“I would be Medusa, if it came to it, I resolved. If the gods held me accountable one day for the sins of someone else, if they came for me to punish a man’s actions, I would not hide away like Pasiphae. I would wear that coronet of snakes, and the world would shrink from me instead.”
Ariadne is a 2021 historical drama novel written by English author Jennifer Saint.
Ariadne, Princess of Crete, betrays her father Minos by helping the young prince of Athene, Theseus, to kill her brother Minotaur. Escaping Crete by ship, she is soon left behind on the island Naxos and is determined to make it her kingdom.
This novel contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Phaedra. If there is action, she is jumping in, head first, with a smile, no questions asked.
- She steals Theseus' club out of her father's treasury, follows Ariadne with it, and threatens Theseus with his own weapon.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Ariadne and Phaedra fall in love with Theseus, although this is an inversion, as neither of them realise he is a bad boy until it is too late.
- All Myths Are True: Greek Gods are real, and whatever you heard about them is true.
- Badass Normal: In a story full of gods and their offspring with superpowers, Ariadne is a mortal, despite being the grandchild of Helios and Zeus.
- Break the Cutie: Ariadne at the beginning of the story is a naive young girl who soon learns the world will not be kind to her.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Ariadne calls her parents Minos and Pasiphaë.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Ariadne's wet nurse is killed by the Minotaur after he escaped his stable. The sight of her body parts strewn around gives Minos the idea of using the Minotaur as a punishment for the Athens.
- Divine Parentage: Pasiphaë is the daughter of Helios, Minos is the son of Zeus, and Ariadne's children are the offspring of Dionysos.
- Downer Ending: Ariadne dies by turning to stone.
- Drivento Suicide: Phaedra after getting turned down by Hippolytos.
- Establishing Character Moment: Dionysos is heading to Naxos in a ship without a captain, having turned the crew to dolphins, only keeping one of them a human to have sex with him. Yeah.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Theseus is thoroughly despicable person - a rapist, a murderer, and a liar, among other flaws - but he still tries to spare Ariadne the sight of Phaedra's corpse.
- Final Battle: Between Dionysos and Perseus. Unluckily for Dionysos, Perseus has an actual army.
- Genre Blindness: Ariadne tends to have this. Despite being warned by her wet nurse and her mother that history is written by men, and that women will only suffer as side characters, she is eager to be mentioned in myths and stories. This leads to her constantly getting the run-around by men.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: Dionysos is so deprived of praise and acknowledgement, that he is willing to go to war for it.
- Good Is Not Nice: Theseus is a hero, but he is not a good person. His greatest hits include abandoning Ariadne on a desert island, kidnapping and raping Antiope, and killing his own son.
- Got Volunteered: Athen sends 14 young children to Crete every year as part of the deal with Minos.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The Minotaur is half human, half taurus.
- Hybrid Power:
- Herakles has super strength.
- Minotaur has super strength, super speed, and super senses.
- Interspecies Romance: Subverted. Whilst Pasiphaë desires a taurus, and mother's the Minotaur as a result, she did it because she was cursed by Poseidon with her lust for a slight by Minos.
- Manipulative Bastard: Theseus. His good looks and charming manner make it easy for him to manipulate people into doing what he wants. Often, it is something completely against their ethics.
- Offerings to the Gods: A tragic example. Dionysos has eventually a mental breakdown after years of no offers for him.
- Parental Favoritism:
- Minos clearly favors his sons over Ariadne and Phaedra.
- Pasiphaë favors Ariadne over her other children.
- Physical God: The gods have a human form (well, most of the time).
- Really Gets Around: Dionysos. So much so, that he build the island Naxos as his love camp.
- Revenge by Proxy: Often.
- Medusa is turned into a monster by Athena because Poseidon can't be punished for her rape.
- Poseidon curses Pasiphaë with lust for the taurus to punish Minos for stealing said taurus.
- Theseus abandons Ariadne on a deserted island as a punishment for Minos.
- Phaedra is cursed with undying love for Hippolytos by Aphrodite, because Hippolytos swore to abstain to love.
- The Nothing After Death: Dionysos turns Ariadne into a constellation after her death. She can only observe humankind without interfering.
