The meaning of the expression Ariadne's thread. Ariadne's Thread - Who is Ariadne in Greek mythology? What does "Ariadne's thread" mean?

The phraseology “Ariadne’s thread” came from the history of the Hellenes and retained its meaning until the present century. It is known from Greek myths that the beautiful Ariadne used a ball to create a way out of the labyrinth, so the second name for this thread is guiding. Who was this girl saving, and why did they interfere with her fate?

What does the expression "Ariadne's thread" mean?

The phraseological unit “Ariadne’s thread” is one of the few that has not changed its meaning over the centuries. The story of Theseus, who was helped by Ariadne's guiding thread to get out of the labyrinth, is the best explanation of the meaning of this expression. His figurative meaning Linguists explain how:

• exit from difficult situation;
• a thread showing the way;
• guiding principle.

Who is Ariadne in Greek mythology?

Ariadne in mythology is the daughter of the ruler of Crete, Minos and Pasiphae, and was raised on the island. She became legendary thanks to her intervention in the fate of the great Greek hero Theseus. The girl helped the daredevil get out of the labyrinth, where he defeated the monster to which people were sacrificed. Realizing that they would be overtaken by the ruler’s wrath, the lovers fled to Athens, to Theseus’s father. But then the gods of Olympus intervened in the girl’s fate. Several versions have been preserved about the further fate of the hero’s savior:

1. The gods ordered Theseus to leave the girl on the island of Naxos, where she was killed by the arrow of the hunting goddess Artemis.
2. When the conqueror of the Minotaur landed Ariadne on Naxos, the god Dionysus chose her as his wife. He gave the beauty a crown of diamonds; a legend has been preserved that this decoration is supposedly kept in the heavens, like the constellation of the Northern Crown.
3. Theseus fled from Crete alone, and Ariadne died in childbirth; her grave was located for a long time in the grove of Aphrodite.

Myths of Ancient Greece - Ariadne's thread

The myth of Ariadne is part of the myth about the feat of Theseus, one of the most famous heroes of the Greek epic. The Athenian king Aegeus was also called his father. The king of Athens left the boy with his mother in the city of Troezen, ordering him to be sent when he came of age. On the way to his father, the young man accomplished many feats and was recognized as a prince.

What is Ariadne's thread?

The myth tells about the feat of the hero Theseus, who went to the island of Crete to defeat the Minotaur. The monster demanded victims of seven young people every year. To prevent it from breaking free, it was kept in a labyrinth built by the great scientist Daedalus. The daughter of the king of Crete, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus and risked helping, although she realized that she would anger the ruler.

The girl understood that even if the hero defeats the Minotaur, he will not be able to get out of the labyrinth. How did Ariadne help Theseus? Secretly she handed over a ball of thread. The daredevil tied a thread near the entrance to the gallery and unwound it along the road. Having defeated the monster, the hero was able to follow this trail back and bring out all those sentenced to sacrifice to the Minotaur. Ariadne's thread is a way out of a difficult situation; it showed the way, which is why it is also called a guiding thread.

Ariadne and Theseus - myth

It is believed that Theseus and Ariadne are the heroes of the legend about courage, love and self-sacrifice. But according to one version, love for Theseus was born in the heart of the princess by the goddess of beauty Aphrodite, who liked the hero. According to another version, the Minotaur was Ariadne’s brother, whom the family was ashamed and afraid of, so there were no people willing to become related to the rulers of Crete. This was the reason that the princess decided to help the hero: to find a husband and to get off the island.

Some Greek storytellers claimed that Ariadne allegedly gave the daredevil not only a ball of thread, but also her father’s invincible sword; only with such a weapon could the monster be defeated. And when the lovers returned by sea back to Athens, King Minos begged the gods to return his daughter to him, and the beauty was kidnapped from the ship. In retaliation, Theseus was thrown into the sea by a white sail, which was supposed to be a sign of victory for the ruler of Athens. Seeing black on the horizon, he threw himself off the cliff in grief, and the hero Theseus was proclaimed king.

