Labyrinth

This article is about the maze-like structure from Greek mythology. For other uses, see Labyrinth (disambiguation).

Classical labyrinth. Atlantic Bronze Age labyrinth. Meis, Galicia. Roman mosaic picturing Theseus and the Minotaur. Rhaetia, Switzerland. Triple spiral labyrinth Medieval labyrinth. Walking the labyrinth at the Chartres Cathedral. Chakravyuha, a threefold seed pattern with a spiral at the centre, one of the troop formations employed at the battle of Kurukshetra, as recounted in the Mahabharata. I'itoi, the "Man in the Maze", a popular design in Native American basketry. Labyrinth among rock drawings in Valcamonica, Italy

In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (Greek λαβύρινθος labyrinthos, place of the double-axe, i.e. the building complex at Knossos) was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a mythical creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Daedalus had made the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it.^[1] Theseus was aided by Ariadne, who provided him with a skein of thread, literally the "clew", or "clue", so he could find his way out again.

In colloquial English, labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze, but many contemporary scholars observe a distinction between the two: maze refers to a complex branching (multicursal) puzzle with choices of path and direction; while a single-path (unicursal) labyrinth has only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center. A labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the center and back and is not designed to be difficult to navigate.^[2]

Although early Cretan coins occasionally exhibit multicursal patterns,^[3] the unicursal seven-course "Classical" design became associated with the Labyrinth on coins as early as 430 BC,^[4] and became widely used to represent the Labyrinth – even though both logic and literary descriptions make it clear that the Minotaur was trapped in a complex branching maze.^[5] Even as the designs became more elaborate, visual depictions of the Labyrinth from Roman times until the Renaissance are almost invariably unicursal. Branching mazes were reintroduced only when garden mazes became popular in the Renaissance.

Labyrinths appeared as designs on pottery or basketry, as body art, and etched on walls of caves or churches. The Romans built many primarily decorative labyrinth designs on walls and floors in tile or mosaic. Many labyrinths set in floors or on the ground are large enough that the path to the center and back can be walked. They have historically been used both in group ritual and for private meditation.

Ancient labyrinths

Pliny's Natural History mentions four ancient labyrinths: the Cretan labyrinth, an Egyptian labyrinth, a Lemnian labyrinth and an Italian labyrinth.

Labyrinth is a word of pre-Greek (Minoan) origin absorbed by Classical Greek and is perhaps related to the Lydian labrys ("double-edged axe", a symbol of royal power, which fits with the theory that the labyrinth was originally the royal Minoan palace on Crete and meant "palace of the double-axe"),^[6] with -inthos meaning "place" (as in Corinth). A lot of these symbols were found in the Minoan palace and they usually accompanied female goddesses. It was probably the symbol of the arche (Mater-arche:matriarchy). This theory is confirmed by the worship of Zeus Labraundos (Ζεύς Λαβρυάνδις) in Caria of Anatolia, where also existed a sacred site named Labraunda. Zeus is depicted holding a double-edged axe.^[7] In classical Greece the priests at Delphi were called Labryades (Λαβρυάδες ) - the men of the double axe.-^[8] The complex palace of Knossos in Crete is usually implicated, though the actual dancing-ground, depicted in frescoed patterns at Knossos, has not been found. Something was being shown to visitors as a labyrinth at Knossos in the 1st century AD (Philostratos, De vita Apollonii Tyanei iv.34).^[9] A palace of similar complicated structure was discovered at Beycesultan in Anatolia, on the headwaters of Meander river.^[10]

The word labyrinthos (Mycenaean daburinthos^[11]) may possibly show the same equivocation between initial d- and l- as is found in the variation of the early Hittite royal name Tabarna / Labarna (where written t- may represent phonetic d-). If so, the equivocation would be similar to the Vedic sandhi representation of intervocalic retroflex -ḍ- as -ḷ-. It is possible that daburinthos may be cognate with the name of Mt. Tābôr,but this is not generally accepted.

