The history of the labyrinth. Secrets of ancient labyrinths

when and where did the first labyrinth appear?

For four thousand years people have been building labyrinths. In the most different cultures world, these strange buildings symbolized the difficult, winding path that they walked in search of truth. What is the attraction of this symbol? Why does it attract us now?

This creation was blasphemy, since it is appropriate only for God to confuse and stun, but not for people.
"Two Kings and Their Two Labyrinths"
H.L. Borges (trans. B. Dubina)

“The idea of ​​building a house so that people can’t find their way out of it is perhaps even stranger than a man with a bull’s head.” So H.L. Borges, wrote about the first labyrinth of Greek myths.

This myth intertwines a house with no exit, a man without a head, and a victim with no hope of salvation. Once upon a time, it said, King Minos ruled the island of Crete. One day he offended the god of the seas, Poseidon, by deciding not to sacrifice the beautiful bull he had been promised. The offended god was indignant and sent a terrible passion on the king’s wife Pasiphae. Soon she gave birth to “not a mouse, not a frog, but an unknown animal.” This creature looked like a man, but on its shoulders stood a heavy bull's muzzle. To hide the monster from people, the most skilled master of Crete, Daedalus, built the Labyrinth - a strange underground house, the corridors of which led further and further from the light. Finding a way out was almost impossible.

The illegitimate offspring of the royal wife, the frantic Minotaur, wandered within the walls of the Labyrinth. He ate human flesh and therefore every year (according to another legend, once every nine years) seven young men and seven maidens were brought to him. One day, among the doomed, the Athenian prince Theseus entered the Labyrinth. He carried a sword with him, and also unwound a ball given to him by Minos’ daughter Ariadne. By following the thread, one could find a way out. But first it was necessary to deal with the monster. A blow of the sword, and the wild cannibal ended his days, and the curse was lifted from the island of Crete.

In Search of the Lost Minotaur

That's all that the myth tells us about the history of the first Labyrinth. Even the meaning of this word is not clear. It was borrowed from the Pelasgians, the oldest population of Hellas, who lived here about four thousand years ago, when the Achaean (Greek) tribes invaded the country. Scientists have not yet been able to reconstruct the Pelasgian language. It is only known that the ending “inthos” was inherent in the names of settlements.

However, the labyrinth in question was built much later, in the Mycenaean era, around 1600 BC. Obviously, he was in the capital of Crete, Knossos, in the royal palace. True, scientists, not trusting the legend, tried to imagine what the labyrinth looked like. Now they are inclined to believe that we are talking about a certain room with very winding passages. Ritual dances and performances were held in this room. Perhaps it was surrounded by stone walls. Or were there no walls? And only the floor was covered with strange confused lines along which the ritual participants moved. What was going on inside the labyrinth?

German historian Hermann Kern, author of the book “Labyrinths,” believes that the labyrinth was intended for magical rituals. Initiation rites were often performed here, and even the walls breathed magic. A journey through the labyrinth could bring the desired harvest, success in a planned business, and a childless couple - their first child.

In order to resurrect the sensations that participants in these ancient rituals could experience, we will take a trip through the labyrinth in the Knossos palace, since we know the drawing of this trap. The corridor along which the people walked circled the central part of the labyrinth seven times, describing circles of ever smaller radii before the travelers reached their goal.

So we'll come in. And, to our surprise, we immediately notice that the middle of the labyrinth is not so far from the entrance and the path knows no obstacles: not a single passage, not a single side gallery leads us to the side, we cannot turn anywhere and we inevitably end up in the very center of the labyrinth. But the strangest thing is: if we want to leave this “house without an exit,” then we can easily find our way back. Without turning anywhere, we will calmly go outside.

Walking through life, we have no idea where we will be tomorrow. We strive for a goal, but we don’t know how to achieve it. We get lost, risking ending up in a dead end. We are racking our brains: which road to choose? The symbol of our life is a labyrinth. The history of labyrinths is long, complex and confusing. Just like human life.
The ancients say that it is impossible to simply walk through a labyrinth, and the best way to move through it is through dance or steps that describe certain figures: figures on the surface, figures in space, ritual and magical figures. In a sense, we must also move along the road of life by dancing, thus determining the process of evolution.
The symbolism of the labyrinth in the first millennium BC. e. spread throughout the Old World. From the Mediterranean it penetrated to the East, and later it would become popular in the West: in Spain, England, Scandinavia and Rus'. In Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Russia you can find more than five hundred very archaic labyrinths made of stones. Their builders did not disdain either small cobblestones or large boulders. These structures are called the “Trojan fortresses” of the North. The diameter of most of them is from seven to eighteen meters. Many correspond to the classic Cretan type of labyrinth with one entrance. The timing of their construction was determined by the age of the lichens that covered the stones. All of them were erected around the 13th century. XVII centuries. Their purpose is still unclear to scientists.

Labyrinths beckon, confuse, frighten and can even drive those who find themselves in them to despair. There are many stories about labyrinths from which it is impossible to escape. And even if the exit was close, some unknown force returned the victim to the starting point... The Labyrinth refused to let its guests go...

Scientists suggest that the answer lies in the structure of the labyrinth, in its passages and traps. Once caught in them, a person would lose orientation and immediately fall into panic! In ancient times, labyrinths were used to drive unwanted people crazy, and to further intimidate, passages were “decorated” with human bones, images of demons and other evil spirits. In mythology, a labyrinth is a symbol of death and rebirth. It protects a place endowed with special power and limits access to it. This place embodies the transition zone between two worlds, and the labyrinth itself is a symbolic gate. The first labyrinth-like cave paintings appeared on Earth back in the Stone Age. It is difficult to say what the prehistoric artist had in mind when he carved winding lines and spirals, but the idea was passed down through the centuries, finally turning into a global symbol - seven lines twisted around the center.

The oldest found is believed to be a labyrinth sign scratched on the wall of a tomb in Luzzanas on the island of Sardinia, built at least four thousand years ago. IN Lately labyrinths, once full of sacred meaning, became a common attribute of parks and attractions, changing and becoming more complex as man’s ideas about the universe, of which the labyrinth was a unique model, transformed.

The mere mention of a labyrinth conjures up in the imagination of a modern person an unusually complex, tangled web of passages, narrow paths and dead ends, surrounded by stone walls. This image, which is familiar to us, is actually far from the “original source”. Most of the ancient “classical” labyrinths were created according to the same, well-defined pattern with a single, very winding path leading from the entrance to the center. These are the labyrinthine petroglyphs that have survived to this day, discovered in Galicia, in northwestern Spain, and dating back to 2000 BC. BC, clay tablets depicting labyrinths found in the Greek city of Pylos, which are 3,000 years old, drawings of labyrinths scratched on ruins in Gordion, Turkey, dating back to 750 BC. e.
Egyptian labyrinth
In ancient Egypt, in the city of Abydos, there were labyrinths called Karakol. They were almost circular temples, in the corridors of which ceremonies took place, symbolizing the stages of evolution and the road that leads a person to his center.
A very ancient labyrinth was located near the city of Cairo. It was built back in 2300 BC and was a building surrounded by a high wall, where there were one and a half thousand above-ground and the same number of underground rooms. The total area of ​​the labyrinth was 70 thousand m2. Visitors were not allowed to explore the underground rooms of the labyrinth; there were tombs for pharaohs and crocodiles - animals sacred in Egypt.


The complex system of corridors, courtyards and rooms in the labyrinth was so intricate that without a guide, an outsider would never be able to find a way or exit through it. The labyrinth was plunged into absolute darkness, and when some doors were opened, they made a terrible sound, like thunder or the roar of a thousand lions.

All northern labyrinths are made of small stones, have an oval shape in plan, and inside there are intricate passages leading to the center of the structure. There are several types of labyrinth designs. It has been noticed that the labyrinths different types can be adjacent, and identical designs can be found in territories separated by hundreds of kilometers. There is no general work on northern labyrinths, but researchers different countries have been working on these mysterious structures for more than 150 years.


Stone labyrinths here often bear the names of cities or fortifications - “Troy”, “Babylon”, “Nineveh”, “Jerusalem”. In Finland, in addition, there are names “The Fence or the Road of the Giants”, “The Game of St. Peter”, “Maiden Dances”, etc. Such names also do not reveal to us the essence of the labyrinths and are inspired by ancient Greek and biblical motifs, local legends. The labyrinths in them were used for folk games and festivities between Easter and midsummer. Usually the girl was placed in a circle and danced towards her. Such customs are an example of recycling historical monuments. In science, several points of view have been expressed about the purpose and chronology of labyrinths. They are seen as objects associated with providential magic, the cult of the dead, and they are ascribed calendar significance.
Russia
On the Solovetsky Islands there are about 30 labyrinths and more than 1000 mounds and various symbolic stone patterns. Most of them date back to the 11th - 1st millennia BC.  e. to this day, these structures remain one of the most mysterious places on Earth. There is no vegetation on them except mosses and berries. Planted plants and trees die, and animals avoid these places.


One of its unsolved mysteries still remains the origin of stone labyrinths - strange, mystical patterns laid out on the surface of the earth. How and when they appeared on the islands, by whom they were created and what purpose they served - researchers to this day cannot give an unambiguous answer to these questions.


The labyrinth has only one entrance, which at the same time serves as an exit: a person who decides to go through the labyrinth and follows its rules will, after a while, be surprised to find that he came out in the same place where he entered. The age of the labyrinths is about three thousand years, archaeologists say. It is not known for certain who exactly left these bizarre patterns of stones on the islands. According to one version, these were ancient Pomeranian tribes, long consigned to oblivion; according to another, they were northern sailors who explored the cold waters of the Breathing Sea, today called the White Sea. Proponents of this hypothesis support their arguments by the fact that almost all labyrinths are located on the coast.


Another unsolved mystery remains the purpose of the strange stone ornaments. There are many versions: from purely scientific to absolutely fantastic. IN different times“theorists” prone to mystification considered labyrinths to be traces of aliens, means of communication through which ancient people communicated with the Cosmos, and even portals to another world. Oddly enough, most serious researchers agree with the latest version. They believe that labyrinths served sacred purposes and were actually used to move to another world - the afterlife. In these places primitive people performed burial rituals for the dead. Even the design of the labyrinths itself speaks in favor of this theory. Its spiral shape resembles the coils of coiled snakes. It was the snake in the Karelian-Finnish epic that served as a symbol of death and was associated with the other world: its bite sent a person straight to the kingdom of the dead. Complex structure Many scientists also explain the drawings by the fact that the ancient peoples believed: if entangled in a labyrinth, the soul of the deceased would not be able to return and harm the living.
The world is a labyrinth. No exit, no entrance,
There is no center in the monstrous dungeon.
Here you are wandering through narrow walls
To the touch, in the dark - and there is no way out.
In vain do you expect that your path will go by itself,
When he forces you to make a choice again,
Which will force you to make a choice again,
It will end. You are condemned by fate.
Along the endless stone processes
A two-legged bull, dropping shreds of foam,
Whose appearance terrifies these walls,
Like you, he wanders through the thicket of crossroads.
I wander through the labyrinth, no longer believing,
That I will meet at least a beast in him.
From the end of the 15th century, labyrinths began to appear in churches, on church floor tiles. Such floor images of labyrinths became an integral part of the punishment, when a repentant sinner had to walk on his knees through all the twists and turns of the labyrinth. Such penance was imposed on those who could not make a pilgrimage to holy places, and was called the “road to Jerusalem.”


With the spread of Christianity, the ancient pagan symbol of the labyrinth gradually changed and began to be perceived as an allegorical image of man’s thorny path to God or the way of the cross of Christ. Labyrinth in Christian philosophy and architecture becomes a metaphor for the material world, passing through which a person must fight the Minotaur - Satan. In the labyrinth of temptations and sins, a person, like Theseus, can only rely on his own fortitude and Ariadne’s saving thread - Faith. This interpretation of the labyrinth symbol led to changes in its design.


By the 12th century, a labyrinth with eleven paths became dominant in the Christian tradition - this number symbolized the concept of “sin” for a medieval Christian. The placement of a cross on top of concentric paths led to the adoption of a quadrant shape for labyrinths, although adherence to the classical configuration was often maintained. It was during this period that similar images appeared on the floors of churches and cathedrals in Europe. Magnificent labyrinths lined with colored stones, ceramic tiles, marble, and porphyry adorned the floors of temples in Chartres, Pavia, Piacenza, Amiens, Reims, Saint-Omer, and Rome. Many of them were decorated with allegorical images of Theseus and the Minotaur, scenes from the Holy Scriptures.


The purpose of most church labyrinths remains unclear. It has been suggested that some of them could be used to correctly determine the day of Easter. Some of the labyrinths apparently served as an object of contemplation and discussion in theological conversations. It is known that the labyrinths in the cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, Arras and Sens became a kind of imitation of the pilgrimage route to Palestine and were sometimes called “The Path to Jerusalem”. In those days, for most believers, a trip to the Holy Land was impossible, and they made it in a symbolic form - they walked through the entire church labyrinth on their knees, reading prayers.
Oh horror, these stone nets
And Zeus cannot unravel. Exhausted
I wander through the labyrinth. I'm a convict.
On an endlessly long parapet
The dust has frozen. Direct galleries,
Measured by long steps,
Secret curls in circles
Around the past years. I want it faster
I walk, but I just fall. And again
It seems to me in the gathering darkness
Those creepy glowing pupils,
That's an animal roar. Or the echo of a roar.
I'm coming. Around the bend, in the distance,
Perhaps he was lying in wait
The one who has been thirsting for fresh blood for so long.
I have been yearning for deliverance for just as long.
We are both looking for a meeting. As before,
I believe this fading hope.

The art of creating labyrinths began to undergo significant changes with the expansion of man's ideas about the world. Great geographical discoveries, successes in the natural sciences, the emergence of the doctrine of the plurality of worlds - all this was reflected in the philosophical perception of the labyrinth - a symbol of the Universe and human life. The labyrinths in which everything is predetermined and the path is possible only along one path, laid out once and for all, are gradually disappearing. They are being replaced by increasingly complex ones, with numerous options for passages, where a person himself chooses the path among confusing paths and dead ends. Such hedge labyrinths became an indispensable feature of many gardens and parks in Europe, becoming a very popular entertainment for the aristocracy.


Numerous labyrinths, characterized by diversity and exquisite taste, were arranged in the possessions of the powerful Gonzago clan from Mantua, a walk through the labyrinth created in 1669 in the garden of Versailles was considered an exciting journey, and the labyrinth, planted in 1670 in the garden of Villa Altieri in Rome, became a favorite pastime of Pope Clement X, who enjoyed watching his servants try to find a way out. The art of creating “living” labyrinths reached its greatest flowering in Great Britain, becoming one of the national symbols of the kingdom. The famous labyrinth at Hampton Court, built in 1690 for William of Orange, has survived to this day. A magnificent example of a labyrinth in the Tudor garden at Hatfield House in Hetfordshire has been reconstructed from ancient engravings, and the labyrinth of laurel bushes at Glendergen House in Cornwall, planted in 1833, still amazes with its winding paths. Today, labyrinths, becoming more and more complex, are created on the basis of mathematical models and theories. Set up in parks and on tourist routes, they offer exciting intellectual entertainment, a test of intelligence and luck.


The main unsolved mystery ancient symbol remains its origin. Dozens of hypotheses put forward in this regard could not explain the emergence and then spread throughout the world of an intricate pattern of a winding path. Perhaps this image was suggested by nature itself - spiral and labyrinthine shapes are characteristic of the shells of some mollusks, visible in the colony of corals, underground passages of anthills. Perhaps the ancient artists, who often drew simple spirals and winding lines, gradually improved and complicated these geometric figures, thereby arriving at the symbol of the labyrinth. Rock carvings of concentric rings in the form of a bowl or depression, dating back to the Neolithic era and distributed along the entire Atlantic coast of Europe, also claim to be its “progenitors”. A number of researchers believe that the evolution of these particular forms led to the emergence of the labyrinth symbol. Finally, it has been suggested that the labyrinthine pattern could have appeared during attempts ancient man depict the complex movement of the sun and planets.

The story of the labyrinth is still not over. Its roads, like an endless timeline, move further and further, leading a person to an unknown goal, which is all the more desirable the less predictable the path in the labyrinth.


Superstitions of the labyrinth
In ancient times, the image of a labyrinth was considered an excellent amulet. Thus, the Tohono and Pima Indian tribes from the American state of Arizona, today, like thousands of years ago, weave baskets from dry stems, roots and leaves of plants growing in the desert, and decorate them with a labyrinth pattern in order to protect themselves from evil spirits. In Pakistan and Iceland, symbols of the labyrinth are carved into the tallest tree in the garden to deter thieves. In Sri Lanka, the labyrinth pattern is woven into fabric for blankets and into the base of willow baskets; in Scandinavia and India they lay out a labyrinth of stones in desert places or on the coast if they want their cherished desire to be fulfilled. True, there is a problem here. It is believed that the labyrinth, in exchange for a dream come true, takes away seven years of a person’s life/
Going to dangerous place, you can try to draw a labyrinth pattern on your palm. And trouble will pass by.

Children under seven years old and old people who have passed the 70-year mark are not allowed into the labyrinth. The labyrinth supposedly can take away the souls of both.

Pregnant women also do not go into the labyrinth - there is a sign that otherwise the child may become entangled in the umbilical cord.

Evil spirits living in the labyrinth can be deceived by wearing other people's things. So, if you get lost, exchange clothes with your companion, and you will find a way out.

It is better not to take photographs in the passages of the labyrinth or against its background: troubles in life and problems with memory and vision may begin.

If, standing in the center of the labyrinth, you make a wish and then quickly find a way out, you can assume that your wish will quickly come true.

To avoid the insidiousness of the labyrinth, you need to leave some thing as a gift, for example, toss a coin.


The version that many modern researchers adhere to is that the labyrinths were conceived as a kind of laboratory for improving the spirit, and special mystical rituals were performed inside. It is no coincidence that the structure of the labyrinth resembles the structure of the brain! A person, passing the labyrinth to the end, overcame his deepest fears and became one of those initiated into the secrets of this and that world. Moreover, he gained new strength, vigor and was resurrected in soul and body. The labyrinth was seen as a path to the kingdom of the dead and a way to gain magical power. There is an assumption that a person walking through the labyrinth symbolized the Sun, dying and rising, and, therefore, joined the ancient natural rhythms. ladies of the heart danced along the winding passages to the center of the “giant”. Message quote

Mysterious labyrinths (unknown)

The first rock paintings depicting labyrinths appeared quite a long time ago - in the Stone Age. The idea of ​​the prehistoric artist underwent changes, but was passed down through the centuries and became a global symbol - a labyrinth of seven lines twisted around the center. The oldest found is believed to be a labyrinth sign scratched on the wall of a tomb in Luzzanas on the island of Sardinia, built at least four thousand years ago. Recently, labyrinths, once full of sacred meaning, have become a common attribute of parks and attractions, changing and becoming more complex as people’s ideas about the universe, of which the labyrinth was a unique model, have transformed.

The mere mention of a labyrinth conjures up in the imagination of a modern person an unusually complex, tangled web of passages, narrow paths and dead ends, surrounded by stone walls. This image, which is familiar to us, is actually far from the “original source”. Most of the ancient “classical” labyrinths were created according to the same, well-defined pattern with a single, very winding path leading from the entrance to the center. These are the labyrinthine petroglyphs that have survived to this day, discovered in Galicia, in northwestern Spain, and dating back to 2000 BC. BC, clay tablets depicting labyrinths found in the Greek city of Pylos, which are 3,000 years old, drawings of labyrinths scratched on ruins in Gordion, Turkey, dating back to 750 BC. e.

