Ariadne’s Family Tree

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Family

• Minos(parent),Pasiphae(parent),Androgeus(sibling),Catreus(sibling),Deucalion of Crete(sibling),Glaucus son of Minos(sibling),Phaedra(sibling)— Marriage

  Minos and Pasiphae, king and queen of Crete, bore Ariadne, Phaedra, Androgeus, Deucalion of Crete, Catreus, and Glaucus son of Minos — a royal line shaped by tragedy from Androgeus's death in Athens to Ariadne's betrayal.

• Dionysus(spouse),Oenopion(child),Staphylus(child),Thoas(child)— Marriage

  Dionysus found Ariadne abandoned on the shore of Naxos and took her as his bride, granting her immortality. Their sons Oenopion, Staphylus, and Thoas became rulers of islands and cities linked to wine and viticulture.

• Theseus(spouse)— Consort

  Ariadne fled Crete with Theseus after helping him survive the Labyrinth, but their union ended when he abandoned her sleeping on the shore of Naxos.

  ⚠ Plutarch (Life of Theseus 20) and some later sources attribute children to Theseus and Ariadne, but the dominant tradition in Homer and Apollodorus ends the relationship at Naxos without offspring.

Slain by

• Artemis

  Artemis slew Ariadne on the island of Dia at the accusation of Dionysus, an alternate tradition to the more common account where Dionysus rescued and married her on Naxos.

  ⚠ Homer's Odyssey 11.321\u2013325 presents Ariadne's death at Artemis's hand as the outcome, while Hesiod (Theogony 947\u2013949) and most later sources give the marriage-to-Dionysus tradition instead.

Associated with

• Aphrodite

  Aphrodite struck Ariadne with love for Theseus when the Athenian prince arrived in Crete, compelling the princess to betray her father and help the hero navigate the Labyrinth.

• Daedalus

  Daedalus gave Ariadne the ball of thread that allowed Theseus to navigate the Labyrinth and escape after slaying the Minotaur.

• Labyrinth

  Ariadne provided the thread that guided Theseus through the Labyrinth and back to safety after he slew the Minotaur at its heart.

• Minos

  Ariadne betrayed her father Minos by giving Theseus the thread and sword to navigate the Labyrinth and slay the Minotaur, choosing her love for the Athenian hero over loyalty to Crete.

• Minotaur

  Ariadne, half-sister of the Minotaur through their mother Pasiphae, gave Theseus the thread and sword that enabled him to slay the beast imprisoned in the Labyrinth beneath her father's palace.

• Theseus

  Ariadne fled Crete with Theseus after helping him slay the Minotaur, but he abandoned her sleeping on the shore of Naxos, where Dionysus found and claimed her.

  ⚠ Homer (Odyssey 11.321-325) says Artemis killed Ariadne on Naxos at Dionysus's testimony. Plutarch (Theseus 20) catalogues multiple traditions: Theseus forgot her, was commanded by Dionysus in a dream, or deliberately abandoned her.