Ariadne: The Mesmerising Sunday Times Bestselling Retelling of Ancient Greek Myth

Product Information

In the very early days, my mother, Pasiphae, would dance with me; indeed, it was she who had taught me. An ancient story of love and sisterhood reimagined, Jennifer Saint's Ariadne is a truly masterful debut—compulsive, absorbing and lyrical. Perseus grew to be a worthy son of his shining father and, as all heroes must do, he conquered a terrible monster and relieved the world of her ravages. One day, having noticed my covetous gaze, he presented me with a tiny golden pendant of my own—two bees entwined together around a tiny piece of honeycomb.

I did not feel like an annoying child, a daughter who would never command a fleet of ships or conquer a kingdom and so was of little use or interest to Minos.

Although his wife died giving birth to their son before they’d been married a year, Daedalus took comfort in the baby, Icarus, and I loved to see him walking about with the infant dandled in his arms, showing the oblivious child the flowers and the birds and the many wonders of the palace. It seemed the night skies were littered with mortals who had encountered the gods and now stood as blazing examples to the world below of what the immortals could do. An elegant performance by narrator Barrie Kreinik recounts the life of Ariadne, whom many listeners will know from Greek mythology.

My mother was no more than a thin shell lying almost transparent on the sand, worn to nearly nothing by the crashing waves. What I did not know was that I had hit upon a truth of womanhood: however blameless a life we led, the passions and the greed of men could bring us to ruin, and there was nothing we could do. Daedalus had been everywhere, it seemed to me, and I hung on his every word when he described the scorching sandy deserts of Egypt and the impossibly distant kingdoms of Illyria and Nubia.Ariadne is a fascinating character and it was so compelling to read the story from her point of view. It was from a time when he was still newly king of Crete and, as one of three rival brothers, he was desperate to prove his worth. When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape.