Why is there a "maze"? Can you tell us about the origin of the maze?

Maze

Humans have been building mazes for 5,000 years. In different periods of cultural development in the world, these strange buildings have always attracted people to walk arduously along the winding and difficult paths in search of the truth. So what is the appeal of this mysterious path? Why is it still fascinating?

To describe the first labyrinth in Greek mythology, we have to think of the words of the famous Argentinian poet, novelist and translator Jorge Borges: "Build a labyrinth that no one can find." The house at the exit, perhaps even more bizarrely, contains a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a bull.”

This myth tells that King Minos once ruled the island of Crete. One year, he did not send the promised sacrificial bull to Poseidon, the god of the sea. The god of the sea was very angry and determined to take revenge. He possessed a bull and seduced Queen Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos. Soon, the queen gave birth to a monster with the head of a bull and the body of the Minotaur. In order to hide the monster and avoid public scandal, King Minos ordered Daedalus, the best craftsman on the island, to build a labyrinth: a strange underground house with corridors getting further and further away from the light and no exit at all. . The frantic Minotaur wandered from wall to wall, darting from left to right, feeding on the boys and girls that the king of Athens paid tribute to. Finally one day, Theseus, the prince of Athens, broke into the maze with his sword. He retreated all the way through the ball of thread given to him by Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, killed the Minotaur, and found the exit along this thread, leaving the labyrinth alive.

Scientists generally believe that a maze is a place with winding passages separated by walls. People perform rituals, dance and perform here. The earliest labyrinth we know of is much later than the mythical labyrinth. It was built in a royal palace in the capital of Crete during the Mycenaean period around 1600 BC. It is similar to a labyrinth painted on a clay tablet from the 12th century BC found in Pylos, Greece.

The story of this clay tablet is this: There was a courtier sitting behind the door of a royal palace in Troy. His task was to register on the clay tablet the number of goats paid as tribute by his subjects and the names of those who paid tribute. After the tributes left, he had nothing to do, so he turned over the clay tablet and sketched the maze on it. It is such a clay slab that has been lying underground for about 3,200 years and is miraculously preserved to this day.

People think that the walls in the maze have magical powers: turning around in the maze can bring good harvests to the fields, and childless people can have children. In short, all their wishes can come true. So in the past, people often walked in the maze. A coming-of-age ceremony is held here. Some ethnic groups even believe that labyrinths have magical powers to assist childbirth. For example, in some places in northern India, people use bronze dishes with labyrinths painted on them to hold water for mothers to drink. This custom lasted until the 18th and 19th centuries.

Archaeologists discovered a maze of stones as tall as a man in Scandinavia and named it "Trojan Fortress". A unique path leads to the central square. There is a girl waiting for her sweetheart, and his sweetheart walks through the intricate paths and dances towards the girl.

During the Trojan War in the 12th century BC, many peoples invaded Mycenaean Greece. Cities and castles were destroyed, traditions were lost, and the magic of the labyrinth seemed to be weakened.

However, the neglect of tradition has not diminished interest in the maze. During the first millennium B.C., this interest expanded, spreading from the Mediterranean to Syria to the countries of the East—today's Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Soon it spread in the West: Spain, England, Scandinavia and Russia.

By the Roman period, labyrinth patterns became the first choice for decoration. In the mansions of nobles, the vestibules and dining rooms were decorated with labyrinthine mosaics. At the center of these geometric patterns are often scenes from ancient mythology: Theseus and the slain Minotaur. People at that time seemed to be more concerned with pattern forms, and sometimes did not care that their "mazes" were wrong - they could neither get in nor get out.

In the Christian period, the sacred power of the labyrinth returned. Human life is like a maze, and the center of this maze is the turning point of life. Only through the difficult and tortuous pilgrimage can one bid farewell to the sinful life and reach the center of the labyrinth, where the purpose of life can be found.

Among the small patterns used to decorate manuscripts in the early Middle Ages, the shape of the labyrinth was changed. The priest Otfried Weiseburgski made the lines forming the labyrinth pattern form a Christian cross. From this came a variety of Gothic labyrinths. These labyrinthine designs were often used to decorate the entrances of cathedrals. Chartres Cathedral, for example, is something of a labyrinth. To get to the center of the church, you have to make 28 turns - the same number of days in the lunar month.

Lawn mazes were popular in England in the Middle Ages, which was to plant lawns in the shape of a maze. It is not difficult to imagine what kind of pattern this is. Young people like to come here for walks; craftsmen's guilds hold festivals here; and citizens often come here during religious celebrations. To this day there are dozens of such mazes for tourists to visit. A very ancient maze has been preserved in South Wales, its construction dating back to 1800.

There are three similar mazes in Germany: the one in Hannover is called "The Wheel". There are two other buildings built by Swedish soldiers during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). One is north of Naumburg, called "Swedish Wheel"; the other is in Greichen, called "Swedish Mowing Fields" .

There are more than 500 ancient labyrinths in Scandinavia, the Baltics and Russia. These labyrinths were built with small boulders and boulders and were called the "Troy Fortresses" of the north. Most mazes range from 7 to 18 meters in diameter. Many are Cretan mazes with only one entrance. Only a few Baltic mazes have two entrances. Judging from the lichen covering the stones, all of these labyrinths were built between the 13th and 17th centuries. Their purpose is still unknown; perhaps they were used in sacrifices, perhaps not. Because Europe had entered the Renaissance at that time, people had become the masters of their own destiny and found a way to save themselves.