Greek mythology did not recall, however, that in Crete there was a Lady or mistress who presided over the Labyrinth, although the goddess of mysteries of Arcadian cults was called Despoine (miss).^[12] A tablet inscribed in Linear B found at Knossos records a gift "to all the gods honey; to the mistress of the labyrinth honey." All the gods together receive as much honey as the Mistress of the Labyrinth alone. The Mycenean Greek word is potnia. "She must have been a Great Goddess," Kerényi observes.^[13] It is possible that the Cretan labyrinth and the Lady were connected with a cult which was transmitted later to the Eleusinian mysteries.^[14][15]

The labyrinth is the referent in the familiar Greek patterns of the endlessly running meander, to give the "Greek key" its common modern name. In the 3rd century BC, coins from Knossos were still struck with the labyrinth symbol. The predominant labyrinth form during this period is the simple seven-circuit style known as the classical labyrinth.

The term labyrinth came to be applied to any unicursal maze, whether of a particular circular shape (illustration) or rendered as square. At the center, a decisive turn brought one out again. In the Socratic dialogue that Plato produced as Euthydemus, Socrates describes the labyrinthine line of a logical argument:

"Then it seemed like falling into a labyrinth: we thought we were at the finish, but our way bent round and we found ourselves as it were back at the beginning, and just as far from that which we were seeking at first." ... Thus the present-day notion of a labyrinth as a place where one can lose [his] way must be set aside. It is a confusing path, hard to follow without a thread, but, provided [the traverser] is not devoured at the midpoint, it leads surely, despite twists and turns, back to the beginning.^[16]

Cretan labyrinth

The most popular potential site for the Labyrinth in the myth of the Minotaur is a Bronze Age site at Knossos. When Knossos was excavated by explorer Arthur Evans, he found various bull motifs, including an image of a man leaping over the horns of a bull, as well as depictions of a labrys carved into the walls. The palace is thought to have been the site of a dancing-ground made for Ariadne by the craftsman Daedalus, where young men and women, of the age of those sent to Crete as prey for the Minotaur, would dance together.^[17] By extension, in popular legend it is associated with the myth of the Minotaur.

In the 2000s, archaeologists explored other potential sites of the labyrinth.^[18] Oxford University geographer Nicholas Howarth believes that 'Evans’s hypothesis that the palace of Knossos is also the Labyrinth must be treated skeptically.'^[19] Howarth and his team conducted a search of an underground complex known as the Skotino cave but concluded that it was formed naturally. Another contender is a series of underground tunnels at Gortyn, accessed by a narrow crack but expanding into interlinking caverns. Unlike the Skotino cave, these caverns have smooth walls and columns, and appear to have been at least partially man-made. This site corresponds to an unusual labyrinth symbol on a 16th century map of Crete contained in a book of maps in the library of Christ Church, Oxford. A map of the caves themselves was produced by the French in 1821. The site was also used by German soldiers to store ammunition during the Second World War. Howarth's investigation was shown on a documentary^[20] produced for the National Geographic Channel.

Herodotus' Egyptian labyrinth

Even more generally, labyrinth might be applied to any extremely complicated maze-like structure. Herodotus, in Book II of his Histories, describes as a "labyrinth" a building complex in Egypt, "near the place called the City of Crocodiles," that he considered to surpass the pyramids in its astonishing ambition:

It has twelve covered courts — six in a row facing north, six south — the gates of the one range exactly fronting the gates of the other. Inside, the building is of two storeys and contains three thousand rooms, of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them. I was taken through the rooms in the upper storey, so what I shall say of them is from my own observation, but the underground ones I can speak of only from report, because the Egyptians in charge refused to let me see them, as they contain the tombs of the kings who built the labyrinth, and also the tombs of the sacred crocodiles. The upper rooms, on the contrary, I did actually see, and it is hard to believe that they are the work of men; the baffling and intricate passages from room to room and from court to court were an endless wonder to me, as we passed from a courtyard into rooms, from rooms into galleries, from galleries into more rooms and thence into yet more courtyards. The roof of every chamber, courtyard, and gallery is, like the walls, of stone. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white marble and surrounded by a colonnade.^[21]