Explain the phraseology<<нить Ариадны>> and got the best answer

Reply from ¦¦¦ LA`STA ¦¦¦[guru]
Ariadne's thread, Ariadne's thread
In Greek mythology, Ariadne is the daughter of the Cretan king Minos and Pasiphae. When Prince Theseus arrived in Crete from Athens with the young men doomed to be devoured by the Minotaur, Ariadne fell in love with him. The Minotaur was in the Labyrinth - a palace with so many passages that it was impossible to get out of it. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread, which he unwound as he entered the Labyrinth. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus got out of the Labyrinth along an unwound thread (Ovid, Metamorphoses). In a figurative sense, Ariadne's thread is a guiding thread, an opportunity that helps to get out of a difficult situation.
Achilles heel
In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the strongest and bravest heroes; it is sung in Homer's Iliad. A post-Homeric myth, transmitted by the Roman writer Hyginus, reports that Achilles’ mother, the goddess Thetis, wanting to make her son immortal, immersed him in the sacred waters of the River Styx; only the heel, by which Thetis held him, did not touch the water and remained vulnerable. It was on this heel that Achilles was mortally wounded by Paris's arrow. The expression "Achilles' heel" that arose from this is used to mean: a weak, vulnerable place.
Sword of Damocles
The expression originated from an ancient Greek legend told by Cicero. Damocles, one of the close associates of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder, began to enviously speak of him as the happiest of people. Dionysius, in order to teach the envious man a lesson, put him in his place. During the feast, Damocles saw a sharp sword hanging above his head from a horsehair. Dionysius explained that this is a symbol of the dangers to which he, as a ruler, is constantly exposed, despite the apparent happy life. Hence the expression “sword of Damocles” received the meaning of impending, threatening danger.
Sisyphus's work
In Greek mythology, the Corinthian king Sisyphus was punished by the gods for his many sins: in the afterlife, he was sentenced to roll a heavy stone up a mountain, which, barely reaching the top, rolled down, and all the work had to be started all over again. The expression is used to mean: hard, endless and fruitless work.
Sink into oblivion. Summer
In Greek mythology, Lethe is the river of oblivion in the underworld. The souls of the dead, having tasted the water from Lethe, forgot about their earthly life. “Sink into oblivion” - to be forgotten, to disappear without a trace.

Reply from Jirokov Alexander[guru]
Guiding thread.

Reply from Swagagulya6ka[guru]
This famous phraseological unit came to us from the ancient Greek myth about Theseus killing the Minotaur to the Athenian hero Theseus. Ariadne, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos, helped Theseus, who arrived from Athens, fight the terrible Minotaur. With the help of a ball of thread that Ariadne gave Theseus, he managed to get out of the famous labyrinth in which the Minotaur lived after defeating this monster.

Reply from Arkady Azarov[guru]
The figurative meaning of the expression Ariadne's thread:
a means to get out of a difficulty, a guiding principle, a guiding thread.

Probably every citizen in our country has heard the phrase “Ariadne’s thread.” The USSR even produced a beautiful cartoon based on this ancient Greek legend.

The very essence of this legend is this: in ancient Greece there lived a great master named Daedalus. Rumors about his skill reached the wise king Minos.
The king called this master to his place and offered him a special job. He had to go to the island of Crete and create a stone labyrinth there.
Daedalus did his job and the Minotaur, who was the successor of King Minos himself, was imprisoned in this labyrinth.

The Minotaur was not human; according to legend, he had the head of a bull and a body similar to a human. He was endowed with enormous strength and incredible gluttony.

There was not enough money in the royal treasury to feed such a giant. Therefore, King Minos issued a decree according to which the inhabitants of the glorious city of Athens were asked to pay tribute. It said that tribute should be paid by people. Every nine years, seven young men and seven girls. They had to be taken to the labyrinth and left for the Minotaur to profit from.
The cunning king Minos forced the free inhabitants of Athens to pay this cruel tax.

Theseus learned about the misfortune that befell the glorious city and decided to help the poor residents cope with their misfortune. He decides to go on a ship along with other doomed people who were decided to be sacrificed. Theseus was not an ordinary guy, he was the son of King Aegeus and Ephra. the blood of the gods flowed in his veins.
Arriving in Crete and going ashore, Theseus meets the daughter of the cruel king Minos, Ariadne. This girl falls in love with Theseus at first sight and gives him an excellent sword and a ball of thread.

