{"id":13616,"date":"2011-01-09T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/?p=13616"},"modified":"2026-04-24T19:41:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:41:50","slug":"labyrinth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/labyrinth\/","title":{"rendered":"Labyrinth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Greek<\/a><\/p>\r\n

L<\/strong>abyrinths <\/strong>are one of the many mysteries of the ancient world, with the earliest examples apparently dating back around 4,000 years(t)<\/sup>. In Egypt, around 1800 BC, Pharaoh Amenemhet III was responsible for building what is reputed to have been the largest labyrinth at Hawara containing three thousand rooms according to Herodotus<\/a>, who visited it in the 5th century BC. Herodotus’ description inspired Athanasius Kircher<\/a> to draw a plan of the underground complex(u)<\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

The Labyrinth along with the double-headed axe, the labyris, are usually associated with Minoan culture. However, the labyrinth is an ancient symbol found around the world in locations such as Italy(s)<\/sup>, India(g)<\/span><\/sup>, Egypt(h)<\/span><\/sup>, England(q)<\/sup>, Finland(r)<\/sup>and even in the New World, as Evan Hadingham has shown an example [<\/sup>1309<\/a>.261]<\/sup> at Pacatnam\u00fa in Peru. In Scandinavia, they are known as Troy Towns –\u00a0 Trojeborgar. Sweden has the greatest number with 200(e)<\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

The largest example in Sweden was discovered at the Mesolithic site on Bl\u00e5 Jungfrun Island(j)<\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

Tracy Boyd, in a lengthy paper(m)<\/sup> about Chartres Cathedral, mentions in footnote 27 that “Many of the <\/em>labyrinths<\/em> originally installed in cathedrals in France were later destroyed by the Church itself”!<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Eberhard Zangger<\/a> claimed that “most labyrinths are found around the Mediterranean”<\/em> and “that at the end of the Bronze Age, the labyrinth was a recognised pattern around the eastern Mediterranean.”<\/em> [484<\/a>.136]<\/sup> He proceeds to link the labyrinth with Troy, which, in an earlier book [483<\/a>] <\/sup> he had identified as Atlantis.<\/p>\r\n

India’s second-largest example, measuring 56 feet by 56 feet, was partly uncovered in Gedimedu near Pollachi(i) <\/sup>in 2015. It is estimated to be 2,000 years old and has a design similar to those found on clay tablets found at Pylos, Greece, from 1200 BC.<\/p>\r\n

\"Indian<\/a>

Indian Labyrinth<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Labyrinths were also incorporated into several churches and cathedrals throughout Europe. Lucile Taylor Hansen<\/a> gives some examples of mazes in the United States[572<\/a>.276]<\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

It has been suggested by a number of writers that the labyrinth had some connection with Atlantis(a)<\/span><\/sup>(b)<\/span><\/sup>. Such suggestions are interesting but highly speculative. Lewis Spence<\/a> does so in The History of Atlantis<\/em>.\u00a0 J. D. Brady<\/a> touches on this in his book,\u00a0 Atlantis<\/em>[0738<\/a>]<\/sup> where he announced that Atlantean gold treasure was to be found within a labyrinth on the Greek island of Lemnos.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0What I find interesting is that so many widespread examples of the labyrinth retain the irregular elements of the symbol even when depicted in a rectangular rather than a rounded style. An extensive website covering all aspects of labyrinths and mazes is worth a visit(c)<\/span><\/sup>. There is also The Labyrinth Society(f)<\/span><\/sup> to further whet your appetite.<\/p>\r\n

In 2014, an article(o)<\/span><\/sup> by April Holloway described a collection of labyrinths that I consider the most mysterious of all. They are situated on Russia’s Solovetsky Islands (or Solovki), which “are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia.\u00a0 It is here where there can be found thirty-five Neolithic labyrinths, known as \u2018vavilons\u2019 (\u2018Babylons\u2019) in the local dialect, which date back to around 3,000 BC.\u00a0 The most remarkable are the stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island, a group of fourteen labyrinths in a 0.4km\u00a02\u00a0area.”<\/em>\u00a0The Atlas<\/em> Obscura<\/em> website offers a number of images(p)<\/span><\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

In 2017, an extensive article by John Reppion offers further information on the history and geographical spread of labyrinths(k)<\/sup>. Similarly, Gary Vey offers an article with additional information and more images(l)<\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

