labyrinth (short with pictures)

8/10/2019 Labyrinth (Short With Pictures)

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A LABYRINTH IS NOT A MAZE

A labyrinth has a single path that leads dependably, althoughcircuitously, to the center. If you stay on the path, you WILLreach the center. A maze, on the other hand, has many paths andintersections. Its purpose is to confuse you. You may get lost andnever reach the center.

Pictured to the right is the worlds most famous hedge maze,locatedin Hampton Court, England.Many people use the wordsmazeandl abyrinthinterchangeably. Below is the maze from themovie Labyrinth, starring David Bowie.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A

LABYRINTH

The following characteristics of alabyrinth are taken from Through theLabyri nth: Designs and M eanings over5,000 Yearsby Hermann Kern.

1) A single path2) An enclosing perimeter3) A single entrance4) Back-and-forth motion (turns)5) A center6) The only way out is to retrace

the way in

Below are examples of labyrinths.

Above: Santa Rosa labyrinth design(protected by copyright see websitewww.srlabyrinthfoundation.com).Right: Paver labyrinth in Naperville,Illinois, built by brick paver artist MartyKermeen (see www.artpaver.com).

Display provided by Labyrinth Enterprises www.labyrinth-enterprises.com (800) 873-9873


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HISTORIC LABYRINTHS

Fivecenturies beforeChrist,labyrinths were pictured oncoins in Crete,the island known for the Greek mythof Theseus and the Minotaur. For this reason, labyrinths of this design are sometimes called Cretanlabyrinths. Another way of naming labyrinths is to describe the number ofconcentric paths circling the center or the number of walls (lines). In the caseof the Cretan labyrinth, there are seven paths (also known as circuits). Thepatternon the coin could be called a 7-circuit or an8-walled labyrinth. Alsoquitecommon are 11-circuit (12-walled) designs.

There are hundreds of stonelabyrinths (left) located inScandinavia, most of themalong the shores of the BalticSea. Some are thought to dateback to Viking times. Fishermenmade and walked the labyrinths in order to obtain goodcatches and favorable winds. There were also springtimerituals with young men running through the labyrinth toreach a young maiden in the center.

Belowis the Man in theMaze pattern, a traditional NativeAmerican pattern of the Piman tribe in Arizona.Paradoxically, the figure is not a man but the deityIitoi, alsoknown as Elder Brother, and the design is a labyrinth, nota maze. It is a variation of the classical 7-circuit designwhich is found all over the world.

Turf labyrinths (left) have been found in England since the13th century.



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EARLIEST LABYRINTHS

Itis difficult todate labyrinths. Somehistorians feel thelabyrinthcarvedinto the wall of the Neolithic tomb in Luzzanas, Sardinia,(right) could have been made 2,500 years before Christ. Others

say it could have been aRoman graffito.

We are more certainabout the labyrinth on aclay tablet from Pylos,Greece (left). It was acasual doodle, made by ascribe about 1200 BC onthe back of a list of people giving goats to thepalace. That night, thepalace burned down,firing the clay, which wasburied in the debris untilrediscovered in modern times.

THE PLANET MERCURY

One labyrinth scholar, Sig Lonegren, suggests that the classical

seven-circuitCretan labyrinth reflects the pathof theplanet Mercury as seen fromEarth. That might explain

why the labyrinth can be found all over the world.

Mercury, also known as Hermes, was the god that served

asmessenger between the godsand theearth. Could therebe a more fitting symbolism for the labyrinth?



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ROMAN LABYRINTHS

Roman labyrinths were made of mosaic tile and laidon the floor. Each quadrant is a separate labyrinthbased either on the seven-circuit design or on themeander.

There are dozens of mosaic labyrinths still inexistence, a number of which can be found in Italy,Spain and Portugal. They are generally not largeenough to walk. Many have walls, gateways, andcrenelations surrounding the labyrinth, representinga cityor a fortress two commonassociations with thelabyrinth. Some labyrinths are named Troy Town,after the City of Troy.

The first Christian labyrinth was a converted Romanlabyrinth, dating to the fourth century.

OPENING THE MEANDER

O p en i ng a d o ub lemeander makes a seven-circuit round labyrinth. Itis not quite like the Cretandesign, but is a labyrinthnonetheless.

DRAWING THE LABYRINTH

Start with the seed pattern, consisting of across, four brackets and four dots. Then,connect the top of the cross to the top of thefirst bracket (you can go in either direction,to the left or to the right). Continueconnecting subsequent elements until the

labyrinth is completed. We know thatancient people usedthis method for drawingthe labyrinth because they made the seedpattern in a different color. You can make a

larger labyrinth by adding additional brackets. Two brackets ineach quadrant yields an 11-circuit labyrinth, for example. Thelabyrinths shown here are left-handed, which is to say that thefirst turn is to the left. Historically, a majority of the labyrinthswere right-handed.


labyrinth (short with pictures)

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