Heroides X - Ovid
Ovid’s Heroides X is a letter from Ariadne to Theseus. It is Ovid’s interpretation of Ariadne’s response to Theseus’ abandonment of her. The letter is assumed by the reader to have been written shortly after Theseus left the Ariadne on the island of Naxos because the sting of betrayal seems to still be fresh in the letter. Because the letter is centered on Ariadne’s emotions, it is an anti-Theseus text; however even though the text makes Theseus appear cruel, it also makes Ariadne appear foolish.
The letter begins with Ariadne’s recount of waking up on the shores alone. She climbs a cliff and sees the sails of Theseus’ ship in the distance. She screams and pleads for Theseus to come back for her, but it is all in vain. The letter states, “Here I am alone on an island where nobody lives – no trace of habitation or animal herd.”[1] Theseus is subjecting Ariadne to the same mental torture his citizens when through in the labyrinth. Every nine years, Athens has to send seven male and seven female tributes to Crete, where they will enter the labyrinth and face the Minotaur. The tributes are scattered and are left to die alone with no means of escape. Ariadne’s predicament parallels that of the tributes. She is alone in a foreign place with no means of escaping, knowing that she will most likely die on Naxos. Ironically, she is suffering his implantation of justice even though she is the one who aids him in escaping the labyrinth. She emphasizes this fact by saying, “For I have betrayed my wise and righteous father in the help I gave ungrateful Theseus.”[2] Her role in his success is what makes the deception even more painful. She felt valuable when she aided him, but now her role is reduced to just a pawn in his plan instead of his savior. When he promised that he would make her his queen, he used her infatuation for him against her. He took her virginity out of wedlock lowering her status to that of a whore—a reputation far from the status of wife that Theseus promised he would give her. After he got what he desired from her, she became an expendable asset.
Theseus’s betrayal is the main driving force of Ariadne’s emotional turmoil, but the guilt from betraying her family is another strong component. She essentially chose a stranger over her father when she decided to help Theseus. She knew that she would be relinquishing everything to be with Theseus, but she believed that as long as she had him she was fine with losing it all. She never considered the possibility of Theseus leaving her. When it happened, a tsunami of regret hit her. She gave up everything for nothing. The realization that she is considered worthless by the man she loves and that she willingly gave up her life for him broke her spirit. She seems to accept her death when she states, “You can at least carry away my corpse.”[3] By doing this Ovid portrays Ariadne as a hopeless victim who has renounced herself to her fate. This image is a double edge sword as it can either invoke sympathy or scorn from the reader; sympathy because of her situation, scorn because she put herself in that situation and she will not even try to get out of it. She chose to indirectly kill her brother, the Minotaur, and save Theseus. All the misfortune she is experiencing is due to her own error in judgment. However Ovid most likely depicted Ariadne as so pitiful a being because women are meant to be weak in Greek society. If he makes her weak, more readers will find his letter believable.
Though Heroides X makes Ariadne appear foolish and Theseus appear cruel, the letter does accomplish its goal. It invokes a sense of pity and helplessness, which is how Ariadne is feeling. If she did in fact write this letter, then her goal would be to make Theseus feel regret for abandoning her thus coming back for her. As for making Theseus look cruel, Athenians would see this in a different way. They would see this as Theseus punishing Minos by making him lose both his children as the Athenians have lost their own offspring as tributes. This would make Theseus a hero to his people.
[1] Ovid, Herodies X, p.207.
[2] Ibid., p.207.
[3] Ibid., p.211.
The letter begins with Ariadne’s recount of waking up on the shores alone. She climbs a cliff and sees the sails of Theseus’ ship in the distance. She screams and pleads for Theseus to come back for her, but it is all in vain. The letter states, “Here I am alone on an island where nobody lives – no trace of habitation or animal herd.”[1] Theseus is subjecting Ariadne to the same mental torture his citizens when through in the labyrinth. Every nine years, Athens has to send seven male and seven female tributes to Crete, where they will enter the labyrinth and face the Minotaur. The tributes are scattered and are left to die alone with no means of escape. Ariadne’s predicament parallels that of the tributes. She is alone in a foreign place with no means of escaping, knowing that she will most likely die on Naxos. Ironically, she is suffering his implantation of justice even though she is the one who aids him in escaping the labyrinth. She emphasizes this fact by saying, “For I have betrayed my wise and righteous father in the help I gave ungrateful Theseus.”[2] Her role in his success is what makes the deception even more painful. She felt valuable when she aided him, but now her role is reduced to just a pawn in his plan instead of his savior. When he promised that he would make her his queen, he used her infatuation for him against her. He took her virginity out of wedlock lowering her status to that of a whore—a reputation far from the status of wife that Theseus promised he would give her. After he got what he desired from her, she became an expendable asset.
Theseus’s betrayal is the main driving force of Ariadne’s emotional turmoil, but the guilt from betraying her family is another strong component. She essentially chose a stranger over her father when she decided to help Theseus. She knew that she would be relinquishing everything to be with Theseus, but she believed that as long as she had him she was fine with losing it all. She never considered the possibility of Theseus leaving her. When it happened, a tsunami of regret hit her. She gave up everything for nothing. The realization that she is considered worthless by the man she loves and that she willingly gave up her life for him broke her spirit. She seems to accept her death when she states, “You can at least carry away my corpse.”[3] By doing this Ovid portrays Ariadne as a hopeless victim who has renounced herself to her fate. This image is a double edge sword as it can either invoke sympathy or scorn from the reader; sympathy because of her situation, scorn because she put herself in that situation and she will not even try to get out of it. She chose to indirectly kill her brother, the Minotaur, and save Theseus. All the misfortune she is experiencing is due to her own error in judgment. However Ovid most likely depicted Ariadne as so pitiful a being because women are meant to be weak in Greek society. If he makes her weak, more readers will find his letter believable.
Though Heroides X makes Ariadne appear foolish and Theseus appear cruel, the letter does accomplish its goal. It invokes a sense of pity and helplessness, which is how Ariadne is feeling. If she did in fact write this letter, then her goal would be to make Theseus feel regret for abandoning her thus coming back for her. As for making Theseus look cruel, Athenians would see this in a different way. They would see this as Theseus punishing Minos by making him lose both his children as the Athenians have lost their own offspring as tributes. This would make Theseus a hero to his people.
[1] Ovid, Herodies X, p.207.
[2] Ibid., p.207.
[3] Ibid., p.211.