september 17. ariadne, who hid and/or died in an opening
experiment: |
Lived 130
Ariadne was the servant of a city official named Tertillos in Phrygia (aka modern-day Turkey). According to one blogger, Ariadne was"this beautiful young slave girl who had a major crush on Jesus." When Tertillos' son was born, Ariadne's master made a sacrificial offering to the pagan gods. Ariadne, a Christian, refused to participate in the ceremony. Tertillos punished Ariadne by flogging her, scraping her with an iron claw, and starving her in a dungeon. When he finally released her from prison, Ariadne fled the city, but Tertillos dispatched his huntsmen to trail her. She ran, calling to God to defend her from her enemies. As her pursuers neared, Ariadne came to a mountain or rock. SEVEN ACCOUNTS OF A DIVINE INTERVENTION INVOLVING A ROCK, A MOUNTAIN, OR A DEEP HOLE Suddenly, through her prayers, a fissure opened in the mountain, and Ariadne hid in it. * By a divine wonder, the rock opened and received Ariadne. There, within the confines of the rock, she surrendered her spirit into Christ's hands. * Just when the huntsmen were about to overtake her, the earth opened up beneath Ariadne and she fell "down, down, down into a deep hole." * "Merciful God, with His All-seeing eye, Saw St. Ariadna's holy suffering, And commanded the lifeless rock To hide His suffering virgin" * A large rock opened up for Ariadne to escape into; she was never seen again. She was assumed to have died in the rock; it became her tomb; she is considered a martyr. * A chasm miraculously appeared in the mountain. According to Orthodox tradition, she hid inside; according to Catholic tradition, the chasm enclosed around her and became her tomb. * Ariadne ran right into a huge rock that opened itself up for her and then mysteriously closed back together. She was never seen again. THE FATE OF THE HUNTSMEN In their depravity of mind, her confused and fear-stricken pursuers struck one another with spears. By some accounts, fearful angels of the Lord appeared then on horseback with additional spears, striking Ariadne's persecutors. In no time at all, every last one of the huntsmen was dead. |