, and then Bacchus
made his wife a heavenly goddess. In the Fasti, Ovid elaborated the
story. Bacchus, he said, took Ariadne with him to India. During their
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
return to Naxos he appeared to be so fond of an Indian princess that
Ariadne again wandered lamenting on the lonely shore. She spoke of
being fascinated with the bull horns of the god, as her mother had been
fascinated with those of the animal. Bacchus comforted her and took
her to heaven. Ovid identified Ariadne with the Italian goddess Libera.
The crown which Ariadne wore at her marriage was still on earth.
Bacchus raised it to the skies and transformed it into the more northerly
and the brighter of the constellations called Corona. Callimachus, Apol-
lonius, and Aratus mentioned Ariadne's starry crown, Vergil referred to
it both in his Lydia and in his Georgics, and Ovid alluded to the idea in
his Art of Love and in his Fasti.
In Semitic countries it was a frequent practice to propitiate the
bull-headed god, Moloch, with human victims, and it may well have been
usual to make the number of victims seven or some multiple of it, for the
Semites had a special veneration for the number seven. The Greeks
imagined an offering of this kind to the Minotaur and thought of it as
the occasion for the meeting of Theseus and Ariadne. After the fall of
Megara, they said, Minos proceeded against Athens. At the same time
disease and famine played havoc in the city. Appealing to an oracle, the
Athenians were told to give Minos whatever he wished. He demanded
tribute at regular intervals of seven young men and seven maidens to
feed the Minotaur. The victims were sent unarmed in a ship having black
sails, were shut in the labyrinth, and were left as a prey to the monster.
This tribute was paid twice, before the arrival of Theseus in Athens.
Theseus himself was included in the next assignment of victims. Ariadne,
falling in love with him, appealed to Daedalus in his behalf. The artificer
advised her to give Theseus a thread, which he might attach to the
entrance of the labyrinth and unroll as he proceeded in search of the
Minotaur. By this means he could retrace his steps. Theseus killed the
monster with his fists and escaped, taking with him his fellow Athenians
and Ariadne.
This story of Theseus and the Minotaur appeared in the work of
Hellanicus and Pherecydes, in the Theseus of Euripides, and in the
Manual. Many vase paintings and coins portrayed either the gift of the
thread or the combat with the monster. Vergil spoke of the whole story
as pictured in the sculpture at Cumae. Catullus and Ovid repeated part
of it in their account of the deserted Ariadne. But Ovid imagined that
Theseus was armed with a knotted club.
Accounts differed about several details. The interval at which vic-
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
tims were to be sent usually was given as a year. But some Greek author
appears to have made it nine years, for this period was named after-
wards by Plutarch. The method by which victims were selected was ex-
plained variously. Hellanicus declared that Minos chose them and that
he selected Theseus. Most authors thought of them as drawn by lot.
Some declared that Theseus was included for this reason, but most of
them spoke of his going as a volunteer. Since Minos had command of
the sea, it might seem probable that he would overtake the fugitives.
Pherecydes explained that Theseus bored holes in the Cretan ships;
Apollonius spoke of Ariadne as appeasing her father; most authors
ignored the difficulty, and Ovid in the Heroides showed Paris mentioning
the story to Helen as a case where the lovers were not even pursued.
Before Theseus left Athens, Aegeus had promised to watch for the
return of the ship and had warned Theseus to indicate a successful
voyage by replacing the black sails with white. Theseus forgot his in-
structions, and the grief-stricken Aegeus threw himself over the cliff of
the Acropolis. Such Yorgetfulness on the part of Theseus often was
associated with Ariadne. The Manual explained it as grief at losing
her, Catullus as the result of her curse.
In the Heroides, the Art of Love, and the Fasti, Ovid already had
noted all important incidents in the myth of Ariadne. In the Metamor-
phoses, he merely recalled them briefly by alluding to the use of the
thread, the desertion of the princess, and her rescue by the god. He did
not think it necessary to name either the Minotaur or the princess. The
general plan of Ovid's work required him to make some innovations. He
implied that tribute was imposed after Theseus arrived in Athens and
that two lots of victims were sent before Theseus was included. If he
had made the interval a year, this would have been plausible. Immedi-
ately after the arrival of Theseus, tradition had spoken of his engaging
in several exploits which took him away from the city and occupied con-
siderable time. Conceivably he might have been absent until the third
year. But Ovid gave the interval as nine years and made the situation
preposterous. Tradition had supposed that Bacchus rescued Ariadne
before his own ascent to heaven. Ovid implied that he rescued her long
afterwards. Ovid said nothing about the death of Aegeus. But in the
story of Medea (Bk. 7) he had suggested that Aegeus was to perish be-
cause he welcomed that evil enchantress.
Ovid ordinarily would have reserved for his Fasti the account of
any transformation into stars. This time the Fasti was concerned with
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
a transformation of Ariadne into the goddess Libera. Nowhere had Ovid
given special attention to Ariadne's crown. In the Metamorphoses he
saw a chance to end picturesquely with its ascent to the sky. In the
whole course of his poem this was the only description of metamorphosis
into a constellation. * The stars of Corona appear in the heavens be-
tween the constellation of Hercules and that of the Herdsman (Bootes).
But Aratus had placed them erroneously between Hercules and the Ser-
pent Holder (Ophiuchus) and Ovid repeated his mistake.
