The thread of Ariadne - Ариаднина нить
The phrase Ariadne’s thread comes from Greek mythology. The father of Theseus was king of Athens.
When Theseus was a young man, Athens had to pay a
very disgraceful tribute to Minos, King of Crete. It happened that the son of Minos was killed by the Athenians. To avenge his death, Minos demanded that seven
Athenian youths and seven maidens should be sent
every ninth year to Crete. The Athenian captives were
always devoured by a dreadful monster called the M inotaur. The monster had the body of a man and the head
of a bull, and was shut up in the Labyrinth, which consisted of so many winding passages that whoever once
entered the building could never find his way out.
On his arrival at Crete, Theseus was put into the
Labyrinth. But Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, having
fallen in love with him, gave him a skein of thread, one
end of which he fastened at the entrance. At length he
met with the monster, and killed him after a violent
struggle. By following back the thread he was able
to find his way out.
The metaphor Ariadne’s thread is used to describe
something that helps to find a way out of a difficulty.
1. Выражение Ариаднина нить употребляется в метафорическом значении ‘путеводная нить, способ, помогающий решить трудный вопрос, выйти из затруднительного положения’. 2. Выражение происходит от имени одного из персонажей греческой мифологии — Ариадны, дочери критского царя Миноса. 3. Афиняне обязаны были по требованию Миноса каждый год отправлять на Крит семь юношей и семь девушек, которые отдавались на съедение Минотавру. 4. Минотавр, чудовищный полубык-получеловек обитал в лабиринте, откуда никто не мог выйти. 5. Дочь Миноса, полюбившая афинского героя Тезея, дала ему клубок ниток. 6. Тезей привязал конец нитки у входа в лабиринт и пошел по извилистым ходам, разматывая клубок. 7. После победы над Минотавром Тезей нашел обратный путь из лабиринта по Ариадниной нити.