During the 19th century, the remains of the Labyrinth were discovered "11½ miles from the pyramid of Hawara, in the province of Faioum."^[22] The Labyrinth was likely modified and added upon "at various times. The names of more than one king have been found there, the oldest" name being that of Amenemhat III.^[22] "It is unnecessary to imagine more than that it was monumental, and a monument of more than one king of Egypt."^[22]

In 1898, the Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities described the structure as "the largest of all the temples of Egypt, the so-called Labyrinth, of which, however, only the foundation stones have been preserved."^[23]

Herodotus' description of the Egyptian Labyrinth, in Book II of The Histories, inspired some central scenes in Bolesław Prus' 1895 historical novel, Pharaoh.

Pliny's Lemnian labyrinth

Pliny the Elder's Natural History (36.90) lists the legendary Smilis, reputed to be a contemporary of Daedalus, together with the historical mid-sixth-century BC architects and sculptors Rhoikos and Theodoros as two of the makers of the Lemnian labyrinth, which Andrew Stewart^[24] regards as "evidently a misunderstanding of the Samian temple's location en limnais ['in the marsh']."

Pliny's Italian labyrinth

According to Pliny, the tomb of the great Etruscan general Lars Porsena contained an underground maze. Pliny's description of the exposed portion of the tomb is intractable; Pliny, it seems clear, had not observed this structure himself, but is quoting the historian and Roman antiquarian Varro.

Ancient labyrinths outside Europe

Carving showing the warrior Abhimanyu entering the chakravyuha – Hoysaleswara temple, Halebidu, India

At about the same time as the appearance of the Greek labyrinth, a topologically identical pattern appeared in Native American culture, the Tohono O'odham labyrinth which features I'itoi, the "Man in the Maze". The Tonoho O'odham pattern has two distinct differences from the Greek: it is radial in design, and the entrance is at the top, where traditional Greek labyrinths have the entrance at the bottom (see below).

A prehistoric petroglyph on a riverbank in Goa shows the same pattern and has been dated to circa 2500 BC. Other examples have been found among cave art in northern India and on a dolmen shrine in the Nilgiri Mountains, but are difficult to date accurately. Early labyrinths in India all follow the Classical pattern; some have been described as plans of forts or cities.^[25]

Labyrinths appear in Indian manuscripts and Tantric texts from the 17th century onward. They are often called "Chakravyuha" in reference to an impregnable battle formation described in the ancient Mahabharata epic. Lanka, the capital city of mythic Rāvana, is described as a labyrinth in the 1910 translation of Al-Beruni's India (c.1030CE) p. 306 (with a diagram on the following page).^[26]

By the White Sea, notably on the Solovetsky Islands, there have been preserved more than 30 stone labyrinths. The most remarkable monument is the Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island - a group of 13–14 stone labyrinths on 0.4 km² area of one small island. It is considered that these labyrinths are 2,000–3,000 years old.^[27]

Labyrinth as pattern

In antiquity, the less complicated labyrinth pattern familiar from medieval examples was already developed. In Roman floor mosaics, the simple classical labyrinth is framed in the meander border pattern, squared off as the medium requires, but still recognisable. Often an image of the Minotaur appears in the centre of these mosaic labyrinths. Roman meander patterns gradually developed in complexity towards the fourfold shape that is now familiarly known as the medieval form. The labyrinth retains its connection with death and a triumphant return: at Hadrumentum in North Africa (now Sousse), a Roman family tomb has a fourfold labyrinth mosaic floor with a dying minotaur in the center and a mosaic inscription: HICINCLUSUS.VITAMPERDIT "Enclosed here, he loses life" (Kerenyi, fig.31).

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  Earliest recovered labyrinth, incised on a clay tablet from Pylos.

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  Minotaur in Labyrinth—a Roman mosaic at Conímbriga, Portugal.

