The Minotaur (opera) Theseus tells Ariadne about his departure from Athens with the Innocents. Ariadne believes that Theseus offers her a means of escape from Crete. She plays a game of chance with him using a stone: if he chooses the hand in which she holds the stone he will enter the labyrinth to confront the Minotaur, but if he chooses her empty hand he must remain a bystander to the bloodshed. Ariadne cheats so that Theseus chooses the empty hand. "Scene 3: The Labyrinth" The Innocents enter the labyrinth, praying to the gods to bring them out safely. "Scene 4: Ariadne" Ariadne
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,