Ariadne – Daughter of Minos

CNG 87, Lot: 834. Estimate $5000. Sold for $8000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MYSIA, Pergamum. Septimius Severus, with Julia Domna. AD 193-211. Æ Medallion (45mm, 45.51 g, 6h). Claudianus Terpander, strategos. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Severus right, vis-à-vis draped bust of Domna left; c/m’s: each with a laureate head of Caracalla right within a circular incuse / Ariadne reclining left in the grotto of Naxos, in gesture of sleep, being watched by a maenad, holding thyrsus and crown, and a satyr, holding lagobolon. SNG France 2210 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen -; for c/m: Howgego 70. VF, attractive dark green-brown patina. Very rare. Impressive.

Ariadne, the daughter of Minos of Crete, fell in love with the Athenian hero Theseus and helped him defeat the Minotaur and free the Athenian captives from the Labyrinth. She then fled with him from Crete. Upon stopping at Naxos, Theseus abandoned Ariadne while she was sleeping and returned to Athens alone. Ariadne was discovered by Dionysos, who made her his wife. Most versions of the tale paint Theseus as a cad, but according to one version Dionysos forced Theseus to desert her because they had profaned his sacred grotto at Naxos. In any case, Ariadne joined the ranks of the divine, bearing many children by Dionysos, and her wedding diadem became the Corona Borealis. Pergamum, with its strong links to Dionysiac cult, celebrates the god's human consort on this impressive medallion.