The labyrinth (in original greek Λαβύρινθος/Labyrinthos) was supposed to be a large maze in Minoan Crete, where Asterion- mostly known as Minotaur- was living. The minotaur, according to the myth, came to exist due to a chain of events involving king Minoas' attempt to fool Poseidon, to whom he had vowed to sacrifice a white bull, but in the end chose not to due to the beauty of that creature. Poseidon reacted by condemning Pasiphae, the wife of Minoas, to become obsessed with having an erotic relation with a bull. The result, following an idol of an animal Daedalos built so that Pasiphae could be placed inside, was the Minotaur, one of the children of Pasiphae.
Another of those children, by Pasiphae but also of king Minoas, was Androgeos. He was killed during a trip to Athens where he competed in the local games and won. King Minoas declared war on Athens in the end, and after defeating it with his superior fleet, forced the Athenians to pay tribute to Crete, part of which tribute was in the form of 7 young male athenians and 7 young female athenians being sent every 9 years to Crete, to be thrown into the Labyrinth and ultimately killed by the Minotaur.
This circular event ended only when Theseus went inside the Labyrinth and killed the Minotaur.
While there are many parts of this mythological circle (the Attica mythological circle, sometimes interlinking with the Theban mythological circle) which can be of interest, i want to focus on the actual term of the labyrinth.
I read that its etymology is not certain. It is argued that the first part may come from Labrys, which was the double-edged axe symbolizing Minoan Crete. The last part might signify a location, or some variation of this notion, as in Korinthos which ends in the same way, along with Perinthos and other Greek cities of those times.
However i am not at all happy with Labyrinth supposedly just meaning "place of the Labrys", since obviously such a known symbol of Crete would have more places related to it. Of course the Labrys itself could be a symbol, of something with two heads (or two horns, as in the minotaur) each facing an opposite direction, a bit like the Etruscan/Roman god known as Janus Bifrons (Ianos in Greek), who had two faces, the second on the back of his head.
I would like to ask if anyone knows more about the etymology of the Labyrinth
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(a bit on the same motif, from back in July, here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=501213&highlight=labyrinth. That thread was more art-centered though (Borges, Lovecraft etc). This is centered on the term used for the large maze).
Another of those children, by Pasiphae but also of king Minoas, was Androgeos. He was killed during a trip to Athens where he competed in the local games and won. King Minoas declared war on Athens in the end, and after defeating it with his superior fleet, forced the Athenians to pay tribute to Crete, part of which tribute was in the form of 7 young male athenians and 7 young female athenians being sent every 9 years to Crete, to be thrown into the Labyrinth and ultimately killed by the Minotaur.
This circular event ended only when Theseus went inside the Labyrinth and killed the Minotaur.
While there are many parts of this mythological circle (the Attica mythological circle, sometimes interlinking with the Theban mythological circle) which can be of interest, i want to focus on the actual term of the labyrinth.
I read that its etymology is not certain. It is argued that the first part may come from Labrys, which was the double-edged axe symbolizing Minoan Crete. The last part might signify a location, or some variation of this notion, as in Korinthos which ends in the same way, along with Perinthos and other Greek cities of those times.
However i am not at all happy with Labyrinth supposedly just meaning "place of the Labrys", since obviously such a known symbol of Crete would have more places related to it. Of course the Labrys itself could be a symbol, of something with two heads (or two horns, as in the minotaur) each facing an opposite direction, a bit like the Etruscan/Roman god known as Janus Bifrons (Ianos in Greek), who had two faces, the second on the back of his head.
I would like to ask if anyone knows more about the etymology of the Labyrinth
*
(a bit on the same motif, from back in July, here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=501213&highlight=labyrinth. That thread was more art-centered though (Borges, Lovecraft etc). This is centered on the term used for the large maze).
