Labyrinth | Define Labyrinth at Dictionary.com labyrinth noun 1. an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit. Synonyms: maze , network , web . 2. a maze of paths bordered by high hedges, as in a park or garden, for the amusement of those who search for a way out. 3. Synonyms: warren , maze , jungle , snarl , tangle , knot . 4. any confusingly intricate state of things or events; a bewildering complex: His papers were lost in an hellish bureaucratic labyrinth. After the death of her daughter, she wandered in a labyrinth of sorrow for what seemed like a decade. Synonyms: wilderness , jungle , forest ; morass . 5. (initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. a vast maze built in Crete by Daedalus, at the command of King Minos, to house the Minotaur. 6. Anatomy. the internal ear, consisting of a bony portion (bony labyrinth) and a membranous portion (membranous labyrinth) the aggregate of air chambers in the ethmoid bone, between the eye and the upper part of the nose. 7.

a mazelike pattern inlaid in the pavement of a church. 8. Also called acoustic labyrinth, acoustical labyrinth. Audio. a loudspeaker enclosure with air chambers at the rear for absorbing sound waves radiating in one direction so as to prevent their interference with waves radiated in another direction. Origin of labyrinth Think Labyrinth: Maze Glossary Technical Maze Terms These items reference types of Mazes or things you can find or do within a Maze. See the algorithms page for more information about many of these terms. Akimbo : The act of leaving a Maze through a passage in the boundary wall, and then reentering the Maze through another passage. It's possible to have a Maze that requires "going akimbo" in order to solve it. Effectively, the area outside of the Maze is being treated as one giant cell. Term comes from the akimbo body position which juts out and returns inward. Arrow Maze : Type of directed Maze composed of a network of arrows, in which you can't go against the way an arrow is pointing. Backtrack: The act of turning around and retracing your path in a Maze.

You can either be forced to backtrack (like when a dead end is reached) or just choose to do so. This can refer to the actions of a person or a computer algorithm in navigating a Maze. Beginning: See start. Bias : Maze texture type characterized by straightaway passages that tend to go along one axis more often than at other angles. A Maze with passage bias is usually more difficult to navigate "against the grain". Blackout: The act of visiting every cell in a Maze. After having solved a Maze one may want to start exploring other passages for fun. Once you've visited every section at least once, you've achieved blackout for that Maze. This can refer to the actions of a person or a computer algorithm in navigating it. Blind Alley : A passage where if you walk down it in one direction, you will have to backtrack through that path in the other direction in order to reach the goal. All dead ends are blind alleys, as are all cul-de-sacs or any sized collection of paths connected to the rest of the Maze by a single stem. Block: The wall segment at the end of a dead end that blocks your way and forces you to backtrack.

Bottleneck : A passage or intersection in a Maze such that every solution to that Maze passes through it. Sealing off any bottleneck makes a Maze unsolvable. For perfect Mazes, the entire solution path is a bottleneck. Boundary Wall: A wall on the outermost perimeter of a Maze, that has a passage on one side of it and area that is no longer part of the Maze on the other side. Braid Maze : A Maze without any dead ends. Also called a purely multiply connected Maze. Such a Maze uses passages that coil around and run back into each other (hence the term "braid") and cause you to spend time going in circles instead of bumping into dead ends. A well-designed braid Maze can be much harder than a perfect Maze of the same size. Cell: A point in a Maze, or more technically the passage units which are linked in a grid or network to form the Maze. Each cell is a vertex, and has zero or more passage edges leading away from it to other cells. Circuit : A passage or set of passages in a Maze which form a ring around something. In unicursal Labyrinths a circuit refers to one of the passages that circles the center.

A Labyrinth's size can be determined by the number of circuits or passage rings it has. Checkpoint : A point in a Maze you are supposed to find before you can finish. Mazes with multiple checkpoints sometimes require you to visit them in a certain order. Labyrinth and Mythology Terms These items reference types of life size Mazes and Labyrinths used for spiritual purposes, and things from stories that feature Mazes and Labyrinths in them. These include the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, and the Old English tragedy of Rosamond the Fair. Aegeus: King of Athens. When Androgeous was killed at the Olympics, Minos attacked Athens and as a condition of peace forced King Aegeus to annually submit seven youths and seven maidens to be thrust into the Labyrinth as food for the Minotaur. Androgeous: Son of King Minos who was so gifted that he won all the prizes at the Olympics, and was therefore killed out of jealousy. Ariadne: Daughter of King Minos.

She enabled Theseus to slay the Minotaur by giving him a clew of thread which he tied to the entrance and unrolled as he went into the Labyrinth in order to find his way back without becoming lost. She fell in love with Theseus and left Crete with him. Asterion: The Minotaur's name. Bower: Another term for a Maze or Labyrinth, especially a hedge Maze. Chartres Labyrinth : A style of unicursal Labyrinth characterized by eleven rings and four quadrants, where the start and end passages are close but not perfectly lined up, popularized by a Labyrinth of this style in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, and commonly walked for spiritual purposes today. Classical Labyrinth : A style of unicursal Labyrinth characterized by seven rings, that's been around for hundreds of years and has been seen in many different cultures around the world. This is sometimes mistakenly called the Cretan Labyrinth, which is a different pattern. Clew of Thread: A ball of string. Ariadne gave a clew of thread to Theseus so he could find his way out of the Labyrinth, and Eleanor of Aquitaine used one to solve Rosamond's Bower.

Cretan Labyrinth : A style of unicursal Labyrinth characterized by ten rings and four quadrants, where the start and end passages line up. Daedalus: Gifted craftsman who built the Labyrinth. He also built a hollow mechanical cow to allow Queen Pasiphae to mate with a special bull which resulted in the birth of the Minotaur. When thrown into the Labyrinth by King Minos, he built wings held together with wax allowing him and his son Icarus to escape. Dapuritojo Potinija: Ancient Minoan goddess of the Labyrinth. Can be considered a pre-Greek form of Ariadne. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Wife of King Henry II (1122?-1204). Furious about her husband's affair with Rosamond the Fair and that he tried to hide Rosamond from her in the Maze Rosamond's Bower, she used a clew of thread just as Theseus did to find her way to the center whereupon she killed Rosamond. Handedness: Indicates the first direction one turns after entering a unicursal Labyrinth.

In a left handed Labyrinth the first turn is to the left, and in a right handed Labyrinth the first turn is to the right. Hedge : Type of life size Maze where the walls are high hedges. Hedge Mazes require many years to grow and then require continual trimming, however "living Mazes" of this type can be considered the most beautiful and interesting. Icarus: Son of Daedalus, he was locked with his father in the Labyrinth after the Minotaur was slain. Daedalus cautioned him not to fly too close to the sun lest his wax wings melt, but Icarus didn't listen and so fell to his death in the sea. King Henry II: King of England (1133-1189). As the story goes, he built Rosamond's Bower to hide his mistress Rosamond the Fair from his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. Knossos: City on Crete containing the palace of King Minos and presumably the Labyrinth as well. Labrys: Sacred double headed axe used by ancient Minoan civilization. This is the root of the word "Labyrinth".

Lunation : The crescent shaped decorations around the outside of a Labyrinth, especially those around the Chartres Cathedral style. They consist of foils (indentations) and cusps (hourglass protrusions). The Chartres Labyrinth has 112 complete foils and 113 cusps. Man in the Maze : Style of unicursal Labyrinth topologically equivalent to the classical seven circuit Labyrinth, commonly seen in the Tohono O'Odham nation (Native American tribe), characterized by seven concentric circles with the seed pattern in the center. Minos: King of the Greek island of Crete. King Minos' pride in refusing to sacrifice a special white bull to the gods caused them to make his wife Pasiphae fall in love with the bull and give birth to the Minotaur. When his son Androgeous was murdered in Athens, he forced the Athenians to give seven youths and seven maidens every year to be thrown into the Labyrinth and devoured by the Minotaur. Minotaur: Vicious monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, who dwelled within the Labyrinth and killed all who entered.

He was the son of Queen Pasiphae and was eventually slain by Theseus. Mizmaze: Old term for a Labyrinth or Maze, especially a turf Labyrinth. Nemetona: Celtic goddess of Labyrinths and sacred spaces in general, i.e. the Guardian of the Sacred Grove. Pasiphae: Wife of King Minos. After King Minos refused to sacrifice a special bull to the god Poseidon, the gods made Queen Pasiphae fall madly in love with the bull. She mated with it and as a result gave birth to the Minotaur. Processional : Type of unicursal Labyrinth with both an entrance and an exit on the outer boundary. This allows a sequence of people to walk through the Labyrinth, across the center if it has one, and out another location, without anybody crossing path. It also allows two people to race to the middle from both entrances. Rosamond the Fair: Mistress of King Henry II. As the story goes, she was hidden in the center of Rosamond's Bower until Eleanor of Aquitaine solved the Maze and gave her a choice of how to die: either drink poison or be killed by a dagger. Rosamond chose the poison.

Rosamond's Bower: Legendary hedge Maze constructed by King Henry II to conceal his mistress from his jealous wife. Seed Pattern: A simple pattern around which a unicursal Maze can be drawn. For example, the seed pattern for the classical seven circuit Labyrinth is a cross with four more right angle lines in each quadrant. Connecting adjacent endpoints all the way around this seed pattern results in the classical Labyrinth. Theseus: Slayer of the Minotaur. Son of King Aegeus, he volunteered to be one of the youths submitted to be killed by the Minotaur. Theseus fought and killed the Minotaur instead, and ran off with King Minos' daughter Ariadne. Troy Town: See Mizmaze. Turf: Type of life size Maze carved into grass or turf, where the walls are carved into the ground and you walk on the raised grassy area. Mazes of this type are usually unicursal Labyrinths. Labyrinth Movie Terms These items reference characters and landmarks from the movie Labyrinth. See the Labyrinth movie page for many more things related to the movie.

Alice: A friend of Sarah's from school who asked "what's the other half of him then" when Sarah had referred to Toby as her half-brother. Referenced in the novel. Alph: One of the riddle giving guards who always told the truth or always lied. Alph was the one on the left wearing red, and who Sarah chose to direct her question to. Ambrosius: The cowardly sheepdog steed of Sir Didymus that he would ride. Looks like an identical twin to Merlin. Ballroom : The ballroom was an enchanted place inside a bubble formed from one of Jareth's crystal balls. Sarah entered the ballroom and danced with Jareth after she ate an enchanted peach given to her by Hoggle. Beggar: Jareth disguised himself as a beggar and revealed himself in surprise after Hoggle agreed to help Sarah solve the Labyrinth against Jareth's wishes. In the Labyrinth computer game a beggar appears in the beginning who presumably is Jareth as well. Bog of Eternal Stench : An indescribably horribly smelling bog in the forest on the other side of the Great Goblin Wall.

If even one drop of it touches somebody, they will smell bad for the rest of their life, as it will never wash off. Chilly Down : Another term for a Firey. Also refers to the soundtrack song that plays during the Firey scene. Cleaners : A deadly slashing machine with spinning blades at its front that would completely fill up a passage and cut to bits anything it encountered. Jareth made one chase Sarah and Hoggle after she defied him. Escher Room : Large area near the top of Jareth's castle beyond the throne room, that had stairs and floors and walls at various angles, and where gravity seemed to go in different directions at different places. Based on the lithograph "Relativity" by M.C. Escher. Fairy : Traditional looking fairies could be found right outside the Labyrinth. Unlike most fairies, these wouldn't do nice things, like granting wishes, but would rather bite you if given a chance, as Sarah found out when trying to help one Hoggle had sprayed. Firey : One of the orangeish enthusiastic creatures that lived in the forest beyond the hedge Maze and had the ability to detach their various body parts.

