Labyrinth
The original Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos.
Its function was to hold the Minotaur, which was eventually killed by the hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cleverly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it.
Pliny's Natural History mentions four ancient labyrinths: the Cretan labyrinth, an Egyptian labyrinth, a Lemnian labyrinth, and an Italian labyrinth.
Labyrinth Media
Theseus in the Minotaur's labyrinth, by Edward Burne-Jones, 1861
Carving showing the warrior Abhimanyu entering the chakravyuha – Hoysaleswara temple, Halebidu, India
"Classical" or "Cretan" design, well-known in antiquity.
The four-axis pattern as executed in Chartres Cathedral (early 1200s)
Chartres Cathedral, about 1750, Jean Baptiste Rigaud
Labyrinth on floor of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
Walking the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral
