Ariadne: The Mesmerising Sunday Times Bestselling Retelling of Ancient Greek Myth

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Ariadne, played by Aiysha Hart, is a major character in the BBC series Atlantis (2013), which is loosely based on Greek myths. She falls in love with Jason and helps him conquer the Minotaur and escape the labyrinth. Later, her stepmother, Pasiphae tries to prevent their union. Jennifer Saint writes so beautifully and the descriptions were so vivid- I could see the stunning lands of Naxos, the dark Underworld of Hades, the powers of Dionysus and feel the characters emotions. The skill of Saint’s characterisation is most prominently felt in that of Dionysus. He is given a vitality and youthful sense of liberation, which cannot hide his separation from humanity, even as great pathos is created. This pathos stems from the beautiful exploration of his relationship with his human mother Semele. Saint’s treatment of the characters and myths creates a compelling narrative with believable characters. And so, Ariadne provides the perfect antidote to the frequently misogynistic and frankly dull versions of the story which solely focus on Theseus. Lucas, Arthur; Plesters, Joyce (1978). "Titian's 'Bacchus and Ariadne' ". National Gallery Technical Bulletin. 2: 25–47. ISSN 0140-7430. JSTOR 42616250.

see weaving in mythology). [ citation needed] As a goddess [ edit ] Ariadne as the consort of Dionysus: bronze appliqué from Chalki, Rhodes, late fourth century BCE, in the Musée du Louvre. ARIADNE gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this exceptional debut novel is perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS. Barry B. Powell, Classical Myth, 2nd ed., with new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, Prentice-Hall, 1998, p. 368.Linguist Robert S. P. 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. [8] Family [ edit ]

It’s just really a shame because as much as I dislike “and they lived happily ever after” because I don’t mind a bit of pain, I REALLY don’t like to read about all women needlessly suffering at the hands of or because of men and that being the only message I take away from this novel when it was advertised as a “brilliant feminist debut” and WHEN THERE WAS AN AMAZING ALTERNATIVE WITHIN ESTABLISHED MYTHOLOGY. This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, providing citations to reliable, secondary sources, rather than simply listing appearances. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2017)

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There are alternate versions to the myth, and one I prefer to others, and this seems at first to follow my preferred ending, yet still ends tragically. When presented with such an option that would make an amazing novelization, Dionysus immortalizing Ariadne as he did his mother, to not use that inspiring, beautiful version seems like an immense waste to me. ESPECIALLY since this is marketed as feminist. Nothing says feminism quite like a needlessly tragic ending, am I right? (Heavy sarcasm) So of course I’m disappointed. Barthes, Roland, "Camera Lucida". Barthes quotes Nietzsche, "A labyrinthine man never seeks the truth, but only his Ariadne," using Ariadne in reference to his mother, who had recently died.

Ariadne" is a song in The Frogs, a 1974 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Burt Shevelove, revisions by Nathan Lane (2004). Karl Kerenyi and Robert Graves theorized that Ariadne, whose name they thought derived from Hesychius' enumeration of "Άδνον", a Cretan-Greek form of " arihagne" ("utterly pure"), was a Great Goddess of Crete, "the first divine personage of Greek mythology to be immediately recognized in Crete", [29] once archaeological investigation began. Kerenyi observed that her name was merely an epithet and claimed that she was originally the "Mistress of the Labyrinth", both a winding dancing ground and, in the Greek opinion, a prison with the dreaded Minotaur in its centre. Kerenyi explained that a Linear B inscription from Knossos "to all the gods, honey… [,] to the mistress of the labyrinth honey" in equal amounts, implied to him that the Mistress of the Labyrinth was a Great Goddess in her own right. [30] Professor Barry Powell suggested that she was the Snake Goddess of Minoan Crete. [31] This critically acclaimed novel is a retelling of Homer’s Iliad, told from the perspective of Briseis, a Trojan queen who is captured and forced to become the concubine of Achilles. It is a brave, powerful story about survival and resilience, which in no way shies away from the horrors of war and the cruelty women suffered at the hands of their enslavers. There are harrowing scenes including child murder, gang rape and suicide making it a ruthless story, but one that should not be ignored. I love this new trend of writing about the women of greek mythology. The ones we don't get to see because, as Jennifer Saint writes, "I only knew Medusa as a monster. I had not thought she had ever been anything else. The stories of Perseus did not allow for a Medusa with a story of her own." And I think my favorite part about this story is that in the end, Ariadne's understanding of Perseus is the reason she only gets half a story. The symmetry was incredible.There are variations to the myth regarding Ariadne’s fate and I actually enjoyed the author’s interpretation and how the story ended. Ariadne Book Review: Summary On a side note, Pasiphae, Ariadne's mum is actually the sister of Circe, said to have considerable witch like abilities too. I'm surprised that Saint didn't explore that more. It would have been quite believable that Ariadne had been taught some of these techniques. Equally, the dancing that Ariadne does at the beginning of the novel just disappears, it seemed like such a useful tool to be used with Dionysus later on. Many missed opportunities. the writing in this is also lovely. not quite on the level of madeline miller (an impossibly high standard, tbh), but still has moments of beauty. there are quite a few moments of characters recounting tales, which reminded me so much of traditional greek oral storytelling, so that was nice to see. i also think this story offers a great commentary on the role women play in the world of men and gods and gives ariadne (as well as her sister) a much deserved voice. I also felt that Hera's presence in the novel was in some ways a missed opportunity. She's always there as Araidne's enemy by proxy but we never really explore how the white-armed goddess (not the greatest of epithets) of marriage and birth, the protector of women, and the queen of all gods could have it in for these poor women, exploited by her King of the Gods husband, her Olympian brothers and their children. Instead as Ariadne points out.

Though the ending fell extremely flat to me and was ultimately disappointing, the writing itself wasn’t completely terrible, (it certainly wasn’t great, and to compare this book to Madeline Miller is hubris and punishable by the gods) and the first half as it followed the myth was alright. Ariadne’s viewpoints of how unfair it is that gods always target women for the acts of men are really the only thing that would be considered “feminist.” So that saves this book from having a one star rating, but it’s still a 1.5, and because it has been my most disappointing read of the year, and still inspires rage whenever I think about this book, I’m rounding it down to one star, as it deserves. In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne's decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover's ambition? The struggle for females to break free from the influence and punishment of men is a familiar tale, and the infusion of Greek mythology makes it that much more exciting. I'm always thrilled to come across such a compelling debut, and I cannot wait to see what else Jennifer Saint comes up with.this book is the perfect addition to my greek mythology shelf and fits right in with ‘circe,’ ‘the silence of girls,’ and ‘a thousand ships.’ When Ariadne falls in love with Dionysus: "He showed me that he was truly the best of all men, of all gods." In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to risk everything for love ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition? It's not the sort of retelling that requires knowledge of the original myth beforehand - in fact, everything you might possibly need to know is handed to you. If anything, I would say that readers who are already familiar with the myths surrounding Ariadne may find a lot of the story to be one they've heard before. One thing I did note was how often the dialogue would slip into storytimes from myth - so many myths were woven in, but to a point where I kind of hoped for more, just slightly. We started off really well, with Ariadne's perspective providing more insight to situations and adding her vice very distinctly to the story...but we did lose that a touch in the middle because of the continuous recounting from other characters. That being said, I didn't dislike it. It was just something I was actively looking for when reading these myths specifically from someone else's perspective, one we haven't heard before. This felt almost non-fiction. But I think that's just another cool thing about greek mythology. It feels so real because so many people believe it's truth. Another sad, expected end to another beautiful retelling. I can't wait to find my next one.