Oh, where to begin. A lot of our modern history in the West starts with Ancient Greece as some founder of our civilization. What most people do not stop to think of, is why Greece? Where did they come from, and why? Did they pop up suddenly and create the entire cornerstone we are taught our modern lives sprung up from?
Of course not. The Greeks were as much a product of their time period, as we are of ours. They grew from previous civilizations, like we have. One of the major contributing civilizations was that of the Minoans (modern terminology, I just like the way it sounds) of ancient Crete. The Greeks absorbed other civilizations so fluidly, that most people equate figures such as the Minotaur, Ariadne, and Dionysus with them, instead of with the actual cultures they are derived from.
But I do not think the topic of this meme was for a schooling in history and the way it has been formed.
It is hard for me to talk about mythology surrounding being a incarnation of Britomartis, in a single post. Exploring the myths is a major theme of this whole blog, as evidenced by the title. So instead of a crash course in myths surrounding entities like the Minotaur, Ariadne, Britomartis, and Dionysus, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that myths matter.* Reading the primary documents when available. Reading secondary sources. Reading modern retellings. Viewing both ancient and modern art. Experiencing them in your own life. Playing them in a video game, hearing them in a song, watching them in a movie. All of it is important, because myths are what connect and bind us to each other; they are a language everyone speaks, and they can move us to our cores.
So google that entity whose name is in the back of your mind, but you cannot remember where you heard it or why it is lingering in your thoughts. Read about that character that your friend told you is based on some myth from some old culture. Find the lines that connect you to things other than yourself, and trace them back as far as you can go. You could find magic.
* (The links above, by the way, link to previous posts on this blog exploring myths.)
Reconstructing the Labyrinth 