\b0 It is told that\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10137 Ariadne\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 had been abandoned by\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht12010 Theseus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , perhaps out of calculation and ingratitude though it may have been on the orders of \b \cf4 \ATXht10 Dionysus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who had seen her and fallen in love. What happened was that Theseus had come to Crete
as one of the group of seven young women and seven young men that the city of Athens sent as tribute to\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11316 Minos\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 every nine years. The youths had to take part in contests with bulls before being sacrificed to the\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11317 Minotaur\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and, in exchange for a promise of marriage, let him into the Labyrinth and supplied him with a ball of string that he unrolled as he made his way toward the monster's cell
. After killing it (perhaps by blows of the fist), he was able to retrace the string and find his way out of the Labyrinth. Fleeing with Theseus to escape the anger of Minos, Ariadne woke to find herself alone on the beach of\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11403 Nax
os\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 where their ship had made a call. It was here that Dionysus, riding on a chariot drawn by panthers, met her and took her to \b \cf4 \ATXht11507 Olympus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .
