Mazes and Labyrinths: Their History and Development - Tapa blanda

1922. Contents: introduction; Egyptian labyrinth; Cretan labyrinth; Etruscan or Italian labyrinth; labyrinth in ancient art; church labyrinth; turf labyrinth; origin of turf mazes; floral labyrinth and the dwarf shrub maze; topiary labyrinth or hedge maze; stone labyrinth and rock engravings; dance or game of Troy; bower of "Fair Rosamond"; maze etymology; labyrinth design and the solution of mazes; labyrinth in literature; miscellaneous and conclusion. Wonderfully illustrated.

The terms "maze" and "labyrinth" are no longer considered interchangeable. Unlike a maze, which is an entertaining puzzle with many dead ends, a labyrinth is unicursal: it consists of one path which twists and turns but leads inevitably to the centre. In some turf labyrinths, the groove cut in the turf is the path to be walked (sometimes marked with bricks or gravel); more commonly the turf itself forms the raised path which is marked out by shallow channels excavated between its twists and turns.

The labyrinth especially has quite an esoteric significance, as it can represent a journey through the degrees towards the central goal.

This book is a massively in-depth study of mazes and labyrinths around the world, from modern to antiquity.

About the Author

David Starr Jordan (1851 - 1931)
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. (January 19, 1851 - September 19, 1931) was a leading ichthyologist (the study of fish), educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University. (Quote from (Quote from (Quote from wikipedia.org)))

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.
http://www.forgottenbooks.org