Theseus, along with the gifts, received instructions on how to use this ball. He followed Ariadne's advice exactly, tied one end of the thread to a column near the entrance and boldly stepped into the labyrinth. So he walked, unwinding the ball, until in the inky darkness he suddenly felt the breath of a cruel beast.
The Minotaur, sensing the young man, rushed at him with a roar to have lunch. However, Theseus was not a miss and had an excellent reaction. With a well-honed blow, he cut chest this monster. It fell, covering the floor with its black blood.
In order to return from this tangled labyrinth, Theseus began to wind the “thread of Ariadne” around his hand, again winding through the dark passages. After some time, he again found himself on the surface and breathed a sigh of relief, even this gloomy dungeon was pressing on him.

The speech pattern came to us from ancient greek myths, and it goes back to the adventures of the hero Theseus.

Somehow, after ordinary exploits, Theseus arrived in Athens. The city-state was sad. Of course! After all, he had to equip another parcel for a terrible monster - the Minotaur (a man with the head of a bull). It included seven boys and seven girls. This was the payment for the fact that the Athenians killed the son of the Cretan king, Androgeus. The king himself was called Minos.

Readers will have to be patient to find out the meaning of the expression “Ariadne’s thread” (the meaning of the phraseological unit - further, now is history time).

Theseus, as a true hero, could not allow injustice to happen and begged his father (the mayor of Athens, Aegeus) to send him along with tribute to Crete to visit the Minotaur. Of course, the father was not eager to send his only son for breakfast or lunch to the monster, but what can you do, this is not an easy lot for the heroes - they have to help everyone out.

Meeting with Ariadne

Much to Theseus’s happiness, Minos also had a daughter, Ariadne, who, as soon as she saw Theseus, immediately fell in love with him. And this is not surprising, because Theseus was favored by the goddess of love herself.

Of course, like any girl who had just found love, Ariadne did not want to lose her, so she gave Theseus a thread gathered into a ball and ordered him to tie its beginning to the entrance to the Labyrinth (the home of the Minotaur), so that after the young man had dealt with the Minotaur, he found his way back easily. As they say in Russian fairy tales, once said, done.

True, the ending of this story is a little sad. If the reader is interested not only in the meaning of the phrase “Ariadne’s thread” (the meaning of a phraseological unit, in other words), but also in the denouement of the story, then we direct him to the wonderful book “Myths Ancient Greece» N.A. Kuna. In turn, we are ready to reveal the secret of the meaning of a phraseological unit and illustrate it with an example from everyday life.

Meaning

A savvy reader can easily guess everything himself. The expression “Ariadne’s thread” means some key that will allow you to get out of a difficult situation. For example, books are Ariadne’s thread, because they allow you to get out of the labyrinth of your own ignorance.

Cheat sheet like Ariadne's thread in the exam

Famous story. A student (or schoolboy) stays up all night and thinks about the upcoming math exam. Our hero is a diligent student, but one problem is that he has a bad memory, and the student cannot remember complex calculation formulas.

The hero’s mother comes to the rescue and tells him: “Son, write a cheat sheet. This invention of human thought has two undeniable advantages: firstly, when you write it, you simultaneously remember the material, and secondly, you feel confident with it during the exam.”

No sooner said than done. The exam has been passed. The Minotaur is defeated. Everyone is happy. And we finally figured out the meaning of the expression “Ariadne’s thread.” The meaning of a phraseological unit is no longer a mystery to us.

What does phraseology teach us?

The first thing that comes to mind when we read the story of Theseus is, of course, that being helps the strong and brave. The second is that even the strongest sometimes need help in their exploits. And third, and most importantly: there is a way out of any, even the most difficult situation. Such is the versatility of the expression “Ariadne’s thread.” We consider the meaning of the phrase from a moral (didactic) point of view.

There are no truly “lucky” people in the world. Reality doesn't give gifts. Each person has to pay for his success and win it through work and patience. And each of us sometimes needs “Ariadne’s thread.” Phraseologism, which traces its genealogy to the myths and legends of Ancient Greece, has become an integral part of the Russian language.

Ariadne's thread, Ariadne's thread
In Greek mythology, Ariadne is the daughter of the Cretan king Minos and Pasiphae. When Prince Theseus arrived in Crete from Athens with the young men doomed to be devoured by the Minotaur, Ariadne fell in love with him. The Minotaur was in the Labyrinth - a palace with so many passages that it was impossible to get out of it. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread, which he unwound as he entered the Labyrinth. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus got out of the Labyrinth along an unwound thread (Ovid, Metamorphoses). In a figurative sense, Ariadne's thread is a guiding thread, an opportunity that helps to get out of a difficult situation.

