Ariadne (poem) on a throne, before a flower-strewn bed, surrounded by the dead; how the priests and guards bound the Athenians with thongs and left. Theseus cut his thongs and freed his companion, Euthycles. The Minotaur, seeing the danger, seized a long sword to hold off the unarmed Greeks while it made to escape. Euthycles sprang at it and was killed, allowing Theseus time to crush the creature with its throne. They discover that the Minotaur was King Minos himself in a bull-mask. Hearing this, the horrified Ariadne thinks of the golden tress she left on her father's pillow, as a loving
Ariadne (poem) in the former, The poem's emphasis on 'true love', on shared values of courage and loyalty, may be seen as its primary theme. The realistic, psychological interpretation of the Minotaur story reflects Lucas's interest in the discoveries of modern psychology. The contrast between light-loving Athens and benighted Minoan Crete, hag-ridden with religion, reflects another authorial preference. (The epigraph, from Bacchylides, is "δίζησθαι δὲ φιλαγλάους Ἀθάνας", 'Set out for Athens, land that loves the light'.) Extracts from the poem were read on the BBC Home Service in 1934. "Ariadne" was reprinted by the Cambridge University Press in May 2014. "Ariadne" was,