I.   Theseus, Ariadne, etc.

1. Background
    a. People: Europa, Asterius: Minos (Sarpedon, Rhadamanthys), Pasiphaë (d. Helios), Ariadne (Phaedra, Androgeos), Daedalus,  Theseus, Aegeus,
    b. Places: Crete, Athens, Naxos, Labyrinth
    c. Things: Minotaur, fake bull, string / thread / yarn sacrifices, white sails
    d. Gods: Poseidon, Dionysos, Helios
    e. Sources: Ovid, Catullus, Euripides

2. The Background
    a. Zeus and Europa--Zeus leaves Europa on Crete
    b. Asterius (king of Crete) marries Europa, three kids (Minos, Sarpedon, Rhadamanthys--they quarrel over a boy, Minos wins)
    c. Asterius dies; Minos takes throne--Minos asks for BULL from sea as proof of kingship.  POSEIDON sends really nice bull, but Minos fails
        to sacrifice it; adds it instead to his own herd.

3. Pasiphaë and Minos
    a. Not sacrificing the Bull was a Big Mistake
    b. Poseidon makes Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull.  Yes, you heard it here first!
    c. Pasiphaë gets Daedalus to help her out.
    d. Bull impregnates the queen.
    e. Pasiphaë gives birth to monstrous MINOTAUR (bull of Minos)
    f. Minos orders Daedalus to build LABYRINTH, in which he imprisons the Minotaur.

4. The Athens Bits
    a. Androgeos killed at Athens by (see a theme, here?) the BULL OF MARATHON
    b. In anger, Minos demands from Athens 7 young men and 7 young women, each year, to be sacrificed to the Minotaur.
    c. Finally, Theseus (son of Aegeus, king of Athens) decides to put a stop to it (not Athenian supremacy).  Black sails / white sails story.
    d. Theseus arrives on Crete, Ariadne falls in love.
    e. Ariadne helps Theseus out with a string (again, note the connection between women and clevernessówhat?  He couldnít figure this out
        himself?  Note also the theme of women and ëweavingí or sewing).
    f. Theseus kills Minotaur, escapes with Ariadne
    g. Theseus abandons Ariadne on Naxos (Dionyos saves her, gives her immortality, and turns her into constellationóthe ëcrown of Ariadneí)
    h. Lying jerk in such a hurry to abandon Ariadne, he forgets about the sails and his father kills himself.