Achilles heel
In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the strongest and bravest heroes; it is sung in Homer's Iliad. A post-Homeric myth, transmitted by the Roman writer Hyginus, reports that Achilles’ mother, the goddess Thetis, wanting to make her son immortal, immersed him in the sacred waters of the River Styx; only the heel, by which Thetis held him, did not touch the water and remained vulnerable. It was on this heel that Achilles was mortally wounded by Paris's arrow. The expression “Achilles' heel” that arose from this is used to mean: a weak, vulnerable place.

Sword of Damocles
The expression originated from an ancient Greek legend told by Cicero. Damocles, one of the close associates of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder, began to enviously speak of him as the happiest of people. Dionysius, in order to teach the envious man a lesson, put him in his place. During the feast, Damocles saw a sharp sword hanging above his head from a horsehair. Dionysius explained that this is a symbol of the dangers to which he, as a ruler, is constantly exposed, despite his seemingly happy life. Hence the expression “sword of Damocles” received the meaning of impending, threatening danger.

Sisyphus's work
In Greek mythology, the Corinthian king Sisyphus was punished by the gods for his many sins: in the afterlife, he was sentenced to roll a heavy stone up a mountain, which, barely reaching the top, rolled down, and all the work had to be started all over again. The expression is used to mean: hard, endless and fruitless work.

Sink into oblivion. Summer
In Greek mythology, Lethe is the river of oblivion in the underworld. The souls of the dead, having tasted the water from Lethe, forgot about their earthly life. “Sink into oblivion” - to be forgotten, to disappear without a trace.

The hero Theseus is the son of King Aegeus. - Procrustean bed. - Medea wants to poison Theseus. - Ariadne's thread in the labyrinth of the Minotaur. - Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus. - Black Sails: the myth about the name of the Aegean Sea. - Amazonomachy. - Theseus and Pirithous in the kingdom of shadows. - Death of Theseus.

Hero Theseus - son of King Aegeus

The main character of almost all heroic Athenian myths is Theseus. The Athenians wanted to embody in Theseus, just as the Dorians did with Hercules, all the exploits and great deeds of the Athenian mythological cycle. But the Athenian hero Theseus never enjoyed such fame among all the Greeks as Hercules, although to give glory and splendor to the name of Theseus, feats were attributed to him that were an exact copy of s.

Theseus is the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra, a descendant of. Theseus was born near Trezena, and he was raised by his grandfather, the wise Pittheus. taught Theseus horse riding, shooting and various gymnastic exercises.

Aegeus, going to Athens, put his sword and sandals under a large and heavy stone and told his wife to send Theseus to him only when he moved this stone and found the sword and sandals.

Sixteen-year-old Theseus picked up the stone, armed himself with a sword, put on sandals and went to Athens to seek his father and glory.

An antique bas-relief located in the Campanian Museum depicts the young hero Theseus, surrounded by his family, lifting a stone.

Approaching Athens, Theseus was ridiculed by a crowd of young Athenians for his long clothes, which were considered a sign of effeminacy by the ancient Athenians. The hero Theseus, who was called the red girl, decided not to show himself to Father Aegeus before he covered his name with glory.

PROCRUSTEAN BED

All the surrounding areas of Athens in that mythical era were inhabited by robbers who robbed and killed passers-by and terrified the country with their atrocities.

First of all, Theseus went to Epidaurus, where the villain Periphetus was rampant. Periphetus killed all passers-by with a copper club. The hero Theseus killed Periphetus and took his club for himself.

Then Theseus went to the Isthmus of Corinth and killed another robber there, Sinis. The robber Sinis had the habit of tying all the travelers who fell into his hands by the arms and legs to the tops of two trees. Theseus subjected Sinis to the same fate. Several antique vases and bas-reliefs depict this heroic feat. Theseus also established the Isthmian Games in honor of the god (Neptune). Returning from the Isthmus of Corinth, near Eleusis, Theseus killed the terrible Crommion pig Faye, who was devouring people.