They just wanted to have a good time, but their hyperactivity would obstruct Sarah and cause them to be potentially dangerous, e.g. they wanted to cut off Sarah's head because they could remove their own heads without ill effect. Forbidden Forest: The Firey inhabited section of forest inside the hedge Maze but outside the barren section next to Jareth's castle. It was called this in the early script. Four Guards: The quartet formed by Alph, Ralph, Tim, and Jim. They were in front of two doors, one of which lead to the castle and the other which lead to certain death. Alph and Ralph would allow you to ask one of them a single question, where one of them always told the truth and the other always lied. Freddie : In the early script Sarah's baby brother was named Freddie instead of Toby. Goblin City : The town of goblin houses surrounding Jareth's castle at the center of the Labyrinth. Goblins : The numerous ugly, dumb, short creatures ruled by Jareth. Presumably most or all of them were turned into goblins from babies offered to him.

Great Goblin Wall : Large stone wall that divided the forest into two sections, with the area inhabited by the Fireys on the outside and the Bog of Eternal Stench on the inside. Helping Hands : One of numerous pairs of hands that grew out of the shaft leading to the Oubliette. They could talk by forming faces with each other and would give a person who fell into the shaft a choice of whether to be lifted up or dropped down. Hoggle : Grumpy dwarf who lived outside the Labyrinth who was Sarah's first and principal friend. He liked her a lot although wouldn't admit it until the end. He betrayed Sarah with an enchanted peach Jareth made him give her, but later redeemed himself by saving her from Humongous. Humongous: Giant robot controlled by a small goblin inside his head, that guarded the gates to Goblin City. He nearly killed Sarah's party until Hoggle came and took over the controls. Irene Williams: Sarah's stepmother, who her father remarried after her mother left them. Called by name in the Return to Labyrinth manga.

Jareth : King of the Goblins and principal antagonist in the story, who stole Sarah's baby brother Toby and gave her thirteen hours to rescue him before he'd be turned into a goblin. Jeremy: The charming co-star and current romantic partner of Sarah's mother. He's presumably who Sarah's mother left Sarah and her father for. Referenced in the novel. Jim: The smaller upside down guard between Ralph and his shield. Junk Lady: Old goblin woman Sarah met after escaping the ballroom, who tried to convince her she had everything she ever wanted in a replica of her bedroom. In the early script the Junk Lady was actually a puppet controlled by Jareth inside. Knockers: Talking door knockers that appeared on two doors in the wall between the hedge Maze and the Firey forest. The left knocker held a ring in his ears and was therefore deaf, while the right knocker held a ring in his mouth and could therefore only mumble (at least until somebody took the ring out of his mouth). Linda Williams: Sarah's mother, who was an actress. She walked out on Sarah and her father, leaving him to remarry Sarah's stepmother.

Ludo : Giant, dumb, fearsome looking beast with the power to summon rocks and have them do his bidding. He was actually very sweet in nature and became Sarah's second main friend after she rescued him from goblins and untied him from a tree. Merlin: Sarah's pet sheepdog. Looks like an identical twin to Ambrosius. Nipper Stick: A stick with a tiny fierce creature on the end with a big mouth that bites hard anything it comes near. Goblins used these to torment Ludo with when he was tied to the tree. Oubliette: A place to put people to forget about them. Specifically one of many traps in the Labyrinth one could fall into. They're seemingly exitless, although at least one has a secret way out. Term comes from the French verb oublier, to forget. Phony Warnings: Rock faces embedded into walls in the Labyrinth in many places, who would give fearsome warnings not to go farther, especially when you're on the right track. Ralph: One of the riddle giving guards who always told the truth or always lied. Ralph was the one on the right wearing blue, and whose door Sarah chose to enter.

Robert Williams: Sarah's father, who had a generic office job. Called by name in the novel. Robin Zakar: Writer of a play Sarah was practicing the lines for. Jareth pretended to be him in order to gain access to Sarah's house while she and Freddie were home alone. Referenced in the early script. Sarah Williams : 15 year old girl who was the principal protagonist in the story, who wished her baby brother would be taken away by the goblins and had to solve the Labyrinth to save him when her wish was granted. Shaft of Hands : The vertical well above the oubliette and beyond the correct door after Alph and Ralph, that had the Helping Hands growing out of the sides. Sir Didymus : Fearless foxlike knight who guarded the bridge over the Bog of Eternal Stench. After Sarah and her friends proved themselves, he became the knightly brother of Ludo and Sarah's third main friend. Snatter Goblin: Little goblins that live in the Labyrinth's brickwork. These were presumably the goblins that turned over or rotated the paving stones that Sarah drew arrows upon using lipstick to mark her way. Name comes from The Goblins of Labyrinth a.k.a. The Goblin Companion book.

Tim: The smaller upside down guard between Alph and his shield. Toby : Sarah's baby half-brother, the son of her father and stepmother, who Sarah had to rescue from the Labyrinth. Wild Thing : Another term for a Firey. Name comes from the early script. Wiseman : A old man with a hat topped by an unruly talkative bird. They would give cryptic advice for a contribution. Sarah met him upon entering the hedge Maze. Words: The Words refer to Sarah's line that she could never remember until the end: "You have no power over me." The Words can also refer to the line that would summon the goblins: "I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now." Worm : The kindly worm was the first character Sarah met inside the Labyrinth itself, who helped her find her way out of the endless passageway. He kept on asking Sarah if she would like to have a nice cup of tea and meet the "missus". What is another word for maze? What is another word for maze? What's another word for maze? Here's a list of synonyms for this word.

