Sleeping Ariadne

Ariadne, daughter of the mythical King Minos of Crete, helped the Athenian hero Theseus slay the Minotaur. She joined Theseus on his return journey to Athens, but he abandoned her on the island of Naxos while she was sleeping. After Theseus’ departure, the god Dionysos discovered Ariadne and married her. This statue may have originally been placed in a Roman garden, perhaps by a pool of water. It was formerly in the collection of the earls of Pembroke at Wilton House in England.