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

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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. Hall, James (2018-05-04). Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97358-1.

Ariadne was the first book I’d read centred around Greek mythology and it instantly grabbed my attention. As an avid reader of Greek mythology I was so curious to see which myths of Ariadne Jennifer Saint would include. I’ve been especially curious about Ariadne and have read many different versions of her story and what happens to her. I was excited to delve into this book to see which ones the author would take inspiration from. This book is written in a really lovely, effortlessly elegant way that just seemed to flow with ease. It was steady, and really felt like an exploration of the myth when going into it. I could feel myself sinking into the words each time I opened the book, and found myself looking forward to returning. Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1838). "poem". The New Monthly Magazine, 1838, Volume 52. Henry Colburn. p.79. The tension between fate and free will runs throughout this novel. How much agency do you think Ariadne and Phaedra have over their choices, and how much are they manipulated by the gods and Fates? Do they bear any responsibility for what happens to them?A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.

I think this was a book about sisterhood, love, affection and the way we can grow away from our siblings but can't really grow apart from them. American composer Irwin Fischer composed "Ariadne Abandoned" in 1938, a short piece scored for solo piano or orchestra. [44] The UK edition is gorgeous, but better as a decoration, and not to read. I wish I hadn’t read this book and was blissfully unaware of its terrible contents. With Ariadne, Jennifer Saint gives voice to the titular princess of Crete, known mostly as a side character in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, placing her at the centre of her own story for once. The concept has been trialled and tested in Circe, The Silence of the Girls and A Thousand Ships, but Ariadne’s story is one that lends itself perfectly to the same treatment, as even in her original story she’s a female character with a lot of agency. As the brains behind Theseus heroic rescue operation, Ariadne dares to spin the threads of her own faith and stand strong and tall in a world ruled by man, Gods and monsters.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. Alongside this treatment of women in Greek mythology, Saint’s narrative has none of the overly contrived plot details which are so often used to excuse the failings of male heroes. For example, Theseus is not simply excused for his misdeeds by divine intervention. That is not to say that characters like Theseus are devoid of depth and portrayed as one-dimensional villains. By giving a complex characterisation to these more negatively portrayed characters, Saint permits the reader to gauge an understanding of why they act as they do. This, however, does not in any way make their behaviour seem acceptable or excuse it.

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.The characters in the book are all one-note. Theseus is fame-obsessed, Dionysus is "not like other gods" (until he IS!!!! omg), Ariadne is a spectator, and Phaedra is "headstrong" (until she is NOT!!! omg). There is zero nuance, which is hugely disappointing given the character arcs for Theseus, Ariadne, and Phaedra, and particularly for a book that tries to talk about the inherent danger and cruelty of the gods. I thought for a bit that the story was really going to be about sisters, which would make sense given the vague feminist handwaving, but the Ariadne/Phaedra reunion is weirdly devoid of emotion and happens only to service Phaedra's plot. And that vague feminist handwaving doesn't even work on the most basic level. Ariadne makes one affirmative decision to help Theseus at the start of the story and then is just blown in the wind for the rest of the book. Even when she does stand up to others it amounts to nothing more than her own crippling self-doubt. Now it's true that Saint must follow quite closely the original source material but the internal life of Ariadne is all her own and that is unfortunately the weakest part of the story. 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 ]