Ariadne

Topic for Discussion,  Word Study

Hair, part 2 | Female hair: descriptions

But the mane [khaitā] of the other one, my kinswoman Hagesikhora, blossoms [epantheō] on her head like imperishable gold [khrusos]. … She is Hagesikhora. But whoever is second to Agido in beauty, let her be a Scythian horse running against a Lydian one. … It is true: all the royal purple 65 in the world cannot resist. No fancy snake-bracelet, made of pure gold, no headdress from Lydia, the kind… Read more

Texts

Ariadne: Abandonment and Transformation

Translation and notes by Jack Vaughan In this passage by Nonnos, Ariadne has been deserted on Naxos by the hero Theseus. As she lies on the lonely shore sleeping, she is discovered by the god Dionysus who transfigures the human woman into the goddess that defines Ariadne. 265 Bacchus [=Dionysus] now leaving Ilissos’ honey-sweet watercourse [in Attica], comes in joyous procession with his reveling troop to the vine-clad island of… Read more