The puzzle moves are arranged differently, called “maze” in English. Meises in their structure are more sophisticated and intricate figures than labyrinths. As a rule, such puzzles contain several roads to the goal, two or more entrances and exits, the paths communicate with each other and form forks. Solving a maze, that is, going to its center or some goal, is not so easy. The creators built complex tasks: choose the right entrance, guess the direction at a fork, or avoid ending up on the same path twice. The idea of ​​mazes dates back to the Middle Ages and is the result of the development of mathematical science, but we are interested in the classical labyrinth as the most ancient cultural symbol.

Palace in Knossos

The literal meaning of the Greek word labyrinthos is "large stone house." It fits perfectly with the Knossos Palace on the island of Crete, the glory of which has lived on for more than three thousand years thanks to the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The labyrinth, built, according to legend, by the Athenian architect Daedalus on the orders of King Minos, was an underground network of tunnels that led to the abode of the monstrous man-bull - the Minotaur. For a long time it was believed that the prototype of the famous labyrinth was the extensive quarries located in the vicinity of the Cretan city of Gortyn. However, in 1900-1930, the English archaeologist Arthur Evans, conducting excavations in Knossos, discovered a royal palace of colossal size, the main part of which was built more than 1,500 BC. e. Today, a grandiose structure with an area of ​​about 16 thousand m2, consisting of hundreds of intricately located rooms, replete with corridors and passages, halls located at different levels and staircases leading deep underground, is interpreted by archaeologists as a prototype of the legendary labyrinth of the Minotaur.

The Palace of Knossos was heavily damaged during the volcanic eruption on the island of Thera around 1450 BC. e., and after a fire that occurred around 1380 BC. e., was completely abandoned. Currently, some of the premises have been reconstructed. As a result, it turned out that the plan of the palace does not correspond to the classical model with seven paths. Only fragments of frescoes on the walls remind us of it in the form of patterns - “meander”.

For the first time the famous symbol of the labyrinth, reproduced later in different parts light, appeared on Knossos coins around 300 BC. e., that is, a thousand years after the construction of the palace.

Labyrinth - Christian symbol

With the spread of Christianity, the ancient pagan symbol of the labyrinth gradually changed and began to be perceived as an allegorical image of man’s thorny path to God or the way of the cross of Christ. The labyrinth in Christian philosophy and architecture becomes a metaphor for the material world, through which a person must fight the Minotaur - Satan. In the labyrinth of temptations and sins, a person, like Theseus, can only rely on his own fortitude and Ariadne’s saving thread - Faith. This interpretation of the labyrinth symbol led to changes in its design. By the 12th century, a labyrinth with eleven paths became dominant in the Christian tradition - this number symbolized the concept of “sin” for a medieval Christian. The placement of a cross on top of concentric paths led to the adoption of a quadrant shape for labyrinths, although adherence to the classical configuration was often maintained.

It was during this period that similar images appeared on the floors of churches and cathedrals in Europe. Magnificent labyrinths lined with colored stones, ceramic tiles, marble, and porphyry adorned the floors of temples in Chartres, Pavia, Piacenza, Amiens, Reims, Saint-Omer, and Rome. Many of them were decorated with allegorical images of Theseus and the Minotaur, scenes from the Holy Scriptures. The purpose of most church labyrinths remains unclear. It has been suggested that some of them could be used to correctly determine the day of Easter. Some of the labyrinths apparently served as an object of contemplation and discussion in theological conversations. It is known that the labyrinths in the cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, Arras and Sens became a kind of imitation of the pilgrimage route to Palestine and were sometimes called “The Path to Jerusalem”. In those days, for most believers, a trip to the Holy Land was impossible, and they made it in a symbolic form - they walked through the entire church labyrinth on their knees, reading prayers.

The art of creating labyrinths began to undergo significant changes with the expansion of man's ideas about the world. Great geographical discoveries, successes in the natural sciences, the emergence of the doctrine of the plurality of worlds - all this was reflected in the philosophical perception of the labyrinth - a symbol of the Universe and human life. The labyrinths in which everything is predetermined and the path is possible only along one path, laid out once and for all, are gradually disappearing. They are being replaced by increasingly complex ones, with numerous options for passages, where a person himself chooses the path among confusing paths and dead ends. Such hedge labyrinths became an indispensable feature of many gardens and parks in Europe, becoming a very popular entertainment for the aristocracy. Numerous labyrinths, distinguished by their variety and exquisite taste, were built in the possessions of the powerful Gonzago clan from Mantua, a walk through the labyrinth created in 1669 in the garden of Versailles was considered an exciting journey, and the labyrinth planted in 1670 in the garden of the Villa Altieri in Rome became a favorite pastime of Pope Clement X, who enjoyed watching his servants try to find a way out.