Villain Procrustes possessed no less original mania. Procrustes apparently wanted all people in the world to be the same height as him. Procrustes had a bed on which he laid his prisoners. If it turned out that Procrustes’ captives did not fit on Procrustes’ bed, then he cut off their heads or legs. On the contrary, if Procrustean bed turned out to be too long, the robber Procrustes pulled the legs of his captives by force until he tore them off.

Having killed Procrustes, Theseus went to fight with Sciron, who threw the travelers he had robbed from the top of a cliff onto the sandy shore of the sea. There the robber Sciron kept turtles, which he fattened with human meat. Theseus gave Skiron over to be eaten by the turtles in the same way.

Thus, retribution, that primitive expression of justice among the ancient Greeks, plays a prominent role in all the myths about the exploits of Theseus. The hero Theseus is in the myths of ancient Greece, like Hercules, a champion of truth, a guardian of the law, a patron of the oppressed and a formidable opponent of all enemies of humanity.

Having cleared Attica of villains, Theseus decided that he could now appear before his father Aegeus, and went to Athens.

Medea wants to poison Theseus

The king of Athens, Aegeus, was then completely dependent on the sorceress Medea, with whom Aegeus married.

Medea feared the influence of her hero-son on Aegeus. Seeing that Aegeus did not recognize Theseus, Medea persuaded the king to give the stranger a cup of poisoned wine during the feast.

Fortunately for Theseus, the hero took out his sword to cut the meat, and Father Aegeus, recognizing him by the sword, snatched the goblet from Theseus, which the hero was about to bring to his lips. The cruel Medea was forced to flee from Athens.

Many ancient bas-reliefs depict the scene of this feast. Aegeus snatches the cup from Theseus, and Medea stands in the distance, waiting for the effect of the drink she has poisoned.

Ariadne's Thread in the Minotaur's Labyrinth

Theseus helped Father Aegeus get rid of his nephews who were challenging him for the Athenian throne. Theseus then went to look for the wild Marathon bull that was ravaging the country. Theseus brought the Marathon bull alive to Athens and sacrificed it to Apollo. This marathon bull, caught by Theseus, was nothing more than one caught at one time by Hercules, and then released by him.

Returning to Athens, Theseus was struck by the sadness that dominated there. Theseus was answered to his questions that the time had come to send tribute to King Minos on the island of Crete.

Several years ago, Minos accused Aegeus of killing his son, and begged his father to punish the entire country of Aegeus. The Lord of the Gods sent a plague on her. The oracle asked by the Athenians said that the plague would end only when they promised to annually send seven girls and seven boys to the island of Crete to be devoured by the monster Minotaur, the son of Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, and a bull. Now the time has come to send this tribute for the third time.

Theseus volunteered to go among the young men and kill the monster Minotaur. It was not easy to fulfill this promise, because the Minotaur had extraordinary power. In addition, King Minos, not wanting to show him off, kept the Minotaur in a cage built by the inventor Daedalus. Any mortal who found himself in the labyrinth of the Minotaur could no longer get out of it, so confusing were all the entrances and exits there.

Theseus, aware of the danger of the enterprise, went before leaving for advice from the oracle of Apollo, who in turn advised Theseus to resort to the protection of the goddess.

Aphrodite inspired Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, to love the beautiful hero. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread. End Ariadne's threads remained in her hands so that Theseus could then use this guiding thread to find a way out of the labyrinth. Theseus managed, thanks to his dexterity, to kill the terrible Minotaur and, thanks to Ariadne's thread, to get out of the labyrinth.

In gratitude for his deliverance, Theseus built a temple to the gods in Troezen.

According to many scientists - researchers of mythology, the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur is, as it were, a symbol of the fact that ancient greek religion, becoming more and more soft and humane, began to strive for the destruction of human victims.

Ancient art quite often depicted the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur. Of the newest artists, Antonio Canova sculpted two sculptural groups on this mythological theme, which are in the museum in Vienna.

Ariadne abandoned by Theseus

When Theseus left the island of Crete, Ariadne, daughter of Minos, followed him. But Theseus, probably not wanting to incur the displeasure of the Athenians by marrying a foreigner, left Ariadne on the island of Naxos, where the god Dionysus saw him.

Such treachery of the hero of the myths of ancient Greece in relation to the girl who saved his life is a very unclear and unexplained act in mythology.

