Talk:Labyrinth

The Minotaur/Labyrinth connection became firmly established during the Roman period. I deleted this, with the thought that paragraphs about the Roman labyrinth patterns are better without it. If anything, the Roman pattern had lost its Minotaur/Labyrinth connotations. Am I right in this? Wetman 11:39, 19 Nov 2003 (UTC)

The labyrinth was a popular feature of mosaic pavements in Roman times. Various examples have images of Theseus slaying the Minotaur at the centre (notably the one from the villa on the Via Cadolini near Cremona). The graffito from Pompeii of a square Cretan type labyrinth also emphasises the connection with the words: LABYRINTHUS HIC HABITAT MINOTAURUS - presumably as an uncomplimentary reference to the inhabitant of the house. A fresco in Pompeii shows the triumphant Theseus emerging from the labyrinth with the dead Minotaur at its mouth, and there was alao the famous "house of the labyrinth" there. (See the foot of this page [1] for three good images. Also [2] - scroll down to "floor--labyrinth mosaic with Minotaur slaying") So I think the connection would certainly still have been alive in people's minds at that time, if not always made explicit. SiGarb 13:58, 16 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Why are the Lara Croft series given as an example of mazes in modern computer games? I would have thought The Legend of Zelda series could be a far better example... Objections? ;) Fafner 09:12, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

There needs to be some sort of diasambiguation between this page and an entry for the Jorge Luis Borges book of the same title. 5:31, 27 March 2005

Game Example for mazes

Tomb Raider is the best example for the mazes. If you ever played on Tomb Raider you would know that the dead end of a mission is because of a maze.

I think no game sould be explicitly mentioned in this article - there wera dn are many and many of them and if one is added other will follow and make article worse. Pavel Vozenilek 15:37, 13 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Very wise. Let's concentrate on the use of labyrinth features in video games in general. --Wetman 23:25, 13 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Labyrinth versus Maze

The maze article, which this links to and claims to be an example of, says:

A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. This is different from a labyrinth, which has an unambiguous through-route and is not designed to be difficult to navigate.

This also seems to be born out by the example images of a labyrinth. This should probably be reworded to reflect that, though I don't have any good ideas on actual wording. PerlKnitter 16:47, 31 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent point, PerlKnitter. I edited in the very text you quoted. How's it now? --Wetman 23:05, 31 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Not to jump on your edit, but it looks like there's a word (such as 'structure' missing from "...an elaborate maze-like constructed...". No edit because it looks like you're in discussion about a final version. Nae'blis 23:08:44, 2005-08-31 (UTC)

Good call. Fixed it. --Wetman 23:45, 31 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Looks good. And apparently, I did miss below where you had already talked about that. Nice article. PerlKnitter 13:13, 1 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

An Egyptian source for the labyrinth of Knossos

The following, unsourced and with the usual passive of non-attribution ("is said to..."), is without historical or archaeological or even mythic foundation:

The Labyrinth of Greek legend that Daedalus is supposed to have built at Knossos on Crete for King Minos to house the Minotaur, is said to have been modeled after the Egyptian Labyrinth that is described by the ancient historians Herodotus, Strabo and Diodorus Siculus. That Egyptian labyrinth in its turn is believed to actually have been the vast mortuary temple that once stood adjacent to the pyramid built by Pharaoh Amenemhet III at Hawara, in Egypt's Fayum.

Herodotus' 5th-century usage of "labyrinth" demonstrates the extension of the word to describe a complicated mazelike structure, not revealing an Egyption origin for the labyrinth of Knossos (2nd millennium BCE) --Wetman 20:40, 9 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The information on a labyrinth connection between Egypt and Crete appears in the article on Hawara. logologist 00:40, 10 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

There is no historical connection with the labyrinth of Crete that housed the Minotaur. Herodotus' use of "labyrinth" to describe the structure that he saw in Egypt shows how the architectural connotations of the word had developed by the 5th century BCE. I have corrected the misleading and erroneous remark at Hawara—an article that really could use some work, especially some references. --Wetman 08:42, 10 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ilinka Crvenkovska play

Could someone familiar with the play please repair and edit this sentence: "...Theseus in an act of suicide is killed by the Minotaur only to be killed himself by the horrified towns people." As it is, it sounds like Theseus is killed twice.

more possible artwork

Minotaur's labyrinth engraving on ancient gem

I will post some more illustrations if there is interest. Nidara 08:00, 27 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The image page says "(Maffei)". Is this image from P. Maffei's Gemmae antiquae figuratae (1709, Pt. IV, plate 31, perhaps)? Such engravings without sources given are not very informative. Knowing that the image is late Hellenistic or Roman might be the background for explaining why there is a centaur—and not in fact the Minotaur— at the center of this (Roman?) engraved gem. --Wetman 10:50, 27 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It is in fact MAFFEI, P. A. "Gemmae Antiche," 1709. The minotaur in this case is shown as a centaur. Also, it is Roman and there are other examples of the centaur representation of the minotaur such as an Italian 16th century bronze plaquette located at the British Museum. I will add the source to the image. I will also upload some other images of a more "traditional" representation of the Minotaur as a bipedal man with a bull head. I just thought it may be interesting to add a Minotaur image to the page. Nidara 17:04, 27 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

This particular image as well as many others can be attained from this link. W.H. Matthews, Mazes and Labyrinths: Their History and Development

Minotaur [3] [4] [5]

Centaur as Minotaur [6]