James Burke

Ariadne, in Greek mythology, was daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen, Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan.

Since ancient Greek legends were passed down through oral tradition, many variations of this and other myths exist. According to one version of the legend, Minos attacked Athens after his son was killed there. The Athenians asked for terms, and were required to sacrifice seven young men and seven maidens every nine years to the Minotaur. One year, the sacrificial party included Theseus, a young man who volunteered to come and kill the Minotaur. Ariadne fell in love at first sight, and helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of red fleece thread that she was spinning, so that he could unroll the ball of thread and find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth.

Ariadne's thread, named for the legend of Ariadne, is the term used to describe the solving of a problem with multiple apparent means of proceeding - such as a physical maze, a logic puzzle, or an ethical dilemma - through an exhaustive application of logic to all available routes. It is the particular method used that is able to follow completely through to trace steps or take point by point a series of found truths in a contingent, ordered search that reaches a desired end position. This process can take the form of a mental record, a physical marking, or even a philosophical debate; it is the process itself that assumes the name.

I lot of things I write have common threads that I'm afraid are missed or misunderstood...