The art of creating “living” labyrinths reached its greatest flowering in Great Britain, becoming one of the national symbols of the kingdom. The famous labyrinth at Hampton Court, built in 1690 for William of Orange, has survived to this day. A magnificent example of a labyrinth in the Tudor garden at Hatfield House in Hetfordshire has been reconstructed from ancient engravings, and the labyrinth of laurel bushes at Glendergen House in Cornwall, planted in 1833, still amazes with its winding paths. Today, labyrinths, becoming more and more complex, are created on the basis of mathematical models and theories. Set up in parks and on tourist routes, they offer exciting intellectual entertainment, a test of intelligence and luck.

What did the ancient man mean?

The main unsolved mystery of the ancient symbol remains its origin. Dozens of hypotheses put forward in this regard could not explain the emergence and then spread throughout the world of an intricate pattern of a winding path. Perhaps this image was suggested by nature itself - spiral and labyrinthine shapes are characteristic of the shells of some mollusks, visible in the colony of corals, underground passages of anthills. Perhaps the ancient artists, who often drew simple spirals and winding lines, gradually improving and complicating these geometric figures, thereby came to the symbol of the labyrinth. Rock carvings of concentric rings in the form of a bowl or depression, dating back to the Neolithic era and distributed along the entire Atlantic coast of Europe, also claim to be its “progenitors”. A number of researchers believe that the evolution of these particular forms led to the emergence of the labyrinth symbol. Finally, it has been suggested that the labyrinthine design could have appeared during ancient man’s attempts to depict the complex movement of the sun and planets.

The mystery of the labyrinth has not yet been solved. Perhaps his very roads lead a person further and further from his desired goal.

Medieval scientists considered Daedalus' labyrinth to be the most complex labyrinth ever created.
According to legend, Daedalus created this labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur in it.
Daedalus used it very wittily psychological factors behavior that the probability of escaping from the maze is practically zero.

If the passages of this labyrinth were a meter wide, and the walls were 30 centimeters thick, the only path leading out of it would be more than a kilometer long. Most likely, any person would rather die of hunger or thirst before finding a way out.

Over its long history, the Cretan labyrinth was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and in 1380 BC it was destroyed and abandoned completely, until the English archaeologist A. Evans discovered a mysterious hieroglyphic letter in the Oxford Museum. The letter spoke about ancient labyrinth. In 1900, an archaeologist arrived in Crete and began excavations.

Arthur Evans carried out excavations for almost 30 years and unearthed not a city, but a palace equal in area to the entire city. This was the famous Knossos labyrinth, which was a structure with a total area of ​​22 thousand square meters, which had at least 5-6 above-ground floors connected by passages and stairs, and a number of underground crypts. The Cretan labyrinth turned out to be not an invention of the ancients, but a real miracle of architecture, in which there was something incomprehensible to the mind.

The Labyrinth is a real Myth, it is a story about heroes and events that historical science does not recognize as real, but considers as symbols.

We believe that at the heart of any myth, any image, any symbolic narrative lies reality, even if not always historical. Myth accurately describes psychological reality: human experiences, mental processes and forms are hidden behind symbols that have been passed down from generation to generation and have finally reached us so that we can unravel them, remove the veil from them and again see their innermost meaning, realize their deep essence.

The myth of the Labyrinth is one of the oldest, and, I dare say, it is similar to the myths of all ancient civilizations, which say that the labyrinth is a difficult and unclear path, on whose complex and winding paths it is easy to get lost. Sometimes the plot of this myth is woven into the story of an extraordinary person, a hero or a mythical character who overcomes a labyrinth and finds the key to solving a riddle that appears before him in the form of a path.

When we talk about labyrinths, we immediately remember the most famous of them, about which evidence has been preserved in Greek mythology - in a simple and accessible form, close to a children's fairy tale: the labyrinth of the island of Crete. I don’t want to talk about it in the same simplified way as is done in well-known legends, we will open its deeper layers and analyze the archaeological finds made in Crete in order to understand what the Cretans worshiped and what the labyrinth really was for them. And we will see how this story will take on a complex symbolic form, and it will no longer seem so childish to us.

Knossos Labyrinth

So, one of the ancient symbols of Crete, associated with its supreme deity, was a double-edged ax, which can be represented as two pairs of horns, one of which is directed upward, the other downward. This ax was associated with the sacred bull, the cult of which was widespread in Crete. It was called Labrys and, according to an older tradition, served as the instrument with which the god, who later received the name Ares-Dionysus from the Greeks, cut through the First Labyrinth.

Here's his story. When Ares-Dionysus, the god of primordial times, is very ancient god, descended to earth, nothing had yet been created, nothing had yet taken shape, there was only darkness, darkness. But, according to legend, Ares-Dionysus was given a weapon from heaven, Labrys, and it was with this tool, with this weapon, that he created the world.

