Mazes
From Maze
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It has twelve covered courts - six in a row facing north, six south - the gates of the one range exactly fronting the gates of the other. Inside, the building is of two stories and contains three thousand rooms, of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them. I was taken through the rooms in the upper storey, so what I shall say of them is from my own observation, but the underground ones I can speak of only from report, because the Egyptians in charge refused to let me see them, as they contain the tombs of the kings who built the labyrinth, and also the tombs of the sacred crocodiles. The upper rooms, on the contrary, I did actually see, and it is hard to believe that they are the work of men; the baffling and intricate passages from room to room and from court to court were an endless wonder to me, as we passed from a courtyard into rooms, from rooms into galleries, from galleries into more rooms and thence into yet more courtyards. The roof of every chamber, courtyard, and gallery is, like the walls, of stone. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white marble and surrounded by a colonnade.</blockquote> | It has twelve covered courts - six in a row facing north, six south - the gates of the one range exactly fronting the gates of the other. Inside, the building is of two stories and contains three thousand rooms, of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them. I was taken through the rooms in the upper storey, so what I shall say of them is from my own observation, but the underground ones I can speak of only from report, because the Egyptians in charge refused to let me see them, as they contain the tombs of the kings who built the labyrinth, and also the tombs of the sacred crocodiles. The upper rooms, on the contrary, I did actually see, and it is hard to believe that they are the work of men; the baffling and intricate passages from room to room and from court to court were an endless wonder to me, as we passed from a courtyard into rooms, from rooms into galleries, from galleries into more rooms and thence into yet more courtyards. The roof of every chamber, courtyard, and gallery is, like the walls, of stone. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white marble and surrounded by a colonnade.</blockquote> | ||
| − | Kern doubts whether this was the building at all and suggests that the labyrinth of Knossos alludes to a dance, a topic for later discussion. | ||
| − | However, the depiction of this myth include a pattern that as Miller notes has been "conventionalized: | + | Herodotus found it "hard to believe" that the upper rooms were "the work of men." They were "an endless wonder" to him. Mazes inspire awe with their intricacies and complexities and their designers become the stuff of legends. There is a fascination with the manner of their construction perhaps most because their patterns are not obvious at first glance. They are a masterful construction of obfuscation and entanglement. |
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| + | 10 PRINT... has no Daedalus, not even a credited author. Yet it is a massively productive little architect that constructs and constructs without pause until the person at the keyboard intervenes. | ||
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| + | Whether or not there was ever such a building in Crete is unknown. No ruins of the building remain. However, the depiction of this myth include a pattern that, as Miller notes, has been "conventionalized": | ||
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Other Egyptian Labyrinths date back to 3400 BCE and a labyrinth in the tomb of King Perabsen of the Second Dynasty. | Other Egyptian Labyrinths date back to 3400 BCE and a labyrinth in the tomb of King Perabsen of the Second Dynasty. | ||
In her book, Mazes and Labyrinths of the World, Janet Bord examines appearances of maze in other parts of the globe. For example, she mentions the “long barrows, megalyths, camps and henges of Britain and north-west Europe” as signs that these sorts of patterns, labyrinthine or mazelike, were “not in the first instance diffuse outward from an original birthplace, but developed independently in more than one area” (10). | In her book, Mazes and Labyrinths of the World, Janet Bord examines appearances of maze in other parts of the globe. For example, she mentions the “long barrows, megalyths, camps and henges of Britain and north-west Europe” as signs that these sorts of patterns, labyrinthine or mazelike, were “not in the first instance diffuse outward from an original birthplace, but developed independently in more than one area” (10). | ||
| − | The search for the antecedent to the physical mazes perhaps is the wrong path to pursue. The history of mazes should not start with the earliest mention or depiction of mazes but with the formulation of walled architecture or social spaces with intersecting passages… Furthermore cave structures, for example, the paths modeled in Adventure, offer naturally occurring mazes (more on that in a moment) | ||
| − | (how this ties to our maze) | + | The search for the antecedent to the physical mazes perhaps is the wrong path to pursue. The history of mazes should not start with the earliest mention or depiction of mazes but with the formulation of walled architecture or social spaces with intersecting passages… Furthermore cave structures, for example, the paths modeled in Adventure, offer naturally occurring mazes. |
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So while the location or shape of this mythical maze becomes a grail quest, the labyrinth becomes the icon of the story of the maze and the two concepts become entangled. Mazes and labyrinths become places of beastial horror, puzzles that require the collusion of paramours. Mazes become elevated into the pantheon of heroic challenges, literally the stuff of legends. Without a doubt, this mythological status has fueled the search for physical mazes and labyrinths from antiquity to the present. | So while the location or shape of this mythical maze becomes a grail quest, the labyrinth becomes the icon of the story of the maze and the two concepts become entangled. Mazes and labyrinths become places of beastial horror, puzzles that require the collusion of paramours. Mazes become elevated into the pantheon of heroic challenges, literally the stuff of legends. Without a doubt, this mythological status has fueled the search for physical mazes and labyrinths from antiquity to the present. | ||
| − | 10 PRINT... hides no minotaur in its center. But the Cretan Labyrinth and the search for the mazes of antiquity present mazes as the challenges of heroes. Similarly, 10 Print... does not offer a solitary puzzle to its viewers and the code of the program itself takes the role of Daedalus. Nonetheless, the wit and riddle of 10 Print... stems from the cleverness of its concision, the elegance of its simple conceit. Mastering that maze requires a clever hero with an enamored helper. 10-Print was part of Ariadne's string and in that maze-like output novice programmers no doubt hear the echo of the Minotaur's roar. | + | 10 PRINT... hides no Minotaur in its center. But the Cretan Labyrinth and the search for the mazes of antiquity present mazes as the challenges of heroes. Similarly, 10 Print... does not offer a solitary puzzle to its viewers and the code of the program itself takes the role of Daedalus. Nonetheless, the wit and riddle of 10 Print... stems from the cleverness of its concision, the elegance of its simple conceit. Mastering that maze requires a clever hero with an enamored helper. 10-Print was part of Ariadne's string and in that maze-like output novice programmers no doubt hear the echo of the Minotaur's roar. |
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| − | Mazes and Labyrinths, however, are not associated only with their physical structures or two-dimensional forms; They can also be patterns of physical movements. In other words, pathways. Dance executions of mazes have been and continue to be performed as areas, such as Italy, Corfu, Munich, Upper Bavaria. There is the Geranos (Crane) dance performed by Theseus performed on Delos. | ||
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| − | Another commemorates the killing of Hainuwele (divine maiden) on one of the Molucca Islands. | ||
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===Mazes in stone and earth=== | ===Mazes in stone and earth=== | ||
