The poem from the last post refers to the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur. The Greek hero, Theseus, along with seven girls and six boys, was a sacrifice to the Minoan king to pay for the death of his son; they were to be given to a half bull/half man who had a fondness for human flesh. The king's daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus and gave him a ball of magic thread to guide him in and out of the Minotaur's lair, the legendary labyrinth. Theseus killed the Minotaur and took Ariadne with him.
On the way home, he stopped at the island of Naxos and, for whatever reason, sailed away without Ariadne. (Versions differ, depending on the source: some say Ariadne ran off with the wild women who inhabit the island, some say that Theseus just wanted to get rid of an embarrassment). But Dionysus, the god of wine and music, saw her, fell in love with her, and married her, making her an immortal.
Coriander--what we know as cilantro--was sacred to her. Before refrigeration, it was used to flavor meat dishes because it disguised any "off" flavors. Cooks believed it actually changed the meat, the way Ariadne changed a mortal husband for an immortal.
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