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  Sketch by Villard de Honnecourt (c.1230)

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  Wall maze in Lucca Cathedral, Italy (probably medieval).

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  Illustration of Jericho in a Farhi Bible (14th century)

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  Basilica of St-Quentin, Aisne, France

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  Cathedral of Amiens, France

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  Stone labyrinth on Blå Jungfrun (Blue Virgin) island, Sweden

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  Seven-ring classical labyrinth of unknown age in Rocky Valley near Tintagel, Cornwall, UK.

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  Small turf maze near Dalby, North Yorkshire, UK.

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  Turf maze at Wing in Rutland, UK.

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  Portrait of a man, by Bartolomeo Veneto, Italy, early 16th century

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  Minotaur at center of labyrinth, on a 16th-century gem.

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  Edinburgh labyrinth, George Square Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

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  9/11 memorial labyrinth, Boston College, USA.

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  Labyrinth at the Chapel of St. Basil in Houston, Tx

Medieval labyrinths and turf mazes

Labyrinth in the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Saint-Remy, Wallonia, Belgium.

When the early humanist Benzo d'Alessandria visited Verona before 1310, he noted the "Laberinthum which is now called the Arena";^[28] perhaps he was seeing the cubiculi beneath the arena's missing floor.

The full flowering of the medieval labyrinth came about from the twelfth through fourteenth centuries with the grand pavement labyrinths of the gothic cathedrals, notably Chartres, Reims and Amiens in northern France. These labyrinths may have originated as symbolic allusion to the Holy City; and some modern thinkers have theorized that prayers and devotions may have accompanied the perambulation of their intricate paths.^[29] Although some books (in particular guidebooks) suggest that the mazes on cathedral floors served as substitutes for pilgrimage paths, the earliest attested use of the phrase "chemin de Jerusalem" (path to Jerusalem) dates to the late 18th century when it was used to describe mazes at Reims and Saint-Omer.^[30] The accompanying ritual, supposedly involving pilgrims following the maze on their knees while praying, may have been practiced at Chartres during the 17th century.^[30] However, no contemporary evidence supports the idea that labyrinths had such a purpose for early Christians.^[31] The cathedral labyrinths are thought to be the inspiration for the many turf mazes in the UK, such as survive at Wing, Hilton, Alkborough, and Saffron Walden.

Over the same general period, some 500 or more non-ecclesiastical labyrinths were constructed in Scandinavia. These labyrinths, generally in coastal areas, are marked out with stones, most often in the simple 7- or 11-course classical forms. They often have names which translate as "Troy Town". They are thought to have been constructed by fishing communities: trapping malevolent trolls or winds in the labyrinth's coils might ensure a safe fishing expedition. There are also stone labyrinths on the Isles of Scilly, although none is known to date from before the nineteenth century.

There are examples of labyrinths in many disparate cultures. The symbol has appeared in various forms and media (petroglyphs, classic-form, medieval-form, pavement, turf, and basketry) at some time throughout most parts of the world, from Native North and South America to Australia, Java, India, and Nepal.

Modern labyrinths

Labyrinth at St. Lambertus, Mingolsheim, Germany.

Labyrinth on floor of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the labyrinth symbol, which has inspired a revival in labyrinth building.

Countless computer games depict mazes and labyrinths.

On bobsled, luge, and skeleton tracks, a labyrinth is where there are three to four curves in succession without a straight line in between any of the turns.

In modern imagery, the labyrinth of Daedalus is often represented by a multicursal maze, in which one may become lost.

The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges was entranced with the idea of the labyrinth, and used it extensively in his short stories (such as "The House of Asterion" in The Aleph). His use of it has inspired other authors' works (e.g. Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves). Additionally, Roger Zelazny's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber, features a labyrinth, called "the Pattern", which grants those who walk it the power to move between parallel worlds. The avant-garde multi-screen film, In the Labyrinth, presents a search for meaning in a symbolic modern labyrinth. In Rick Riordan's series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the events of the fourth novel The Battle of the Labyrinth predominantly take place within the labyrinth of Daedalus, which has followed the heart of the West to settle beneath the United States. Australian author Sara Douglass incorporated some labyrinthine ideas in her series The Troy Game, in which the Labyrinth on Crete is one of several in the ancient world, created with the cities as a source of magical power. Lawrence Durrell's The Dark Labyrinth depicts travelers trapped underground in Crete.

