Since childhood, many remember the legend of the terrible monsterThe Minotaur, which his mother, in order to hide her unusual child from human eyes, settled in the Knossos Labyrinth. This building was so confusing that no one except its owner could find a way out. The construction of the labyrinths was popular not only in ancient times, but also in the Middle Ages and subsequent epochs. What is the history of the appearance of the very concept of "maze" and does it have other meanings?
Etymology of the term "maze"
Before you learn the meaning of this word, you should pay attention to its origin. Like the myth of the Minotaur, so this noun came to the Russian language from the ancient Greeks.
Distributed two versions of the origin of thistitles. According to one of them, on the island of Crete, the word "labyrinth" called the place where the ritual hatchet, called the maze, was kept. On the other hand, the labyrinth is a fortress. This theory is supported by the fact that in Greek there is a single word with it, which is translated as “street” or “lane”.
To the Slavs Greek term labyrinthos came through the mediation of the German language and the words used in it labyrinth. This happened in the time of Peter I, who was very fond of this fashionable European fun. He is credited with building about ten labyrinths throughout the empire, but this is not entirely true.
In fact, the king was built only "Garden atPavilion Temple "in Peterhof. He was a tangled park with a pool in the center with a total area of 2 hectares. It was built according to the design of Jean-Baptiste Leblond and was a great place for walking on a hot summer day.
As with any innovation, the mostvarious rumors. Some believed that some travelers disappeared without a trace in this outlandish place. Others sincerely believed that the Petrovsky labyrinth was a secret meeting place for masons. How true these assumptions were is unknown.
But among the common people the word "labyrinth"(its value is lower) it took a long time to take root, because instead of it, the name “Babylon” was used for a long time. Babylonians have always been treated with caution, believing that they have certain magical properties.
For example, the famous icon of the XVIII century.- “Spiritual Labyrinth” - symbolized with itself how difficult it is to find the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. It was believed that if you look at it, without first confessing, you can go crazy.
The term "maze": lexical meaning
Thanks to the popularity of the Greek legend todayThis word is still actively used in speech. Moreover, in addition to the basic meaning, it acquired several additional ones. Since the XIX century. You can already find the "labyrinth" (meaning of the word) in the Dal dictionary, and later in Ozhegov, Ushakov and others.
Vladimir Dahl in his work calls the labyrintha place from which it is difficult to find a way out because of a system of tangled tracks and transitions. It seems to interpret the lexical meaning of the word "labyrinth" and other Russian linguists.
Today this word is called a two-or three-dimensional structure with an intricate system of paths to the exit. It can be both stone and vegetable origin.
Other meanings of the word
In addition to the basic meaning of this noun, Vladimir Dal cites a minor in his book. So, he calls the labyrinth the inner part of the human ear.
But Ushakov lists in his explanatory dictionarymore definitions for this term. So, in addition to the above, he mentions the figurative meaning of the word: the intricate interweaving of something (a labyrinth of thoughts, a labyrinth of feelings). As an example, a quotation from Saltykov-Shchedrin is given: “If I do not stop at once, then I’m probably confused in the maze of self-inquiry and self-reflection.
Today the labyrinth is also a protective device of a computer hard disk, as well as the name of a board game of a Russian publishing house and bookstore.
In addition, the popularity of this term has servedthe fact that over the past 30 years 5 films were shot, in the title of which the given word appears. There are also several books with the same name and music albums.
Fayum labyrinth
One of the first mentions of the structure-maze belongs to the father of history - Herodotus.
Of the ruins left in its place today, it is difficultunderstand how difficult this building really was, but judging by the description of the father of history, it looked truly luxurious. By the way, this labyrinth is described in the novel “Pharaoh” by Boleslav Prus.
Greek, Roman, Indian Mazes
The famous Knossos Labyrinth was made in the imageFayumsky, however, much smaller than him in size. He also served as a cult structure, but the deity was not a crocodile, like the Egyptians, but a bull (probably, hence the legend of the Minotaur). His creation is attributed to Daedalus himself. Unlike the Egyptian whereabouts, this is still unknown.
In addition to the Cretan there was another famousGreek maze. However, where he was exactly is unknown. Various historians called it the location of the island of the Aegean Sea: Samos or Lemnos. In connection with these there is a version that the labyrinth of the Minotaur could not be on Crete at all. But until the ruins of at least one of them have been found, all of these are just bare theories.
The Romans, who adopted their culture from the Greeks, of coursehowever, they could not resist and did not build their own labyrinths. Most of them did not reach our days, but in the ghostly city of Pompeii, where time seemed to freeze, two small houses-labyrinths with amazing mosaics illustrating the myth of the Minotaur remained intact. It is believed that the labyrinth of the Romans - it was also a popular children's fun. Like the Greeks, this building was sometimes used for religious purposes, as evidenced by the royal burial mound in Klusium, consisting of an intricate system of burial rooms.
By the way, the cult was also spread in Indiathis building. Hindus believed that evil demons could only move straight, therefore they made small labyrinths at the entrances to temples and houses to protect themselves.
Labyrinths of the Middle Ages
With the transformation of Christianity into the dominant religion of Europe, the love for intricate structures survived its new rise.
Labyrinths in the UK and France
Starting from the XIII century.These buildings began to be used as an exotic decor in the world. Since it was impractical to build and maintain stone buildings of this type, labyrinth-gardens gradually came into fashion.