Labyrinth of Daedalus

Ares-Dionysus began to walk in the middle of the darkness, describing circle after circle. (This is quite interesting, because modern science discovered that when we find ourselves in the dark in an unfamiliar room or trying to leave some spacious but unlit place, we most often begin to walk in circles; the same thing happens when we get lost or wander through the forest. We gave such a comparison because from the very beginning we want to emphasize that the symbolism of the labyrinth is associated with certain atavisms inherent in humans.)

And so Ares-Dionysus began to walk in a circle, cutting through the darkness and cutting furrows with his axe. The road that he cut and which became brighter with every step is called the “labyrinth,” that is, “the path cut by Labrys.”

When Ares-Dionysus, cutting through the darkness, reached the very center, the goal of his path, he suddenly saw that he no longer had the ax that he had at the beginning. His ax turned into pure light - he held in his hands a flame, fire, a torch, which brightly illuminated everything around, for God performed a double miracle: with one edge of the ax he cut through the darkness outside, and with the other - his inner darkness. In the same way that he created light outside, he created light within himself; just as he cut the outer path, he cut the inner path. And when Ares-Dionysus reached the center of the labyrinth, he reached the end point of his path: he reached the light, achieved inner perfection.

This is the symbolism of the Cretan myth of the labyrinth, the oldest that has come down to us. We know later legends much better.

The most famous of them is the myth of the mysterious labyrinth created by Daedalus, an amazing architect and inventor from ancient Crete, whose name is now always associated with a labyrinth, a confusing path.

The name Daedalus, or Dactyl as it is sometimes called, is ancient language Greek means “He who creates”, “He who works with his hands, builds”. Daedalus is a symbol of the builder, but not just the creator of the complex of parks and palaces, which was the labyrinth of King Minos, but the builder in a deeper sense of the word, perhaps similar to the symbolism of the very first deity, who built the Labyrinth of Light in the darkness.

The Labyrinth of Daedalus was neither an underground structure nor something dark and twisting; it was a huge complex of houses, palaces and parks, designed in such a way that whoever entered it could not find a way out. The point is not that Daedalus's labyrinth was terrible, but that it was impossible to escape from it.

Daedalus built this labyrinth for the Cretan king Minos, an almost legendary character, whose name allows us to get acquainted with the very ancient traditions of all the peoples of that era.

Minos lived in a fairytale palace, and he had a wife, Pasiphae, because of whom all the drama associated with the labyrinth played out.

Wanting to become a king, Minos counted on the help of another powerful god, the ruler of the waters and oceans, Poseidon. In order for Minos to feel his support, Poseidon performed a miracle: he created a white bull from the waters and sea foam and presented it to Minos as a sign that he really was the king of Crete.

However, as the Greek myth says, it so happened that the wife of Minos fell hopelessly in love with a white bull, dreamed only of him and desired only him. Not knowing how to approach him, she asked Daedalus, the great builder, to build a huge bronze cow, beautiful and attractive, so that the bull would feel attracted, while Pasiphae would hide inside her.

And then a real tragedy unfolds: Daedalus creates a cow, Pasiphae hides in it, the bull approaches the cow, and from this strange union of a woman and a bull, a half-bull, half-man appears - the Minotaur. This monster, this monster settled in the center of the labyrinth, which at the same moment turned from a complex of parks and palaces into a gloomy place inspiring fear and sadness, into an eternal reminder of the misfortune of the king of Crete.

Some ancient legends, in addition to the Cretan ones, preserved a less simplified interpretation of the tragedy of Pasiphae and the White Bull.

For example, in the legends of pre-Columbian America and India there are references to the fact that millions of years ago, at a certain stage of human evolution, people lost their way and mixed with animals, and because of this perversion and violation of the laws of nature, real monsters appeared on earth, hybrids that are difficult to even describe. They inspired fear not only because, like the Minotaur, they had an evil disposition; they bore the mark of shame from a union that should never have taken place, from a secret that should not have been revealed until all these events were erased from the memory of mankind.

So, the connection of Pasiphae with the Bull and the birth of the Minotaur is related to the ancient races and to those ancient events that at a certain moment were erased from people’s memory.

On the other hand, the monster, the Minotaur, is a blind, amorphous matter without reason or purpose that lurks in the center of the labyrinth, awaiting sacrifice from its benefactor.

Years pass, the legend continues, and the Minotaur in his labyrinth truly turns into something terrifying. The king of Crete, having defeated the Athenians in the war, imposes a terrible tribute on them: every nine years they must send seven young men and seven innocent girls as sacrifices to the Minotaur. When the deadline for paying the third tribute comes, a hero with all the virtues, Theseus, rebels against it in Athens. He makes a promise to himself not to accept rule of the city until he frees it from the scourge, until he kills the Minotaur.

Theseus himself enlists among the young men who are to become victims of the monster, goes to Crete, captivates the heart of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, and gets her to give him a ball of thread with which he can pass through the labyrinth and then, having killed the Minotaur, find the his way out. The ball played a very important role in this story. Theseus enters the labyrinth and, penetrating further into its complex and intricate corridors, unwinds the thread. Having reached the center, thanks to his colossal strength and will, he kills the Minotaur and finds a way out.