Noun A Nepalese Labyrinth pp.13- 21 The missionary Father Cassiano da Macerata was travelling in 1740 through Nepal on his way from India to Tibet. In his account of the journey he writes that he saw some ruins in the jungle, which he later was told were the remains of the ancient city of Scimangada, whose walls was said to have formed a labyrinth around the city. Cassiano adds that the plan of this City can be found, wrought in stone, in the royal palace of Batgao (modern Bhaktapur/Bhadgaon) in Nepal. The presence of labyrinths in Asia is rare in comparison to Europe, and its occurrence is geographically limited.(2) The occurrence on the Indian subcontinent, although more common than in the rest of Asia is, with few exceptions, restricted to the western and southern part of India and to Sri Lanka. Cassiano’s account is the only extant source for the occurrence of the labyrinth in Nepal and therefore his information is particularly interesting and the aim of this article is to discuss and interpret Cassiano’s account of this Nepalese labyrinth.

This labyrinth has seldom, and only briefly, been commented upon in the literature on the labyrinth. The only two scholars (as far as I am aware) to take note of this labyrinth are Simon Nordstrom, who at the beginning of the 20th century mentions it in an article in the Swedish encyclopedia Nordisk Familjebok (3) and Hermann Kern in a footnote in his Labyrinthe.(4) But neither author had access to the text of Cassiano, and knew only of a abridged account given by Giorgi (see below), and could therefore not discuss this labyrinth at any length. A Nepalese Labyrinth Staffan Lundï¿½n We also saw in several places some old ruins, and some seemed to be remains of substantial buildings. We could not understand how, in such a large forest which judging from the old trees is of considerable age, there could be buildings of any significance.

During the following years when I was staying in Nepal I did not neglect to inform myself about such ruins which I made Bavanidat observe during the journey and whose answer I did not understand, because I did not yet know the language; and although I have received this knowledge 4 years later I am of the opinion that I should treat it here, despite the small digression I have to do from our journey. I was assured by many Nepalese from Batgao that these ruins were some small vestiges remaining of the very ancient and famous city of Scimangada, from which their Kings originated, and which was not possible to enter without wheeling it around again and again for about a month, because it was a city situated in the centre of a quasi- labyrinth enclosed by high walls, a labyrinth which it was impossible to enter except on a single spot, and after having entered there one had to pass beneath four fortresses, which were evenly distributed from place to place between the barriers of the labyrinth; and these barriers had a distance from one side to the other of about one Kos, [i.e. two miles] and the walls were extremely high with a width in proportion.

Within the enclosures there were pleasant fields and small streams which watered them. The food supplies produced by the fields within the enclosures were sufficient to feed the large population, which was governed by a great King, who also had a vast domain around outside the enclosures, which were governed by one of his prime ministers. One of these, who had received the disapproval of the King, swore to take vengeance by betraying his fatherland and surrendering it to the Muslims; therefore the plan was agreed with the Emperor, and with numerous troops he [i.e. the prime minister] took up position at the entrance to the labyrinth, and then forcing the defensive wall opposite and on the other side, they entered the city before anyone had noticed the enemies, who massacred the inhabitants. Some succeeded in saving themselves through the breach in the wall made by the enemies, and one of these was one of the sons of the King, who escaped to Nepal, where he eventually managed to settle and subdue the native King and seize the Kingdom.

So much has repeatedly been told me in brief about the city of Scimangada in Nepal, where in the royal palace in Batgao, the plan of the city was preserved engraved in stone, such as I have roughly sketched it here. An ancient king of Batgao in his time struck coins with some hieroglyphs on one side, the plan of Scimangada on the other side. These coins, which are of silver have the value of one lire, about two roman paoli; but today these with the plan of Scimangada are very rare... The text is accompanied by an illustration (fig.2, reproduced opposite) entitled “Plan of the City of Scimangada and its enclosures”, which shows a labyrinth of the ‘classical/cretan type’ with the familiar central cross design and eight walls.(10) The illustration measures 15.5 by 16 cm. A caption explains the illustration: A. Entrance to enter into the fortifications of the City of Scimangada. B. First Fortress, which one has to pass to come to the city. C. Second Fortress F. The City of Scimangada g- g.

The place where the Vice- King led the enemies in and betrayed his fatherland. The account of Scimangada had to wait about 200 years before being published by Petech, and the illustration of the labyrinth, which is not reproduced by Petech or Magnaghi, has remained unpublished until now. However, a brief mention of Scimangada and an illustration derived from Cassiano’s drawing did actually appear in print in Cassiano’s lifetime, in the work Alphabetum Tibetanum (Rome 1762) p.431- 32, written by the Augustinian hermit brother August Anton Georgi. Through this work the occurrence of the labyrinth in this part of the world became known to Nordstrom and Kern and was the starting point for my own research. Alphabetum Tibetanum was written in collaboration with Cassiano, and parts of the book are derived from Cassiano’s manuscript.

In the book there is a much abridged version of Cassiano’s account of the journey: Cassiano came to Batgao a few days later on his journey and was later to stay in Batgao for three years, from 1742 to 1745,(12) and during this period he learned the story about Scimangada and certainly had the opportunity to see the labyrinth in the palace. Although Batgao is described by Cassiano the labyrinth is unfortunately not mentioned again, and we are left with no information regarding its size, precise location nor whether the labyrinth was made in relief or incised.(13) In the story Scimangada is described as an almost impregnable city, but nevertheless, we are told in the story that disaster one day fell upon this city. It fell through treachery, betrayed by a minister whose troops took control of the entrance to the labyrinth, and after some walls had been collapsed, the enemy entered the city and slaughtered its inhabitants. Among the few survivors, who escaped the same way the enemies entered, was a son of the King who eventually became King of Nepal.

At this point we may wonder what the connection between this story, the ruins in the jungle and the labyrinth in Batgao is. First the question of whether the story of the fall of the city has a foundation in real events or is fictitious has to be considered. That the defensive system of Scimangada, with walls which took a month to pass is more at home in the world of saga than in reality is evident and Cassiano is sceptical about the whole story. After mentioning the coins stamped with the plan of Scimangada,(14) Cassiano continues that he has retold the story of Scimangada such as he has heard it, but he finds it chronologically difficult that the city was destroyed by Muslim troops, as it was also said that Scimangada was destroyed nearly 400 years ago, and the first Muslim emperor who, to Cassiano's knowledge, was active in this area was Oranzeb, whose reign started much later, in 1655.(15) Cassiano also finds a difficulty in that the Kings of Nepal only counted 300 years from their usurpation of the throne.

