Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ariadne, after the Greek goddess:
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.
Ariadne was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. The ancient Roman author Hyginus identified Ariadne as the Roman Libera/Proserpina at approximately the same time as Libera was officially identified with Proserpina in 205 BC, these 2 names becoming synonymous for the same goddess. Hyginus equated Libera/Proserpina with Ariadne as bride to Liber, whose Greek equivalent was Dionysus, the husband of Ariadne.
- HMS Ariadne (1776) was a 20-gun post ship launched in 1776. She faced USS Alfred in 1778 and forced Alfred's surrender. Ariadne was rebuilt in 1792 to carry 24 guns, and was sold in 1814.
- HMS Ariadne (1805) was an advice boat purchased in 1805. She was renamed HMS Dove later that year, and HMS Flight in 1806. She foundered in 1806.
- HMS Ariadne (1816) was another 20-gun post ship launched in 1816. She was converted into a coal hulk in 1837 and was sold in 1841.
- HMS Ariadne (1839) was an Indian iron paddle sloop launched in 1839 that foundered in 1842.
- HMS Ariadne (1859) was a wooden screw frigate launched in 1859. She became part of the shore establishment HMS Vernon in 1884, and was renamed HMS Actaeon in 1905. She was finally sold in 1922.
- HMS Ariadne (1898) was a Diadem-class cruiser launched in 1898, converted to a minelayer in 1917 and torpedoed and sunk later that year.
- HMS Ariadne (M65) was an Abdiel-class minelayer launched in 1943 and sold for breaking up in 1965.
- HMS Ariadne (F72) was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1971. She was sold to the Chilean Navy in 1992, and renamed General Baquedano. She was decommissioned in 1998 and sunk as a target in 2004.
Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a ship of the sixth rate that was smaller than a frigate, but by virtue of being a rated ship, had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander. Thus ships with 20 to 26 guns were post ships, though this situation changed after 1817.
HMS Ariadne was launched at Cowes in 1803 as Ariadne. The Royal Navy purchased her in July 1805 as an advice boat and commissioned her under Lieutenant John Wells. It renamed her HMS Dove later that year, and then in 1806 renamed her HMS Flight.
HMS Ariadne was a 20-gun Hermes-class sixth-rate post ship built for the Royal Navy during the 1810s. The vessel was completed in 1816, modified in the early 1820s and only entered service in 1823. Ariadne was assigned to the Cape of Good Hope Station, followed by a stint in the Mediterranean Sea. The post ship was taken out of service in 1828, turned into a coal hulk and sold for scrap in 1841.
