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Mazes & Labyrinths

The classical labyrinth pattern is found on ancient coins from Knossos in Crete and is said to represent the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was imprisoned in the myth and the pattern danced by Theseus and the Atheneans to celebrate their escape. Pliny in his Natural History mentions  "mazes formed in the fields for the entertainment of children" which must be akin to the turf mazes found on English village greens which can be walked or run, leading to a certain degree of dizzyness (or mazement!) but which only have one path to the centre and are therefore not puzzle mazes.   These are usually modelled on the plan of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth which suggests a medieval origin, these cathedral labyrinths were actually the locations of dances and games at Easter time. Spiral and labyrinth patterns were thought to confuse evil spirits or the Devil.

Labyrinths of love, constructed of hedges often with trees, arbours or maypoles (with spiral patterns to confuse witches) in the centre were popular with courting couples who could wander within. These were one of the precursors to the familiar hedge maze with its multiple paths and dead ends, creating a puzzle to be solved and symbolic, perhaps, of courtly intrigues and romantic love.

Mazes and Labyrinths of the Thames Valley and Beyond.

The Classical Labyrinth You may wonder why the labyrinth which housed the Minotaur is represented by a pattern with one winding path (unicursal) when this would have been easy for the beast to find its way out of . In his book "The Greek Myths", Robert Graves suggests an origin in brushwood mazes used by ancient hunters as decoys to capture partridges. A cock partridge was kept caged in the centre and its calls would lure other partridges through the winding passages to be killed when they reached the centre. The winding paths would lead to disorientation and confusion. Spring dances immitated the mating dance of the partridges and the windings of the maze. Later the dances of cranes were also adapted to a maze pattern leading to the Crane Dance of Delos. Theseus and his companions danced the Crane Dance when they reached Delos (after he had abandoned Ariadne on Naxos) The palace at Cnossus (the house of the "labrys" or double axe) was a complex of rooms and corridors which gives us the more common meaning of the word labyrinth, although puzzle mazes seem to have been a much later development.

The City of Troy Mazes cut into turf (England and Germany) or deliminated with stones (Scandanavia) are often refered to as Troy Towns, their concentric rings thought to represent the defensive walls of Troy. In cathedrals the pattern is thought of as the road to Jerusalem and the walking of it as a pilgrimage. Its main use, however seems to have been for games and dances. In one example boys take it in turns to run or dance the maze as fast as they can (without stumbling or putting a foot wrong) to reach a girl standing in the centre.

The Hedge Maze Early hedge mazes seem to have been unicursal and made from low hedges as part of knot gardens. During Elizabethan times puzzles of all kinds became popular and the mazes developed multiple paths and dead ends. In the 1590's a maze was planted at Nonsuch Palace with hedges so tall you couldn't see over them, leading to the familiar hedge maze found at places such as Hampton Court.

 

Details from : Spring Picnic Lucas van Valkenborch 1587

Come on, come on: and where you go So interweave the curious knot, As ev'n the Observer scarce may know Which lines are Pleasure and which not... Then as all Actions of mankind Are but a labyrinth or Maze: So let your Dances be entwin'd, Yet not perplex men unto gaze: But measur'd and so numerous too, As men may read each Act they do; And when they see the Graces meet, Admire the Wisdom of your Feet Ben Johnson (1618)