Labyrinth- background

    In this blog, I will probably end up posting many pictures of a labyrinth I'm making in a survival world. For now, here's some background on the ancient Greek myth of the Labyrinth.

    The ancient Labyrinth was designed by Daedalus for the king of Crete Minos. It was built to hold the ancient myth of the half-man half-bull Minotaur. The ancient Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Thesis who was able to defeat the maze with the help of Ariadne. She provided him with a silken thread so he could find his way out of the tricky maze. Also, Daedalus was said to build the labyrinth so well, that he himself could barely escape it after he built it.

    The name "Labyrinth" in English actually is a synonym for our word maze. Many scholars actually dispute the translation of this name, for a maze refers to the complex branching system with choices of path and direction. While the single path Labyrinth just spirals and leads to the center. 

    The unicursal "seven course" pattern of the Labyrinth depicted the pattern on coins as early as 430 BC. Labyrinths are seen everywhere from designs on pottery and baskets, also as tattoos, and etched on walls of many monuments or buildings. The Romans often built many labyrinth designs on walls or floors in tile or mosaic. Labyrinths have been used in private meditation, and also in group meditation. 

   Labyrinth  originated in the pre-Greek origin absorbed by Classical Greek, and may be related to the Lydian labrys (a symbol of royal power, which supports the theory that the Labyrinth was originally a Minoan palace on Crete). A lot of these Lydian labrys were found in a Minoan palace and usually were related with female goddesses. 

    

Above is the Triple Spiral Labyrinth.

Shown above is the Medieval depiction of the Labyrinth. 

Finally, shown above is a picture of the Classical Labyrinth.