[Concerning Dionysus Role As God Of Both Maenads And The Dead:] The Maenads And The Dead, On The Other

[Concerning Dionysus’ role as god of both maenads and the dead:] The maenads and the dead, on the other hand, share several distinctive features, provided we perceive the dead not as corpses but as the spirits of the deceased who return periodically to the world of the living. In Greek tragedy, for instance, ghosts as well as maenads are described as ‘night stalkers’ (nuktipoloi) because they come to life only at night.

Albert Henrichs, ‘"He Has a God in Him": Human and Divine in the Modern Perception of Dionysus’ (via argonauticae)

Of Ritual Madness and Ecstasy by Amdhuscias

Dionysos and Ariadne on a quadriga drawn by panthers on the top of the Semperoper opera house in Dresda,Germany, sculpture by Johannes Schilling, 1871/77

Ω PERSONALITY

✔ KIND→ HELPFUL→ BEAUTIFUL

✘ ABANDONMENT ISSUES → RASH → CLINGY

Ω BACKGROUND

Ariadne is the immortal wife of Dionysus, and was the Princess of Crete. She was the daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae. Ariadne knew that her father was evil, and that sacrificing people to the Minotaur was cruel. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus at first sight, and wanted him to live. She agreed to help him, and he promised to make her his bride and take her to Athens if he survived. She gave him a sword and a magical ball of yarn to help on his journey. 

These gifts however failed, and she eventually used her ability to see through the mist to help guide him through the maze. With this help, Theseus was able to slay the Minotaur. Before King Minos could do anything about it, they got back on their ship and sailed away, Ariadne accompanying Theseus. 

Eventually, Theseus grew tired of Ariadne. They stopped at the island of Naxos and Theseus “dumped” Ariadne and left her on the island. That night, when everybody was sleeping, Theseus woke up all his crew, except for Ariadne and they sailed off, leaving her deserted on the island. They had left the beautiful girl that saved their lives. 

Dionysus later found her crying and weeping for Theseus. He instantly fell in love with her and he comforted her. He was determined to make the poor girl happy again. Over time, he healed her broken heart and they were married. 

Ariadne remained faithful to Dionysus, but later died, and Dionysus couldn’t live without his beloved. He descended to the Underworld and retrieved her and his mother Semele back. They then joined the gods on Olympus, and Ariadne was made Dionysus’s immortal wife. 

Meet Ariadne, she is a daughter of Pasiphae and King Minos.

Ariadne

Sir John Lavery