Family Īriadne was the daughter of Minos, the King of Crete and son of Zeus, and of Pasiphaë, Minos' queen and daughter of Helios. Beekes has also supported Ariadne having a pre-Greek origin specifically being Minoan from Crete because her name includes the sequence dn (δν), rare in Indo-European languages and an indication that it is a Minoan loanword. Conversely, Stylianos Alexiou has argued that despite the belief being that Ariadne's name is of Indo-European origin, it is actually pre-Greek. Greek lexicographers in the Hellenistic period claimed that Ariadne is derived from the ancient Cretan dialectical elements ari (ἀρι-) 'most' (which is an intensive prefix) and adnós (ἀδνός) 'holy'.

The painting also depicts the constellation named after Ariadne. Īriadne is associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of Theseus and the Minotaur.īacchus and Ariadne by Titian: Dionysus discovers Ariadne on the shore of Naxos. Hyginus equated Libera/Proserpina with Ariadne as bride to Liber whose Greek equivalent was Dionysus, the husband of Ariadne. The ancient Roman author Hyginus identified Ariadne as the Roman Libera/ Proserpina at approximately the same time as Libera was officially identified with Proserpina in 205 BC, these two names becoming synonymous for the same goddess. Many versions of the myth recount Dionysus throwing Ariadne's jeweled crown into the sky to create a constellation, the Corona Borealis.

There, Dionysus saw Ariadne sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her. There are different variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. In Greek mythology, Ariadne ( / ˌ ær i ˈ æ d n i/ Greek: Ἀριάδνη Latin: Ariadne) was a Cretan princess and the daughter of King Minos of Crete. 'Arianna' and 'Ariadna' in Latin Hyginus identified Ariadne as the Roman Libera/ Proserpina (1) Staphylus, Oenopion, Thoas, Peparethus, Phanus, Eurymedon, Phliasus, Ceramus, Maron, Euanthes, Latramys, Tauropolis, Enyeus and Eunous Detail of ancient fresco in PompeiiĪcacallis, Phaedra, Catreus, Deucalion, Glaucus, Androgeus, Xenodice the Minotaur

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint