January 15: Wedding Month

In Greek mythology, wars are quite common, but the one between Crete and Athens was a particularly bloody one. Athens was defeated and had to send fourteen youngsters to Crete every year, as a sacrifice to their minotaur monster, living in the labyrinth under the palace. To put an end to this, the Athenian prince Theseus volunteered to go himself. (Heroism that inspired many tales since…) Theseus had help from the Cretan princess Ariadne, who gave him a ball of red wool, to wind off going into the labyrinth, and retrace all the way back. He slayed the monster and Ariadne left with him, to live happily ever after. Except he left her on a desert island (Naxos) for which treason no author, ancient or modern, has provided a reasonable explanation. Myths vary, but in my favourite, she’s comforted by the wine god Dionysos, and ends up marrying him. As a favour to his son, Zeus promotes her to goddess of passion. No wonder their marriage was a happy one. We have her wedding crown, the constellation “Corona Borealis” as proof.