Ariadne’s Thread, the Minotaur and the relationship-saving metaphor of saving the hero

Greek mythology is a rather odd place to be extracting modern-day how-to advice. No wonder. People don’t seem to be dueling centaurs, giants, or chimeras anymore, but they definitely often duel stress, insecurities, and trauma, which resemble monsters just as much. Legends have survived the test of time due to their immensely powerful symbolism towards the struggles, successes, plights, and joys of humankind, and they shall do so, until the end of written or spoken word.

The legend of the Minotaur (in super-short) goes like this:

Minos, the king of Crete, gets surprised to find out his wife has been bewitched and, after a rather bizarre entanglement with a magical bull, has given life to a child. Not his child. A half-human, half-bull, savage little boy (little bull?-boy). Outraged, he commissions Daedalus to build an intricate labyrinth, where this creature would be held away from the eyes of the world. Because it is being fed Athenians once a year (this is a story for another day), Theseus decides to step up to the challenge and slay the beast himself.

Once arrived in Crete, he falls in love with Minos’ daughter, whose creativity and wit ultimately save his butt. He enters the labyrinth holding the end of a red yarn thread which will later guide him back to her. Spoiler alert — he slays the beast, and no, they don’t end up together.