Cassiano concludes: But even if it is true that Scimangada once existed, it is not possible to trace the truth among pagans, as one gets entangled in their stories and great tales. However, Cassiano did not have a good knowledge of the history of the Muslim powers in India, and the story of the fall of Scimangada is, contrary to Cassiano’s opinion, to some degree based on actual events. Scimangada is also known in Nepali sources as Simraongarh, Simaramapura or Simraon. It was founded in 1097 by Nanyadeva from Karnataka as the capital of Mithila (Tirhut). The city remained the seat of the dynasty until its destruction by the Muslims in 1325.(16) The ruins of the city, seen by Cassiano, are still quite substantial, with much relief sculpture still visible.(17) Subsequently the Karnataka family of Simraongarh gained the throne of Batgao through marriage.

Thus, the story told to Cassiano is to some extent based on historical reality; the city was destroyed by the Muslims and the dynasty of Batgao did originate from Simraongarh. Still it is evident that the real Simraongarh did not have any labyrinthine defences and we may ask from where this idea came and why the plan of the city’s fortifications was reproduced as a labyrinth in the royal palace in Batgao. The connection of a city destroyed long ago with a labyrinth, fits well into the very widespread pattern of the labyrinth as a symbol of a fabulous city from remote times.(18) In Europe this symbolism is common and well attested, and it is possible that - although it cannot be proven - that the concept of the labyrinth as a symbol of a city is of considerable antiquity. The inscription TRUIA in the labyrinth on the Tragliatella oinochoe, dated to the second half of the 7th century BC, should perhaps be read as “Troy” i.e.

the labyrinth is the city of Troy/Ilion.(19) It is also possible that the walls depicted around the roman mosaic labyrinths are also symbolized cities.(20) In Northern Europe, by the 15th century AD (21) and onwards there are ample evidence for the association of labyrinths and cities (and castles), most evident in the names given to the labyrinths:(22) Caerdroia “City of Troy” (Wales); Troytown, City of Troy (England)(23); Wunderburg “Wonder castle” (Germany); Jerusalem (Poland)(24); Nineve, Viborg, Trondhjem, Konstantinopel “Constantinople”, Trojaborg “City of Troy”, Trelleborg (Sweden (25); the latter two names also in Denmark (26)); Jerusalems Fï¿½rstï¿½ring or Jerusalem Hï¿½vitys “The Destruction of Jerusalem”, Nineves Stad “City of Nineveh”, Jerichos Ritning “the plan of Jericho” (Finland)(27); Jeruusalemma Linn “City of Jerusalem”, Tï¿½rg

i Linn “City of Turks”, i.e.

Constantinople? (Estonia)(28), Vaviloni “Babylon” (Kola peninsula and Solovetski Islands in the White Sea, Russia).(29) Drawings of labyrinths in manuscripts start appearing in the 9th century AD. In the earliest (30), as well as later examples (31), the labyrinth is used to illustrate the city of Jericho. The concept of Jericho as a labyrinth apparently became widespread and Jericho illustrated by a labyrinth can be found in manuscripts in Europe and in Asia, both in the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition, as well as in the Jewish and the Christian Syrian and Armenian traditions.(32) The concept of the labyrinth as as a symbol of a city was also known in the Islamic culture. The Arabic geographer Al Qazwini, gives some curious information about Quastantiniyya “Constantinople”, in his work Cosmography, finished AD 1276. The account of Al Qazwini can be summarized as follows:(33) This city was built by Constantine. Wise men have produced it. Neither before nor after it has anything similar been built.

The accounts of the city's size and beauty are numerous. The city looks as follows: [picture of the labyrinth] but nowadays it does not have that appearance. Instead it is a great city, in which is the castle of the king, surrounded by a wall. Another, earlier, testimony for the labyrinth as a symbol of a city in the Islamic tradition comes from Arabic historian Al- Biruni’s work on India, finished AD 1045 in Ghanza (Afghanistan).(34) In India the symbolic value of the labyrinth has shifted slightly; labyrinths represent castles instead of cities. In the above- mentioned work by Al- Biruni we have evidence for this concept as early as 11th century AD. Al- Biruni writes about the castle of the demon Ravana on Lanka (Ceylon), and the castle is illustrated as a labyrinth. In the centre of the labyrinth is the word “castle”.

Although the text of Al- Biruni that follows is somewhat corrupt the meaning seems clear: that in India Ravana’s labyrinth- castle is called Yavani- Kote “Greek castle”, but in the Islamic countries it is called Al- Multawi “the confusing, the perplexing”, which can translate as Rumiya “Rome” (which probably means Constantinople) It is likely that Al- Biruni got his information about Ravana’s castle as a labyrinth, and the Indian labyrinth name during his visits to India.(35) Nowadays in Southern India, the labyrinth symbol which appears as a threshold design is still called Kote “castle”.(36) Thus, from Northern Europe to India a common pattern appears: the labyrinth is a symbol of a distant, more or less mythological, city, destroyed in the past. Although the identity of the city symbolized by the labyrinth varies, it is never a nearby or contemporary city.(37) Examples from Northern Europe are, needless to say, not directly relevant while discussing the symbolic significance of the labyrinth in Nepal, but likewise in the regions closer to Nepal, the labyrinth symbolizes a wellï¿½- known city, distant both in time and space.

