Ariadne (poem) lover as brave and fair and true!" Pasiphaë smiles darkly, having already divined the attraction between Theseus and Ariadne. In her chamber that night Ariadne thinks about Theseus – and about the sort of husband her father is likely to choose for her. Her brilliant little sister Phaedra, who witnessed events in court and who is also smitten by Theseus, urges her to seek help from Daedalus, who built the Labyrinth. Daedalus, a Greek exile, has long loved Ariadne in silence, this fair-haired daughter of Minos by a Thracian captive-woman of royal blood. In the small hours Ariadne calls on
Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete dying of natural causes. On her deathbed, she reveals that her daughter, the royal princess Phaedra, was not their only child: A twin sister, Ariadne, lives in secrecy on the Greek mainland in a humble village. She was brought there to avoid being sacrificed to the Minotaur, but now the queen's last wish is to see her daughters united again. While Minos consents to his wife's last request, Phaedra, who is a powerhungry and evil schemer, refuses to share the throne and sends out her loyal retainer, Chirone, to kill Ariadne. Chirone raids the village with a group of hired