Labyrinth of Transformations (1988), oil on canvas by Davide Tonato.

The labyrinth is also treated in contemporary fine arts. Examples include Piet Mondrian's Dam and Ocean (1915), Joan Miró's Labyrinth (1923), Pablo Picasso's Minotauromachia (1935), M. C. Escher's Relativity (1953), Friedensreich Hundertwasser's Labyrinth (1957), Jean Dubuffet's Logological Cabinet (1970), Richard Long's Connemara sculpture (1971), Joe Tilson's Earth Maze (1975), Richard Fleischner's Chain Link Maze (1978), István Orosz's Atlantis Anamorphosis (2000), Dmitry Rakov's Labyrinth (2003), and Labyrinthine projection by contemporary American artist Mo Morales (2000).

The Italian painter Davide Tonato has dedicated many of his artistic works to the labyrinth theme. The art historian Giordano Berti has defined him as "the Prince of Labyrinths" due to his ability to create using the refined Trompe-l'œil technique, a considerable number of absolutely innovative, almost modelled structures. The art critic Vittorio Sgarbi, however, has compared Tonato's worked to those of Maurits Cornelis Escher.^[32]

Cultural meanings

Prehistoric labyrinths are believed to have served as traps for malevolent spirits or as defined paths for ritual dances. In medieval times, the labyrinth symbolized a hard path to God with a clearly defined center (God) and one entrance (birth). In their cross-cultural study of signs and symbols, Patterns that Connect, Carl Schuster and Edmund Carpenter present various forms of the labyrinth and suggest various possible meanings, including not only a sacred path to the home of a sacred ancestor, but also, perhaps, a representation of the ancestor him/herself: "...many [New World] Indians who make the labyrinth regard it as a sacred symbol, a beneficial ancestor, a deity. In this they may be preserving its original meaning: the ultimate ancestor, here evoked by two continuous lines joining its twelve primary joints." .^[33]

Labyrinths can be thought of as symbolic forms of pilgrimage; people can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment. Many people could not afford to travel to holy sites and lands, so labyrinths and prayer substituted for such travel. Later, the religious significance of labyrinths faded, and they served primarily for entertainment, though recently their spiritual aspect has seen a resurgence.

Many newly made labyrinths exist today, in churches and parks. Labyrinths are used by modern mystics to help achieve a contemplative state. Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets the mind. The Labyrinth Society^[34] provides a locator for modern labyrinths all over the world.

Christian use

Walking the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral

Labyrinths, often of the Chartres design, began to appear on church walls and floors around 1000 C.E., and there are even examples from churches in the Roman Empire.^[35] The purpose of the labyrinths is not clear, though there are surviving descriptions of French clerics performing a ritual Easter dance along the path on Easter Sunday.^[35] Some books (guidebooks in particular) suggest that mazes on cathedral floors originated in the medieval period as alternatives to pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but the earliest attested use of the phrase "chemin de Jerusalem" (path to Jerusalem) dates to the late 18th century when it was used to describe mazes at Reims and Saint-Omer.^[36] The accompanying ritual, depicted in Romantic illustrations as involving pilgrims following the maze on their knees while praying, may have been practiced at Chartres during the 17th century. ^[36]

In popular culture

• In 1986, the film Labyrinth was released, directed by Jim Henson, and starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
• in 2006, the film "Pan's Labyrinth" was released, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
• Daedalus's Labyrinth served as a central plot element in Rick Riordan's 2008 novel, The Battle of the Labyrinth.
• Daedalus's Labyrinth is also a major setting in the video game God of War III by SCEA for PlayStation 3