Ravana’s labyrinth- castle on the island of Lanka clearly belongs to myth, and - just as in Europe, cities considered as labyrinths are placed in Asia - the labyrinth- city of Islamic tradition was placed in Byzantium, and it was not the present Constantinople which was considered a labyrinth, but the Constantinople of bygone days.(38) I think it is fairly safe to say, that the Nepali labyrinth and the city of Scimangada/Simraongarh fits well into the same pattern. The physical remains of Scimangada/Simraongarh was long since only ruins and although the ruins were not that remote, their location in a dense jungle inhabited by tigers and other wild animals made them inaccessible. As the Kings of Batgao claimed their origin from Scimangada/Simraongarh, this city and the story of its fall must have had some importance in the cultural milieu of the kingdom of Batgao. And so it was said in Nepal that the plan of the defences was that of a labyrinth, the same story told in Europe and Asia. [Editor's note: similar interpretations are applied to labyrinths in America and southern Africa]. Notes & References: 1.

Petech, Luciano. I missionari Italiani nel Tibet a nel Nepal. I cappuccini Marchigiani I- IV, Il Nuovo Ramusio 2, Rome 1952- 1953. 2. For details of labyrinths in Asia, see: Causasus, Kern, 95, fig.99; Afghanistan, Kern, 435, fig.630. Kern, Hermann. Labyrinthe: Erscheinungsformen and Deutungen 5000 Jahre Gegenwart, Munchen, 1983. Labyrinths sculpted in wood in mosques, and a rock carving of a labyrinth, have been reported in Northern Pakistan by Umberto Scerrato, “Labyrinths in the wooden Mosques of North Pakistan: A problematic presence” East and West 33, 1983, 21- 29. Scerrato also mentions labyrinths in Turkey and Syria (p.24). Several examples are known from Sumatra and Java. Kern 435- 438.

For other Asian examples, see the discussion on labyrinths as symbols of cities, below. Reports of labyrinths in Asia will certainly increase with future research. 3. Vol.15 (1911), col.744 q.v. “Labyrint”. 4. 424, no.32. Kern erroneously places Scimangada in India and Batgao is callad Batgai, which is the genitive of the latinized name Georgi uses. 5. For a short biography on Cassiano (secular name Giovanni Beligatti); see Petech I, p.CXII. 6. Magnaghi, Alberto. “Relazione inedita di un viaggio al Tibet del P. Cassiano Beligatti da Macerata” Rivista Geografica Italiana 8- 9, 1901- 02: on the manuscript, 8, 1901, 546- 547; the account on Scimangada, 615. Magnaghi has also published the article seperatly as a monograph: Relazione inedita di un viaggio al Tibet del P.

Cassiano Beligatti da Macerata, Florence 1902. 7. Petech IV. 8. Petech IV, 4. A map on which several of the relevant placenames can be found is: Rennell, J. Hindostan 1782 (copied at Berlin by Benj. Glasbach 1785), scale: 60 geographical miles/69.5 British miles to a degree [i. e. 1:4,500,000]. It should be noted that cartographically this map is not very reliable. 9. Petech IV, 12- 14. 10. On p.60 in Cassiano's manuscript. 11. The illustration measures 8.5 x 8.7 cm. Scimangada is also in the index of the book (p.809) and basically the same information is given: “Scimangada, a city built in a labyrinthine manner in the most ancient times. Hardly any remains of it are preserved. Many stories are told about it”. 12. Petech 1, p.CXII. 13.

A labyrinth appear in the stone reliefs on each of three temples, built in the 12th- 13th centuries AD, in and near Halebid, Mysore (South India). Kern 422- 423, Figs.601- 603. As has been mentioned before, Scerrato 24, Figs.9- 10 reports a labyrinth incised on a boulder in North Pakistan. Batgao was mainly a Brahmanist (Hindu) city but did also have Buddhist inhabitants which makes it difficult to say to which of these traditions the labyrinth should be attributed, and in this region Brahmanism and Buddhism are not always distinctly separated. Slusser, Mary, Shephard. Nepal Mandala: A cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley, Princeton 1982, 214. The labyrinth is not a common symbol in the Buddhist culture. In Sri Lanka, from the end of the 18th century AD, the labyrinth in Buddhist tradition, is a symbol of Vanga- giriya “the curved mountain”, the place of exile of the penultimate Buddha Vessantara.

The place is described as a dense jungle, full of wild beasts, at the foot of the Himalayas (Kern 433- 434), but I doubt that this tradition has anything to do with the history of Scimangada. 14. Neither Magnaghi (1901), 615, n.4, nor Petech IV, 246, n.16, knows of the labyrinth as a motif on Nepali coins. Petech suggests that Cassiano refers to a coin with some kind of ornamental design. 15. More precisely Auranzeb, ascended the throne in 1658. Petech IV, 246, n.16. 16. According to late, unreliable, Nepali sources Nanyadeva - who was regarded as the founder of the Karnataka dynasty - conquered Nepal and established his court in Batgao. Although he did raid the country he did not take permanent control. Petech, Luciano. Mediaeval History of Nepal (c. 750- 1482) (Serie Orientale Roma 54), Rome 1984 (lst.ed.

1958), 55- 56; Slusser, 46- 47, 66. 17. Ballinger, Thomas O. “Simraonqarh Revisited: a report on some observations made at the ruins of the former capital of Mithila in the Terai of Nepal” Kailash: Journal of Himalayan Studies 1, 1973, 180- 184. The work of Hodgson was not available to me: Hodgson, Brian H. “Account of a visit to the ruins of Simroun, once the capital of the Mithila province” Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 4:39, 1835, 121- 124. (Reprinted in Illustrations of the Religion of the Buddhists of the North, Serampore 1841, but not in the Trubner collection of 1872). Ruins of Simroun are marked on the map The Goruckpoor and North Behar Frontier.

Comprising the Districts Goruckpoor, Azimgurh, Jounpoor, Benares, Ghazeepoor, and part of Allahabad, North west provinces; with Sarun, Chumparun, Tirhoot and part of Monghyr, Bengal Provinces, based on the Great Trigonometrical and Revenue Survey Operations to 1858. (On transfer paper by Bullorum Nath, Mohamed Azeem and lith: by H.M. Smith at the Surveyor General's Office, Calcutta, April 1858), scale: 8 miles to 1 inch. 18. Exactly what is symbolized by the labyrinth can differ slightly; sometimes the labyrinth is understood as a city/castle and sometimes as the walls around the city (as in the case of Scimangada), but the basic association of labyrinth and city is the same. 19. This means that the neither the labyrinth nor the inscription has anything to do with the Roman equestrian game lusus troia. Weeber, K.W.

