NEW - Ariadne Crowns Bacchus

Huddled in a cave and hidden from the outside world, Ariadne crowns her husband, Dionysus, the god of wine, rebirth and theatre, with a laurel wreath. Around them gathers a crowd of satyrs (part-men, part-goats), maenads (female followers of Dionysus) and Pan himself, the god of the forest. All in preparation to celebrate.

This depiction draws on the famous myth told in Ovid's Metamorphoses where shortly after being abandoned by Theseus, despite helping him defeat the Minotaur, Ariadne meets the god Dionysus. The two soon fall in love and get married (ceremony shown here). Even after Ariadne dies, Dionysus ventures to the underworld to make her immortal and deify her as the Goddess of Labyrinths and Paths.

It's at this moment that Dionysus takes her Cretan crown and flings it to the sky, becoming the constellation Corona Borealis.

This stunning red-figure volute krater is attributed to the Creusa Painter (Greek), dating to around 400-380 BCE. It now resides in the Toledo Museum, Ohio.