See also

• Julian's Bower
• Caerdroia
• Celtic maze
• Maze
• Mizmaze
• Prayer Labyrinth
• Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island
• Troy Town
• Turf maze

Notes

1. ^ Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth, p 36.
2. ^ Kern, Through the Labyrinth, p. 23. The usage restricting maze to patterns that involve choices of path is mentioned by Matthews (p. 2-3) as early as 1922, though he argues against it.
3. ^ Kern, Through the Labyrinth, 2000, item 43, p. 53.
4. ^ Kern, Through the Labyrinth, 2000, item 50, p. 54.
5. ^ Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth, pp. 40–41.
6. ^ "Etymology of Labyrinth". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=labyrinth. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
7. ^ Schachermeyer."Die Minoische Kultur des alten Kreta".
8. ^ R.Wunderlich."The secret of Creta".Efstathiadis group.Athens 1987.p 233
9. ^ Kerenyi, Dionysos, p. 101, n. 171.
10. ^ F.Schachermeyer."Die Minoische Kultur of Ancient Kreta"
11. ^ da-pu₂-ri-to-yo po-ti-ni-ja (KN Gg 702), daburinthoyo potnia meaning "mistress or lady of the Labyrinth".
12. ^ Pausanias:Description of Greece VII Arcadia chapter 25.7
13. ^ Kerenyi, Dionysos, p. 91.
14. ^ R. Wunderlich."The secret of Creta." Efstathiadis group. Athens 1987 p.143
15. ^ Karl Kerenyi
16. ^ Kerenyi, Dionysos, p. 92f.
17. ^ Homer, Iliad xviii.590-3
18. ^ Steve Connor (16 October 2009). "Has the original Labyrinth been found?". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/has-the-original-labyrinth-been-found-1803638.html. 
19. ^ "Maze of underground caves could be the original site of the ancient Greek labyrinth". Daily Mail. 17 October 2009
20. ^ National Geographic Channel: The Holy Grail (and the Minotaur)
21. ^ Herodotus, The Histories, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt, Book II, pp. 160–61.
22. ^ ^{a b c} Leonhard Schmitz, George Eden Marindin, Labyrinthus entry, in William Smith et al. (editors), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, published 1890.
23. ^ Peck, Harry Thurston (chief editor). "Hieratic Papyrus. (Twentieth Dynasty.)" in the Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, published 1898, page 29.
24. ^ Andrew Stewart, One Hundred Greek Sculptors: Their Careers and Extant Works, "Smilis."
25. ^ Labyrinthos.net
26. ^ Al-Beruni, India, (c.1030 CE), Edward C. Sachau (translator), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, London, 1910 Online version from Columbia University Libraries (accessed 5 December 2009)
27. ^ Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island Wondermondo.com (accessed 5 December 2009)
28. ^ "quod nunc Harena dicitur": Roberto Weiss, The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity 1969:25.
29. ^  "Labyrinth". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
30. ^ ^{a b} Wright, Craig M. (2001). The maze and the warrior: symbols in architecture, theology, and music. Harvard University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0674005037. http://books.google.com/?id=e-wGs_-9H8IC&pg=PA210&dq=%22Chemin+de+Jerusalem%22#v=onepage&q=%22Chemin%20de%20Jerusalem%22&f=false. 
31. ^ Russell, W. M. S.; Claire Russell (1991). "English Turf Mazes, Troy, and the Labyrinth". Folklore (Taylor and Francis) 102 (1): 77–88. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1260358?seq=2. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
32. ^ Davide Tonato, Labyrinth of Transformations (edited by Renzo Margonari), Grafiche Aurora, Verona 1988
33. ^ Schuster, Carl, & Edmund Carpenter (1996). Patterns that Connect: Social Symbolism in Ancient & Tribal Art. Harry N. Abrams. p. 307. ISBN 978-0810963269. 
34. ^ Labyrinth.Society.org
35. ^ ^{a b} Kern, Hermann (2000). "VIII. Church Labyrinths". Through the Labyrinth: Designs and Meaning Over 5,000 Years. Prestel. ISBN 978-3791321448. 
36. ^ ^{a b} Wright, Craig M. (2001). The maze and the warrior: symbols in architecture, theology, and music. Harvard University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0674005037. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e-wGs_-9H8IC&pg=PA210&dq=%22Chemin+de+Jerusalem%22&hl=en&ei=WWVJTYGQCMuHhQeDx5nUDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFIQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q=%22Chemin%20de%20Jerusalem%22&f=false. 