In simple and naive stories, Theseus kills the Minotaur with a sword, sometimes with a dagger. But in the most ancient narratives, as well as in images on ancient Attic vases, Theseus kills the Minotaur with a double-bladed axe. And again the hero, having made his way through the labyrinth, having reached the center, performs a miracle with the help of Labrys, a double axe.

We have to solve one more riddle: Ariadne gives Theseus not a ball, but a spindle with threads. And, penetrating into the depths of the labyrinth, Theseus unwinds it. But the hero returns to the exit, picking up the thread and rewinding it again, and from the labyrinth he actually takes out a ball - a perfectly round ball. This symbol also cannot be called new. The spindle with which Theseus goes into the labyrinth symbolizes his imperfection inner world, which he must “unfold”, that is, pass a series of tests. The ball that he creates by picking up the thread is the perfection that he achieved by putting the Minotaur to death, which means passing the tests and emerging from the labyrinth.

There were many labyrinths, just like Theseus. They are also available in Spain. Along the entire path to Santiago de Compostella and throughout Galicia, there are an infinite number of ancient images of labyrinths on stone that invite the pilgrim to take the path to Santiago and walk this road, and they directly indicate to us that in their symbolic and spiritual meaning this the path is a labyrinth.

In England, the famous Tintagel Castle, where, according to legend, King Arthur was born, also has its own labyrinths.

We also find them in India, where they were a symbol of reflection, concentration, and turning to the true center.

IN Ancient Egypt In the ancient city of Abydos, founded almost in the predynastic period, there was a labyrinth, which was a round temple. In its galleries, ceremonies were held to commemorate time, evolution, and the endless roads that man traveled before reaching the center, which meant meeting the true man.

According to the history of Egypt, the labyrinth of Abydos was apparently only a very small part of the huge labyrinth described by Herodotus, who considered the Egyptian labyrinth so colossal, amazing and unimaginable that even the Great Pyramid pales next to it.

Today we can no longer see this labyrinth; we only have the testimony of Herodotus. For many centuries, for the peculiarities of his presentation, people called him the father of history, Herodotus the truthful, and gave many more similar names, but when not all of his descriptions were confirmed, we naturally decided that Herodotus was not always confident in his words. On the other hand, modern science has confirmed the truth of so many of its descriptions that it is probably worth being patient and waiting in case archaeologists discover the labyrinth that the Greek historian wrote about.

There were many labyrinths in the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages. One of the most famous, images of which are quite common, is the labyrinth laid out on the stone floor of the main cathedral in Chartres. It was created not for anyone to get lost in it, but for it to be followed: it was a kind of path of initiation, a path of accomplishment and a path of achievement that the candidate, the student, the one who aspired to be had to overcome. accepted into the Mysteries.

Indeed, it is extremely difficult to get lost in the labyrinth of Chartres: all its roads are purely symbolic, all turns and crossroads are visible. The most important thing here is to reach the center, a square stone on which the various constellations are marked with nails. For a person, this allegorically means to reach Heaven and become on a par with the deities.

It is very likely that all such myths of antiquity and all the symbolic labyrinths of Gothic cathedrals reflect not so much historical reality as psychological reality. And the psychological reality of the labyrinth is still alive today. If in ancient times they spoke of the initiatory labyrinth as a path through which a person could realize himself, today we must talk about a material and psychological labyrinth.

It is not difficult to see the material labyrinth: the world around us, what we encounter in life, how we live and how we express ourselves - all this is part of one labyrinth. The difficulty is different: those who found themselves in Cretan parks and palaces did not even suspect that they had entered a labyrinth; so in our daily life we ​​do not realize that we are in a labyrinth that draws a person into itself.

From a psychological point of view, the confusion of Theseus, who longed to kill the Minotaur, is of the same nature as the confusion of a person who is confused and afraid.

We are afraid because we don’t know something and we can’t do it; we are afraid because we don’t understand something and because of this we feel insecure. Our fear usually manifests itself in the fact that we cannot choose, we do not know where to go, what to devote our lives to; it manifests itself in eternal routine and mediocrity, exhausting and sad: we are ready to do anything, just not to make a decision and not show at least a little firmness.

Confusion is another disease that haunts us in the modern labyrinth on the psychological plane. This confusion arises because it is very difficult for us to decide who we are, where we came from and where we are going. These three questions are main reason our confusion, although they are so simple and ingenuous that they seem childish to us. Is there any meaning in our lives other than constant confusion? Why do we work and why do we study? Why do we live and what is happiness? What are we aiming for? What is suffering and how to recognize it?

From a psychological point of view, we are still wandering in a labyrinth, and although there are no monsters or narrow corridors in it, traps constantly await us.

And of course it is the myth that offers us the solution. Theseus does not enter the labyrinth empty-handed, and it would be strange if we were to look for a way out of it empty-handed. Theseus takes two objects with him: an ax (or a sword, whichever you prefer) to kill the monster, and a spindle with thread, his ball, to find his way back.