Friday 8th of March 2019 | Vintzi| 20:30
Amfi Dionyson Mnisomai: Ariadne in Naxos and the Capture of Dionysus
A ship with black sails sails from Faliron to Creta. The ship carries seven young men and seven young women from Athens as a sacrifice to Dionysus. Among these young men we find Theseus, son of Aigeas, who has set out to kill Minotaur. Arriving in Knossos, Theseus meets Ariadne, princess of Crete, daughter of King Minos, and the two instantly fall in love.
Ariadne assists Theseus, son of the King of Athens, in killing the King Minos’ beast Minotaur (half bull, half man) later escaping with Theseus. On their way back to Athens, they stop on Naxos. Ariadne falls asleep on the beach at islet of Palatia, while Theseus sleeps on board the ship with his mates. Meanwhile, Dionysus, god of wine and merriment, a resident of the island (he is credited with blessing the land’s fertile vineyards) sees the beautiful Ariadne and visits Theseus in a dream forcing him to leave Ariadne. When she awakes, realizing she has been abandoned by her lover, marries Dionysus who leads her away to Mt. Drios –present-day Koronos- on Naxos, and from there to Mt. Olympus, “official” residence of the gods. Before leaving Naxos, a wedding festivity takes place on the island and the dancing Dionysus attracts the attention of pirates. The pirates consider Dionysus to be of royal blood and kidnap him. Dionysus then shows his true nature by performing various miracles. He then turns all pirates into dolphins, apart from an old pirate who recognized him as the god Dionysus. Dionysus and Ariadne elope to Mount Olympus and Ariadne becomes the immortal wife of a god.
Organized by: Municipality of Naxos and Small Cyclades
Directed by: Dimitris Gousopoulos
Choreography: Margarita Tsigou
