Mazes and Labyrinths: A General Account of Their History and DevelopmentMatthews, W. H.
History
Mazes and Labyrinths: A General Account of Their History and Development
Matthews, W. H.
Labyrinths; Maze gardens
It is, of course, possible that the tomb of Porsena was erected on the
hill above this labyrinth, but we have not much evidence on the point.
If the tomb possessed a labyrinth, no doubt the latter would have been
something of this type. Dennis also mentions various other labyrinths
of this nature in Etruria--for example, one near Volterra, "a long
passage cut in the rock, six feet wide but only three high, so that you
must travel on all-fours. From time to time the passage widens into
chambers, yet not high enough to permit you to stand upright, or it
meets the passages of similar character opening in various directions
and extending into the heart of the hill, how far no one can say. In
short, this is a perfect labyrinth in which, without a clue, one might
very soon be lost."
He also mentions one at San Pietro, Toscanella, "in the cliffs below
the Madonna dell' Olivo, about half a mile from the town. Here a long,
sewer-like passage leads into a spacious chamber of irregular form,
with two massive columns supporting its ceiling and a rude pilaster on
the wall behind. But the peculiarity of the tomb lies in a _cuniculus_
or passage cut in the rock, just large enough for a man to creep
through on all-fours, which, entering the wall on one side after a long
gyration and sundry branchings, now blocked with earth, opens in the
opposite wall of the tomb."
[Illustration: Fig. 14. Poggio Cajella. Labyrinthine Cemetery. (Dennis)]
These Etruscan labyrinths were all of a sepulchral character, and one
is naturally reminded of the catacombs of Rome, Paris, and Naples, to
which, however, the term "labyrinth" is not customarily applied. Strabo
uses the word in reference to a catacomb near Nauplia, which he calls
the Labyrinth of the Cyclops. In Pliny's time the word would appear to
have been used to denote a winding path following a more or less formal
design of intricate pattern, but not necessarily connected with
sepulchral purposes.
When speaking of the Labyrinth of Crete he says, "We must not compare
this to what we see traced upon our _mosaic pavements_ or to the _mazes
formed in the fields_ for the entertainment of children, and thus
suppose it to be a narrow path along which we may walk for many miles
together, but we must picture to ourselves an edifice with many doors
and galleries which mislead the visitor...." This passage shows that
the term "labyrinth" had come to have a fairly broad significance. It
had long been used in a metaphorical sense, even as we find Plato, over
four centuries earlier, employing it to describe an elaborate argument.
We also find it applied by extension to other objects, such as traps
for fish, to judge by a certain passage in the works of Theocritus.
The only buildings to which the ancient writers applied the term,
however, were those to which we have already referred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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