Sed[used] and abandoned: Ariadne, Dido and Medea

Just a few remarcable notes about the three ladies. Featured artworks from left to right: Ariadne procrastination by Dina Belenko (photograph, 2012), Didon by Christine Jongen (bronze sculpture, 2007-08), Medea by Bernard Safran (oil on masonite, 36″ x 41″, 1964)

Princess/Queen

Ariadne
of Crete
Dido
of Carthago
Medea
of Colchis

connection with divine

granddaughter of Zeus and Helios, later bride of Dyonisus Dido/Elissa as a goddess herself is controverse granddaughter of Helios

as helper-maiden

helped Theseus killing the Minotaur helped her folks getting a land, i.e. founding Carthago helped Jason getting the Golden Fleece

obstacle-brother

The Minotaur (half-brother), monster eating sacrifical victims, got killed by Theseus Pygmalion (according to some sources) killed Dido’s husband Acerbas, afterwards Dido fled from him Absyrthus (according to some sources) got killed by Medea and Jason in order to ease the flight from Colchis

featured means

thread oxhide potions

skills

logic
(see logic process named Ariadne’s thread)
mathematics (see isoperimetric problem
called Dido’s problem)
medicine/magic (Georgian popular tradition attributes the origins of the term Medicine to Medea’s name)

featured animal

bull (the Minotaur)
goat (Dyonisus)
bull
(the oxhide)
goat
(the Golden Fleece)

abandoned

from Theseus from Aeneas from Jason

refugee

from Crete to Naxos from Tyre to North Africa’s coast from Colchis to Greek and then to Media (Iran)