References

• Hermann Kern, Through the Labyrinth, ed. Robert Ferré and Jeff Saward, Prestel, 2000, ISBN 3-7913-2144-7. (This is an English translation of Kern's original German monograph Labyrinthe published by Prestel in 1982.)
• Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages, Cornell University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-80142-393-7.
• Herodotus, The Histories, Newly translated and with an introduction by Aubrey de Sélincourt, Harmondsworth, England, Penguin Books, 1965.
• Karl Kerenyi, Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life, Princeton University Press, 1976.
• Helmut Jaskolski, The Labyrinth: Symbol of Fear, Rebirth and Liberation, Shambala, 1997.
• Adrian Fisher & Georg Gerster, The Art of the Maze, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990. ISBN 0-297-83027-9.
• Jeff Saward, Labyrinths and Mazes, Gaia Books Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1-85675-183-X.
• Jeff Saward, Magical Paths, Mitchell Beazley, 2002, ISBN 1-84000-573-4.
• W.H. Matthews, Mazes and Labyrinths: Their History and Development, Longmans, Green & Co., 1922. Includes bibliography. Dover Publications reprint, 1970, ISBN 0-486-22614-X.
• Andrew Stewart, One Hundred Greek Sculptors: Their Careers and Extant Works.
• Henning Eichberg, 2005: "Racing in the labyrinth? About some inner contradictions of running." In: Athletics, Society & Identity. Imeros, Journal for Culture and Technology, 5:1. Athen: Foundation of the Hellenic World, 169-192.
• Edward Hays, The Lenten Labyrinth: Daily Reflections for the Journey of Lent, Forest of Peace Publishing, 1994.
• Carl Schuster and Edmund Carpenter, Patterns that Connect: Social Symbolism in Ancient & Tribal Art, Harry N. Abrams, NY, 1996.

External links

• Labyrinthos.net maintained by Jeff Saward
• The Labyrinth Society
• Sunysb.edu, Through Mazes to Mathematics, Exposition by Tony Phillips
• Astrolog.org, Maze classification, Extensive classification of labyrinths and algorithms to solve them.
• Irrgartenwelt.de, Lars O. Heintel's collection of handdrawn labyrinths and mazes
• Begehbare-labyrinthe.de Website (German) with diagrams and photos of virtually all the public labyrinths in Germany.
• Mymaze.de, German website (German) and Mymaze.de (English) with descriptions, animations, links, and especially photos of (mostly European) labyrinths.
• Indigogroup.co.uk, British turf labyrinths by Marilyn Clark. Photos and descriptions of the surviving historical turf mazes in Britain.
• Gwydir.demon.co.uk, Jo Edkins's Maze Page, an early website providing a clear overview of the territory and suggestions for further study.
• Gottesformel.ch, "Die Kretische Labyrinth-Höhle" by Thomas M. Waldmann, rev. 2009 (German) (English) (French) (Greek). Description of a labyrinthine artificial cave system near Gortyn, Crete, widely considered the original labyrinth on Crete. (Presentation somewhat amateurish – including <blink> tags – but many detailed photos.)
• Spiralzoom.com an educational website about the science of pattern formation, spirals in nature, and spirals in the mythic imagination & labyrinths.
• Sanu.ac.rs, "The Geometry of History", Tessa Morrison, University of Newcastle, Australia. An attempt to extend Phillips's topological classification to more general unicursal labyrinths.
• Labyrinth of Egypt Archaeological site reconstruction and 3D diagrams based on the writings of Herodotus and Strabo.
• labyrinthofegypt.com