Ariadne, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, by Pasiphae, fell in love with Theseus, who was shut up in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. She gave him a clue of thread, by which he extricated himself from the different windings of his confinement. After he had conquered the Minotaur, he carried her away according to the promise he had made, and married her. When he arrived at the island of Naxos he forsook her, tho' she was already pregnant, and repaid his love with the most endearing tenderness. Ariadne was so disconsolate upon being abandoned by Theseus, that she hung herself according to some . . . .
Romantic Circles / Electronic Editions / The Last Man / Note: "Ariadne" from Lempriere's Classical Dictionary