Michele Morgan #140 There's a double-headed axe at the bottom of my glass (nod to ACski & SH)

So the myth.  Ariadne on Naxos.  Got time for a story?

It has a political dimension.  At one stage Athens obviously

owed fealty to Crete.  Crete was infused with the

culture and wealth from trade with Egypt but it had its

own distinctive culture, flush toilets and cutting edge fashion,

all tits and tights, gym chic and shipping.

But at the heart of Crete was the Labyrinth

and at the heart of the Labyrinth was the minotaur

the bull-headed man with bitter flesh and a taste for young meat

And every year Athens had to send 10 of its young

men and 10 of its young women

tribute to Crete and prey to the minotaur

and virgins all if you believe the press

But Athens is like that; though

every election sometime during the

run-up, the democrat candidate is found in

bed with a blonde in Florida & the

republicans romp home.  Or romp somewhere.

Athens got jack of this eventually

It was getting its act together as the material girl of the mainland

flexing up its muscles and establishing a capital base and a theatre scene.

It ran short of patience, not to mention young men and young women or at least of virgins; and Theseus the king's son,

as well as being prime age Minotaur meat

felt the need to raise his profile

get some runs on the board

put himself out there, suck it and see,

sailed away to Crete, with the rest of that year's young fry,

a documentary crew and a stress management consultant.

And when he landed he struck up a friendship

with Ariadne, daughter of the king of Crete.

*

A convenient friendship.

Ariadne, who'd never been anywhere

and was just That Age

to give a foreign youth the glad eye...

So Ariadne told Theseus the secret of the Labyrinth

getting in and getting out again

once he'd killed the minotaur.

Sounds like a sexual metaphor to me

but that's how it goes.

Theseus killed the minotaur

and for reasons of politics and romance

took Ariadne with him when he sailed for home.

Though it sounds to me like the reasons of romance

were shallowly rooted because

as soon as he's out of radio range of Crete

he dumps Ariadne on Naxos

which is totally the middle of nowhere

in the Aegean.

and returns to Athens and a glorious political future

though his son Hippolytus turns out a very dodgy lot

very athletic but no common sense or idea of proportion;

all big hair & steroids; what can you expect?

[and I seem to remember that eventually Theseus married Ariadne's sister which goes to show something or other and the thing with the bull goes on and on]

And Ariadne is left lamenting,

which she does in all the books

and several lost operas

and, they would have it, all for Theseus.

But she's left a very good situation all round in Crete,

barring the boredom.

And the minotaur wasn't doing her any harm.

Brought in a lot of foreign money one way and another.

good for trade, marketed well, stylish logo.

Gave the place distinction

Created atmosphere

and reminded her of her mother

though the family always kept that dark.

And trading the palace at Knossos

even with the renovations -

they had Evans in; all that splashy colour;

it dated fast but got good press -

for the beach at Naxos, it

lost its novelty straight off.

But Dionysus, who just happens to be drifting around

the Mediterranean that summer at a loose end

with a pack of feral women

and everyone’s doing each other when they’re

not doing each other’s drugs,

picks her up on Naxos

and presumably shows her a very wild time

It's what he's known for.  And

all that crowd drinks too much

It's just non-stop party, trailing vine leaves

and mascara

And one of Dionysus' alter egos is a bull

There's some tie-in with sacrifice

But I'm sure it gave Ariadne something familiar she could relate to

And that's important.