Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, fell in love with Theseus, a
Greek hero who came to Crete to slay the Minotaur, a half-man/half-beast
monster who lived in a subterranean Labyrinth (maze). Ariadne gave Theseus
a ball of yarn which he unwound as he entered the Labyrinth to slay the
Minotaur. After slaying the Minotaur, Theseus followed the thread back to
entrance of the Labyrinth, rejoined Ariadne, and successfully escaped
Crete.The hypertext could perhaps be compared instead to a trail of breadcrumbs but it should be remembered that Hänsel and Gretel's trail of breadcrumbs, left to find the way back home, was eaten up by the birds of the forest and was unsuccessful.