“Troiae lulus: Alter and Entstehung eines Reiterspiels” Ancient Society 5, 1974, 171- 196, 185- 186; Dinzelbacher, Peter. “Ober Troiaritt and Pyrriche” Eranos 80, 1982, 151- 161, 155. The alternative argued by Small 68- 83 - which I find less plausible - is that the lusus troia (and not the City of Troy/Ilion) is depicted on the Tragliatella oinochoe. Small, Jocelyn Penny. “The Tragliatella Oinochoe” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaelogischen lnstituts. Roemische Abteilung 93, 1986, 63- 96. The Tragliatelia oinochoe is also discussed in: Bouke, van der Meer L.

“Le jeu de truia: le programme iconographique de l'oenochoe de Tragliatella” Ktema 11, 1986, 169- 178. 20. Kraft, John. “The Cretan labyrinth and the walls of Troy, an analysis of Roman labyrinth designs” Opuscula Romana 15, 1985, 79- 86. Small, 73, 74 n.39 prefers to see these labyrinths as symbols of the Cretan or Egyptian labyrinth. 21. France: le cipte de Troie, “City of Troy”, Matthews, William Henry. Mazes and Labyrinths: Their History and Development, London 1922, 156; Sweden: Andersson 8- 9 discusses a toponym Troioborgh, “Castle of Troy” probably derived from a field labyrinth.

Andersson, Thorsten, “Litterara ortnamn” (Place- names from literature), Sydsvenska Ortnamnssallskapets Arsskrift 1972, 3- 20. 22. A survey of the labyrinth- names of Northern Europe is given by Kraft, John. “Labyrintnamn: frAn Troja till Trelleborg” (Labyrinth names: from Troy to Trelleborg), Sydsvenska Ortnamnsskllskapets Arsskrift 1986, 8- 72, with an English summary and maps of the distrubution of labyrinth names in the different countries. 23. Saward, Jeff, The Caerdroia Field Guide, Thundersley 1987, 43- 45 24. Kraft, John. “Wunderburg and Jerusalem” Caerdroia 13, 1983, 11- 19; Kraft (1986), 22- 25. 25.

Kraft (1986), 38- 63. 26. Kraft (1986), 26- 29; Knudsen, Gunnar, “Navnet Traelleborg” (The name Traelleborg), in: Poul Nï¿½rlund, Trelleborg, (Nordiska Fortidsminder 4, Kopenhagen 1948), 189- 214. 28. Kraft (1986), 33; Kraft, John & Selirand, Urmas, “Labyrinths in Estonia”, Caerdroia 1990, 32- 37. 33; Baer, Ernst von, “ï¿½ber labyrinth- fï¿½rmige Steinsetzungen im Russischen Norden” Bulletin de la historico- Philologique de l’Academie impï¿½riale de Sciences de St- Petersburg 1, 1844, col.70- 30. Italy, Kern 188, fig.216. 31.

Syria, 19th century AD, Kern 198, fig.230. 32. Kern 182- 33. I have not consulted the original text, but rely on the translations of Batschelet- Massini, Werner, “Labyrinthzeichnungen in Handschriften”, Codices Manuscripti 4, 1978, 33- 65, 49, Nr.14, and Kern 166, fig.196. 34. Another example of the labyrinth in the Islamic culture is reported by Saint- Hilaire. This labyrinth, forming part of a water game in the central court in the royal palace at Meknï¿½s, Morocco, was drawn by captive Europeans, prisoners of the Sultan Moulay Ismail, in the 17th century. Saint- Hilaire, Paul de, L'Univers Secret du Labyrinths, Paris 1992, 192. A water game in the form of a labyrinth in the Azem palace at Damascus, Syria, is also reported by Scerrato, 24, fig.11.

An explanation for the lack of labyrinths in the Islamic culture is discussed by Bausani, who also proposes an unconvincing astronomical interpretation of the labyrinth. Bausani, Alessandro, “Islamic culture and a possible astronomical interpretation of the labyrinth: some notes” Hamdard Islamicus 7, 1984, 17- 24. 35. Kern 425- 426, fig 608. 36. Kern 425, fig.607. A labyrinth carved on a housewall in a village of Kota was used for the game of Kote “Castle”. Kern 428, fig.617. 37. From a rationalist point of view a labyrinth cannot be a symbol of a real city, as real cities do not look very much like labyrinths. 38. Accordingly, Constantinople does not seem to be an exception from other cities considered as labyrinths and Kern’s suggested explanation (166, fig.

196), that the tradition of Constantinople having been built as a labyrinth originated in a (hypothetical) performance of the lusus troia, is no longer necessary. 39. Kraft, John, The Goddess in the Labyrinth, ï¿½bo 1985. 40. Kern 435, fig.630. 41. Kern 179, fig.215. 42. Slusser 94, 102, 345. See Auer and Gutschow 38, for a 18th or 19th century painting of Batgao as a mandala. Auer, Gerhard & Gutschow, Niels, Bhaktapur Gestalt, Funktionen and religidse Symbolik einer nepalischen Stadt in vorindustriellen EntMcklungsstadium, Darmstadt 1974. Back to Caerdroia Archive Fig 1: the route followed by Cassiano and the missionaries through northern India and Nepal in 1740.