In 2020, an extensively illustrated Italian article on the ubiquity of the labyrinth and the suggestion that the disparate ancient civilisations where they are found might indicate shared cultural links(n)<\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n

Some researchers have attempted to link the outline of the labyrinth with the concentric design of the harbour of Plato\u2019s capital city. The harbour was described as a series of perfectly concentric circular features \u2018as if created on a lathe\u2019 (Critias 113d<\/a>), whereas the labyrinth is more spiral with a slightly offset entrance. My conclusion regarding the labyrinth is; fascinating\u2013 yes, Atlantis \u2013 probably not.<\/p>\r\n

The persistent use of this ancient symbol was highlighted by an aerial image, sent to me by Hank Harrison<\/a>, of a Catholic school in California.<\/p>\r\n

(a)<\/sup> MMM Group Home Page (archive.org)<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

(b) <\/sup>www.duepassinelmistero.com\/Il%20mito%20di%20Atlantide.htm<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(c)<\/sup> Labyrinthos Homepage (archive.org)<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(e) <\/sup>https:\/\/www.mymaze.de\/trojaburg_en.htm<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(f)<\/sup> \u00a0The Labyrinth Society: The Labyrinth Society: Sacred Geometry and Labyrinths (archive.org)<\/a> *<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

(g)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/news-history-archaeology\/2000-year-old-labyrinth-uncovered-india-shows-same-pattern-greek-maze-020474<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(h)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/ancient-places-africa\/lost-labyrinth-ancient-egypt-part-1-002033<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(i)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/news-history-archaeology\/2000-year-old-labyrinth-uncovered-india-shows-same-pattern-greek-maze-020474<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(j)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/news-general\/mysterious-labyrinth-and-ritual-caves-archaeologists-dig-stone-age-past-swedish-island-020539<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(k)<\/sup> https:\/\/dailygrail.com\/G<\/a>uest-Articles\/2017\/7\/The-Labyrinths-Troy<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(l)<\/sup> Labyrinth: walk on the wild side \/ Viewzone<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(m)<\/sup> our lady of chartres (archive.org)<\/a><\/p>\r\n

(n)<\/sup> The labyrinth in prehistory – The charm of a symbol still shrouded in mystery – The Tapestry of Time (larazzodeltempo.it)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

(o)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/ancient-places-asia\/ancient-stone-labyrinths-bolshoi-zayatsky-001573<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

(p)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/places\/bolshoi-zayatsky-island<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

(q)<\/sup> https:\/\/andrewgough.co.uk\/articles_land\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

(r)<\/sup> Labyrinths and Ritual in Scandinavia | BLADE HONER (wordpress.com)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

(s)<\/sup> https:\/\/throughjillseyes.wordpress.com\/2016\/08\/19\/twelfth-century-finger-labyrinth-in-pontremoli-italy\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

(t)<\/sup> Wayback Machine (archive.org)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

(u)<\/sup> https:\/\/www.thearchaeologist.org\/blog\/the-lost-egyptian-labyrinth-of-hawara-is-a-2000-year-old-mystery-finally-solved<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Labyrinths are one of the many mysteries of the ancient world, with the earliest examples apparently dating back around 4,000 years(t). In Egypt, around 1800 BC, Pharaoh Amenemhet III was responsible for building what is reputed to have been the largest labyrinth at Hawara containing three thousand rooms according to Herodotus, who visited it in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4541,4185,5190,113,3985,1118,713,35,671,5396,714,2026,2280,78,1631,291,5046,19,4089,6883,6878,715],"class_list":["post-13616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-april-holloway","tag-bla-jungfrun-island","tag-chartres-cathedral","tag-eberhard-zangger","tag-evan-hadingham","tag-gary-vey","tag-hank-harrison","tag-india","tag-j-d-brady","tag-john-reppion","tag-labyrinth","tag-laybris","tag-lemnos","tag-lewis-spence","tag-lucile-taylor-hansen","tag-minoans","tag-pacatnamu","tag-peru","tag-solovetsky-islands","tag-the-labyrinth-society","tag-tracy-boyd","tag-troy-towns"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13616"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67191,"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13616\/revisions\/67191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlantipedia.ie\/samples\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}