Date:    Fri, 5 Jun 1998 12:03:56 -0700
<br>From:    "A. Vine" <avine[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ENG.SUN.COM>
<br>Subject: Re: "...they met cute..."
<br>
<br>Larry Horn wrote:
<br>>
<br>> >
<br>> I'm morally and aesthetically neutral on it, and I don't know the
<br>> constituency of Jesse's collection, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority
<br>> of citations I've come across are used (like Grant's) in a cinematic and/or
<br>> pop-cultural context.  To say that e.g. Theseus (it WAS Theseus and not
<br>> Perseus in the labyrinth, wasn't it?) and Ariadne met cute, would be a bit
<br>> of a stretch.  I'm also pretty sure the X and Y in "X and Y met cute" have
<br>
<br>Yes, it was Theseus who found his way out of the labyrinth with the help of
<br>Ariadne and a ball of string.  He also slayed the Minotaur, but how he slayed it
<br>is not clear - there are a few stories.
<br>
<br>Theseus (son of King Aegeus of Athens) volunteered to be one of the 14 young men
<br>and women sent, essentially to be eaten by the Minotaur, in homage to King Minos
<br>of Crete by the conquered Athenians.  When the 14 Athenians were paraded around
<br>Crete, Ariadne (Minos' daughter), saw Theseus and fell in love with him.  She
<br>agreed to help him out of the labyrinth if Theseus would marry her.
<br>
<br>Don't know if that's the definition of meeting cute, but it certainly isn't my
<br>idea of a good time.
<br>
<br>Andrea
<br>