Some myths say that Theseus did this in obedience to orders, while others say that Dionysus himself asked Theseus not to take Ariadne, whom he had chosen as his wife, far away.

The myth of Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus, served as a theme for many works of ancient art. In Herculaneum they found a picturesque image on the wall representing Ariadne on the shore; Theseus's ship moves away in the distance, and the god Eros, standing next to Ariadne, sheds tears with her.

When at the beginning of the 18th century the fashion spread to paint portraits of modern people, giving them the attributes and poses of heroes of ancient mythology and surrounding them with appropriate settings, the French artist Larguilier depicted the modern actress Duclos in the image of Ariadne, but in a dress with hoops and with a huge plume of feathers on her head .

Black Sails: the myth about the name of the Aegean Sea

Theseus's absent-mindedness was the reason for the death of Aegeus: the son promised his father, if he defeated the Minotaur, to replace the black sails of the ship with white ones, but forgot to do this. King Aegeus, seeing the returning ship of Theseus with black sails and believing that his son was dead, rushed with high tower in the sea, which has since become known as the Aegean.

Amazonomachy

Theseus, having ascended the throne of his father, first took up the organization of his state, and then went with Hercules on a campaign against.

Theseus married the Amazon queen Antiope, with whom he had a son, Hippolytus. But, returning to his homeland, Theseus left the Amazon Antiope to marry Phaedra, Ariadne’s sister.

The angry Amazons decided to take revenge for the insult inflicted by Theseus on their queen and raided Attica, but were defeated and destroyed. This war with the Amazons (Amazonomachy), which the Athenians considered one of the most important facts in their heroic history, reproduced on countless monuments of ancient art.

Close ties of friendship connected Theseus with the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, who invited him, along with other noble Athenians, to his wedding with Hippodamia. During the wedding feast, a famous incident occurred, from which Theseus emerged victorious.

Pirithous helped Theseus kidnap Helen, but her brothers took her sister away from Theseus and gave her as a wife to the Spartan king Menelaus.

Pirithous, in turn, asked Theseus to go with him to the dwelling of Pluto and help him kidnap the goddess Persephone, for whom Pirithous had a crush strong love. It was not easy to fulfill such a request, but friendship imposes certain responsibilities. Theseus, willy-nilly, had to agree and go down to Hades with Pirithous.

This attempt, however, ended not only sadly, but also shamefully for the friends, because the gods, angry at such insolence, punished Theseus and Pirithous as follows. Arriving in Hades, both friends sat down to rest on the stones; when Theseus and Pirithous wanted to get up, they, despite all their efforts, could not do it. Friends Theseus and Pirithous, by the will of the gods, stuck to the stones on which they were sitting.

And only Hercules, when he came to Hades to get Kerberos (), begged the god Pluto to allow him to free Theseus.

As for the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, Hercules did not even think about getting him out of such a difficult and awkward situation.

Death of Theseus

Theseus ended his earthly career very sadly: he went to Skyros to visit King Lycomedes, who, jealous of Theseus’ strength and courage, decided to destroy him. King Lycomedes of Skyros pushed Theseus off the cliff, and the glorious hero died.

There were two famous paintings of Theseus in Athens. One of them was written by Parrhasius, and the other by Euphranor. The artist Euphranor said that Theseus Parrhasius ate roses, while his Theseus ate meat.

This apt remark, says the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, very characteristically and correctly determined the direction of the two rival art schools of ancient Greece.

A beautiful antique statue of Theseus has survived to this day.

ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from ancient Greek and Latin; all rights reserved.

How it came about catchphrase"Ariadne's thread"? What does it mean?

Ariadne's thread is an expression derived from an ancient Greek myth. In order for the hero Theseus to get out of the labyrinth where the terrible monster, the Minotaur, lived, the daughter of King Minos Ariadne secretly gave Theseus a ball of thread, which helped the hero get out himself and bring out the boys and girls destined to be sacrificed to the Minotaur.

This rather popular expression, a phraseological unit, came into our lives from the famous myth of Ancient Greece, which talked about how the daughter of the king of the Cretan state, Ariadne, helped the Athenian hero Theseus, with the help of a magic ball of thread, to go through an absolutely impenetrable labyrinth to the village, and defeat the terrible monster that lives in it - the Minotaur.

