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

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Kerenyi, Karl. Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life, part I.iii "The Cretan core of the Dionysos myth" Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976.

Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. Ariadne says of her sons, "they are placid and unmoved by any yearning for glory. They have gone on to lead quiet, unremarkable lives—the greatest gift that they could have been given."What does she mean? How does this novel complicate our ideas about glory and fame?Compare and contrast the different examples of romantic love in this book. Which was the truest love story, if any? Saint’s immersive novel thrusts the reader straight into the heart of Greek mythology with this wonderful reimagining of the story of Ariadne.’– iPaper Ariadne is associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of Theseus and the Minotaur.

When Dionysus sends the Argive women mad: "I saw him for what he was, no different from the mightiest of gods. Or the basest of men ... he could measure his glory in female torment." No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats." Madeline Miller's Circe meets Cersei Lannister in a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious heroine of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen. This monster, also known as the Minotaur, demands blood and every year 14 innocent young men and women from Athens are given as a sacrifice. Despite being horrified by the brutality and loss of life, Ariadne does nothing.Ariadne was the first novel by Jennifer Saint. It’s a book I’ve had on my TBR pile for a while, and with Saint’s second novel, Elektra, coming out soon I decided it was time to read the debut. Ariadne is the gentle daughter of the fearsome King Minos, and sister to the monster who bellows from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. 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. Hall, James (2018-05-04). Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97358-1. Having said that, I did like Ariadne as a character. Not every character has to be a feminist icon. I enjoyed her gentleness and her capacity for forgiveness. I also enjoyed reading Phaedra’s perspective, despite finding her infuriating at times.

It would be easy to view Ariadne by Jennifer Saint as just another retelling of a classical myth. Instead, Saint takes the character of Ariadne and follows her story, whilst incorporating other myths, from Daedalus and Icarus, to that of Acoetes and Dionysus. The world of Ariadne is thus given a complete feel and enthralling narrative potential. 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.’ 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. 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 Thous Even though they parted ways rather abruptly, the two sisters never stopped caring and looking for each other. You can witness the way their lives advance as they grow older, each on her own path, but forever thinking of each other.Plutarch, in his Life of Theseus, which treats him as a historical person, reported that in contemporary Naxos was an earthly Ariadne, who was distinct from a divine one: 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. This was possibly my most anticipated read of 2021 and it was everything I hoped for and more. I devoured this book in a few days and dropped all my other books to focus solely on this one. I was invested in the sisters stories: both Ariadne and Phaedra, how they survived in a world where men and Gods rule. 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.