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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (Greek λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) 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 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.
Labyrinth patterns have appeared as designs on pottery, basketry, as body art, and carved onto stones or rock walls. The Romans built many primarily decorative labyrinth designs on walls and floors in tile or mosaic. Many labyrinths set in the floors of churches or cathedrals, cut out of turf, or laid out on the ground are large enough for the path to the center and back to be walked. They have historically been used both in group ritual and for private meditation and continue to be used in these ways today.
The words "labyrinth" and "labyrinthine" (the adjective) are widely used to describe any area of extremely complex topography, whether natural or man-made, and by metaphorical extension, complicated ideas or thought-processes.