The expression Ariadne's Thread from the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur. Ariadne tied a thread to Theseus, who went into the labyrinths on the island of Crete to fight this monster - the Minotaurs, who devoured young people. So Theseus defeated the Minotaur and safely, with the help of Ariadne’s thread, got out of the labyrinth.

This expression refers to some goal that a person sets for himself, or a person who leads him through all the obstacles and adversity.

Ariadne's thread is, one might say, a guiding star, a beacon by which a lost soul can find its way, accept the right decision. This is a guideline by which you need to go towards your goal.

When Theseus was sent by the Cretan king Minos to free the island from the monstrous Minotaur (half-man, half-bull, to whom boys and girls were given to be devoured), the king’s daughter fell in love with the brave hero and, so that he would not get lost in the labyrinth in which the Minotaur lived, she gave him a ball of thread. Having tied the beginning of the ball at the entrance, Theseus easily found his way back.

Phraseologism Ariadne's thread came to us from the ancient Greek myths of the adventures of Theseus. The beautiful Ariadne fell in love with this brave young man, and when he had to go into the labyrinth to battle the Minotaur, the girl asked her beloved to tie a thread from a ball of yarn that she had personally woven to her belt. And thus Theseus defeated the Minotaur and got out of the labyrinth alive. Today Ariadne's thread took figurative meaning, that is, the thread here is a kind of key. For example, you can say Cheat Sheet like Ariadne’s thread in an exam, that is, it is a help out of a difficult situation.

Catchphrase Ariadne's thread came to us from the myths of ancient Greece. Ariadne helped Theseus (her lover) by giving him a ball of thread, and Theseus, thanks to Ariadne and this ball of thread, was able to get out of the labyrinth in which the Minotaur lived.

Therefore, this expression means: guiding star, straw, helping hand, that is Ariadne's thread- this is like a means that gives rise to getting out of a difficult situation, in the end, like a lifesaver.

According to ancient Greek legend, it was the thread of the goddess Ariadne that helped Perseus escape from the labyrinth of the monster Minotaur and avoid the fate of being eaten by him. Nowadays, this expression means some kind of help in a difficult situation and a way out of it.

Ariadne is the heroine of the myth of the Minotaur.

The Minotaur is a character from Greek myths who had a human body and the head of a bull. He was born by Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos of Crete, from a bull, which she seduced by climbing into a wooden cow, which the skilled craftsman Daedalus made to her order. The cow was so similar to the real one that the bull could not resist.

By order of Minos, Daedalus built the Labyrinth - a huge structure in which there were many halls and chambers, numerous courtyards, corridors and passages. The Minotaur lived in this Labyrinth, and he was fed by criminals condemned to death, who were launched into this Labyrinth, from which they could not get out, the Minotaur found them and devoured them. When there were not enough criminals, girls and boys were chosen by lot from the city residents. Theseus, the son of the king of Athens, fell into one of these groups. He managed to defeat and kill the Minotaur:



So that he could get out of the Labyrinth, Minos's daughter Ariadne, who fell in love with him, gave him a ball of thread. By tying one end of the thread at the entrance and unwinding the ball, Theseus was able to get out of the Labyrinth.

The expression Ariadne's Thread began to mean a guiding thread, a way to cope with a difficult, seemingly hopeless situation.

This expression has served as the theme of numerous paintings, poems, etc.



The phrase Ariadne's thread comes to us from ancient Greek mythology. There is a legend about the Minotaur.

According to its plot, in Ancient Greece there lived a monster - the Minotaur, who had the body of a man and the head of a bull. He was born as a result of the betrayal of the wife of King Minos, Pasiphae, with a bull (well, as it is... that was the mythology of the Greeks). To hide the Minotaur, Minos built a huge labyrinth. The Minotaur ate people, so the king regularly sent young men and girls as sacrifices to him. They could not find a way out of the maze and died.

King Minos had a daughter, Arianda. She loved young man named Theseus. Theseus decided to defeat the Minotaur, and Ariadne helped him with a ball of thread. With the help of a thread stretched from the entrance, Theseus was able to get out of the tangled labyrinth and kill the monster. This is how the expression Ariadne's Thread appeared.

You can replace the expression Ariadne's thread with others that are similar in meaning. For example, a guiding thread.