Minos, the king of Crete, in revenge for the death of his son, slain
by the Athenians, exacted a yearly tribute from them of youths and
maidens. Theseus, a valiant youth of Athens, offered himself as one
of the victims of this tribute, with the intention of slaying the
Minotaur, a hideous monster to whom Minos was in the habit of feeding
his captives. The cave in which the Minotaur was confined was a
labyrinth so constructed that no man who entered could find means to
escape before he was met and devoured.
The king’s fair daughter saw and fell in love with Theseus. She gave
him a sword and a clue of thread so that he was enabled to slay the
Minotaur and find his way out of the labyrinth.
“And the slender clue
Prepared in secret by the enamoured maid,
Through the curved labyrinth his steps conveyed.”
--_Catullus._
Fearing the wrath of her father, Ariadne fled with Theseus to the
Island of Naxos. But Theseus, ungrateful and selfish, deserted her
while she was sleeping, and setting sail to his ship, was soon borne
away.