Although Ovid's account of the Minotaur and Ariadne was brief
and obscure, it was the first account read by men of later times. It made
them acquainted with the myth and encouraged them to seek further in-
formation elsewhere, especially in the Heroides.
Medieval authors treating any part of the story were apt to show
recollection of the Metamorphoses. Some authors recalled the scandal
of Pasiphae. Dante observed in his Purgatorio that one group of peni-
tents referred to their sensual indulgence by repeating the name of her
who in a bestial shape played the beast. Chaucer in the Wife's Prologue
spoke of Pasiphae as included in Jankin's book of wicked women. A num-
ber of authors were interested in the Minotaur. Dante pictured the mon-
ster as opposing his descent into the region of violence and being defeated
by its own irrational fury. And Dante's guide suggested that the crea-
ture still recalled the Duke of Athens guided by his sister's thread.
Boccaccio and Machaut told the story. Following the implication of the
Metamorphoses, they declared that Theseus was drawn by lot. Chaucer
retold the story in his Legend of Ariadne and, misunderstanding Ovid's
phrase, added that lots occurred every three years. Ancient authors had
implied that all fourteen victims were offered to the Minotaur at once.
Medieval authors thought* of their being offered one at a time and of
Theseus as being the first.
Both Machaut and Chaucer recounted the desertion of Ariadne.
Chaucer treated the theme first in his House of Fame and then at some
length in his Legend, both times emphasizing the perfidy of Theseus.
Ovid had assigned no cause for the desertion. Hyginus happened to end
his account with a statement that Theseus married Ariadne's sister,
Phaedra. Machaut supposed that Theseus took both sisters with him
and found Phaedra the more attractive. Chaucer imagined also that
*The tale of the Four Ages (Bk. 1) included a similar transformation of Astraea
to the constellation Virgo, and the tale of Myrrha (Bk. 10) included metamorphoses
of Erigone and Icarius to the constellations Virgo and Bootes. But in these tales
Ovid was content with a brief allusion.
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? THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE
Phaedra suggested the use of the thread. Dante in his Paradiso likened
the circles of great theologians to a double Ariadne's crown.
Modern authors occasionally recalled Ovid's account in the Meta-
morphoses. Gray observed in his Progress of Poesy that
Maeander's amber waves
In lingering labyrinths slowly creep.
Burke in his Conciliation with America mentioned the labyrinth from
which no one could escape without a clue, in order to describe the hope-
less results of a policy recommended by Lord North. And his allusion
to the subject was typical of many rather vague references by authors
of modern times. Spenser compared the Graces dancing round Colin's
lady to Ariadne's Crown in the sky. Hazlitt in Table Talk referred to
poets as translating their ladies to the skies with this constellation and
afterwards described the ladies in boxes at the opera as beautiful and
wholly inaccessible, like Ariadne's crown.
But modern authors were apt to recall chiefly Ovid's pathetic de-
scription of Ariadne in the Heroides. Ariosto imitated it in the latter
part of his account of Olympia. Shakespeare in The Two Gentlemen of
Verona and Fletcher in The Maid's Tragedy made long references to it,
and Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice gave a similar description
of Dido. Thomas Corneille made the desertion of Ariadne his theme in
a famous tragedy.
Modern artists found Ovid's material of great interest but were
inclined to draw also on other sources. The Minotaur inspired both a
painting by G. F. Watts and statues by Canova and Barye. The story
of Ariadne, Theseus, and Bacchus was a favorite with modern painters.
It appeared in work of the Italian artists Peruzzi, Albani, Giordano,
L'Orbetto, Giovanni Bellini, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, and Guido Reni, and
in the work of the north European artists Jordaens, Callot, Greuze,
Makart, and Angelica Kauffmann. Often a modern artist was so im-
pressed with the idea of the starry crown that he included it, even when
treating an earlier incident of the tale. The story inspired masterpieces
by Conegliano and Titian, and Titian's picture of Bacchus and Ariadne
had a very important influence on the entire history of British painting.
The story of Ariadne became a theme also for statues by Dannekar,
Lescornd, and Rodin and for a quadriga by Schillings.
The desertion of Ariadne inspired a famous opera of Monteverdi
and a recent work by Richard Strauss.
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? METAMORPHOSES -- BOOK EIGHT
Icarus and Perbix
Ovid then told how Daedalus left Crete.
According to tradition, Minos was offended with the artificer be-
cause he aided Theseus and Ariadne, and he imprisoned in the labyrinth
both Daedalus and his son Icarus. Herodotus had spoken of the Egyp-
tian labyrinth as being entirely covered with a roof. Evidently the
Greeks thought of the Cretan labyrinth as having at least one court
open to the sky. Daedalus planned to escape by flying through the air.
Collecting a large number of feathers, he attached them to light frames
and made them into two pairs of wings. One pair he fastened to his
arms with glue, the other he fastened to the arms of his son. A bird,
which has the advantage of a light body and powerful muscles, is able to
fly by beating his wings. Many peoples have supposed erroneously that
a human being can do the same. Daedalus planned to rise in this manner
and escape from Crete.
Before leaving the ground he cautioned Icarus to avoid flying low,
because damp of the sea might weigh down his feathers, and to avoid
flying high, because the sun would melt the glue. Daedalus and Icarus
then departed in a northeasterly direction towards Miletus. No reason
was given for their taking this particular course. It was assumed that
Icarus must have been associated with the region of Miletus, because
that part of the sea was called Icarian and because one of its islands
was called Icaria. Daedalus flew safely at a middle height.
