THESEUS AND THE LEGENDS OF ATTICA 559Theseus and Amphitrite. Attic red-figure cup by the painter Onesimos and signed by the potter
Euphronios, ca. 500 B.C.: diameter 153 /4 in. The boyish figure of Theseus is held up underwa-
ter by a tiny Triton, as dolphins cavort to the left. Amphitrite, seated on a stool, holds the wreath
in her left hand, as Athena (with helmet, spear, and aegis) looks toward her. This scene antic-
ipates the narrative of Bacchylides by some twenty-five years. (Paris, Louvre.)
chylides, this wreath is made the gift not of Ariadne but of Amphitrite, so that
Theseus himself brings it to Crete. Ariadne wore the wreath on her flight with
Theseus until he deserted her on Naxos and she was found by Dionysus. The
god took the wreath and set it in the heavens, where it became the constellation
Corona.
Here is Ovid's version of the metamorphosis (Metamorphoses 8. 174-181):
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Quickly the son of Aegeus sailed to Dia after seizing Minos' daughter, and cru-
elly left his companion deserted upon that shore. Alone and bitterly complain-
ing, Ariadne found comfort in the embraces of Bacchus, who took the wreath