In the middle of the forest numerous ruins are seen; remains (it is said) of the vast and ancient city of Scimangada, of which we here give a reproduction. Many things are told about this city. Even today they show in the public square of Batgao a plan incised in stone. Old coins are found, although rarely, which show this plan, constructed in a labyrinthine manner, as in the drawing above.(11) The text is accompanied by an illustration (fig. 3, reproduced opposite) The illustration, which measures 8,5 by 8,7 cm, is that of a labyrinth of the so called classical/cretan type with the central cross design and eight walls. The accompanying story goes that the man who managed to get a glimpse of Khunkhar’s daughter Shamaili would be allowed to marry her.

Six sons of Namazlun had been killed in the attempt, but the seventh managed to come near her by hiding in a statue which was brought into her house, and eventually he married her and took revenge for his brothers.(40) Another story with the same theme can be found in a 19th century magical parchment scroll from Ethiopia, in which the labyrinth is the palace or harem of Solomon. A man called Sirak dug a tunnel into the centre of the labyrinth and abducted one of Solomon’s wives.(41) The story of Scimangada is also a story of how the almost impregnable defences of the labyrinth were forced. Cassiano writes that the produce of the fields in the area enclosed by the walls was sufficient to feed the whole population, which I infer meant that the city could not be starved by a besieging enemy, and the height of the walls supposedly made them invulnerable to direct assault. Thus, the only way in was through the entrance, but the enemy entering here was forced to try for a month to pass along the whole circuit of the labyrinth and beneath the four fortresses.

The treacherous minister nevertheless managed to get the enemy through these formidable defences by taking possession of the entrance to the labyrinth (supposedly to let the enemy in through the gate, if there was one) and by collapsing the two walls situated “opposite (i.e. of the entrance) and on the other side,” where Cassiano has marked “g- g” on the plan (see fig.2). (Presumably the location of the breaches was pointed out to Cassiano, either on a sketched drawing of a labyrinth or possibly on the relief in the palace at Batgao, by the person(s) who told him about the defences of Scimangada and the fall of the city.) In this way a quick passage was created between the entrance of the labyrinth and centre of the city, through which the enemy - and the king’s son - could pass without the need to traverse the tortuous passages of the labyrinth. Thus, the blending of historical events and the widespread concept that the labyrinth represents a famous city from the past formed the story of how the labyrinthine defences of Scimangada were overcome and how the dynasty of Batgao originated.

As I am not an expert on Nepal I refrain from trying to put the labyrinth into the larger context of Nepali culture, but it can perhaps be noted in the final paragraph of this paper that the idea of a labyrinth as a symbol of a city could have been felt to resemble the deep- rooted Nepali conception of a city as a mandala, and that the protective qualities of the labyrinth corresponded to the belief that a city was protected by the mandala’s concentric rings of divine power, existing both inside and around the city.(42) Staffan Lundï¿½n, Gothenburg, Sweden; 1994. For the preparation of this paper I have been offered invaluable assistance by Kerstin Rï¿½llander and the staff at the University Library at Gothenburg, and by the Section for Maps and Pictures at the Royal Library in Stockholm. I am also grateful to Ann- Marie Dahlander B.A. for help with the translations from Italian, and to Ph.Lic. Kimmo Jï¿½rvinen at the Classics Institute at the University of Gothenburg for the translation from Latin, and to Prof.

Karl Sunesson at the Department of Indology at the Institute for Oriental Languages at the University of Stockholm for a number of indispensable references. (Editor's note: We are also grateful for the assistance of Mauro Pedretti of Milan for checking the translations from the original Italian texts). Although rarely explicitly stated in the material, it seems clear that the labyrinth is not only a symbol of a city or of the city- walls, but also symbolises that the city, due to its labyrinthine defences, has a strong protection. A common theme in a number of labyrinth stories is how the defences of the labyrinth, in one way or the other, were finally breached,(39) however, despite this common theme, these stories are quite different from each other and I do not think that they should be regarded as having evolved from a common source. A story with this theme, in which the labyrinth represents a house/palace, is known from the eastern part of Afghanistan. A contemporary drawing (fig.4, reproduced opposite) of a labyrinth has the explanatory text: The House of Shamaili, its entrance was hidden, only Shamaili knew it.

The work of Cassiano (1708- 1791) (5) has the title Giornale di Fra Cassiano da Macerata nella Marca d'Ancona, Missionario Apostolico Cappuccino nel Tibet e Regni adiacenti, dalla suaa partenza da Macerata suguita li 17 agosto 1738 sino al suo ritorno nel 1756; diviso in due libri. Libro Primo, and is an account of his journey to and subsequent stay in Nepal and Tibet. He left Macerata in Italy in 1738 and returned to Europe in 1754. Of the two volumes written by Cassiano the second is lost and the first, stored in the Biblioteca Comunale Mozzi- Borgetti di Macerata, is a manuscript of about 200 pages with pencil drawings, watercolours and plans of buildings.

The manuscript was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by Alberto Magnaghi, who published a large part of the text.(6) Subsequently the whole text has been published by Luciano Petech.(7) In February 1740 Cassiano and seven other cappuccini missionaries, together with a Nepalese Bavanidat (Bhavani Datt) and porters, left Patna on the Ganges in India (in Cassiano's time in the Mogol Empire) on their way to Batgao, capital of one of the kingdoms in Nepal, and their ultimate goal, Lhasa in Tibet.(8) The missionaries pass Lalgang (modern Lalganj), Messi (modern Mehsi), Barrihua (modern Purnahia?) and then cross the border to the kingdom of Maquampur (the modern city of Makwanpur). They continue through a jungle in the Rautahat district of the Tarai in Nepal, close to the modern Indian border. Cassiano writes that the journey is not without danger, as the jungle is inhabited by tigers, elephants and rhinoceroses.

On the 29th of February, after having commented that the large number of animal bones indicated that tigers were not rare, Cassiano continues: (9) In 1703 the Vatican took the decision to start missionary work in Nepal and Tibet and over a period of about 70 years sent a large number of missionaries to these remote Himalayan countries. The considerable number of reports and letters left behind by the missionaries give unique information about these countries during the 18th century.(1)

Question: What is another word for labyrinth beginning with 'M'?
Answer: Maze