>>43322477>>43322274I wrote a dissertation on labyrinths and mazes.
In ancient Greece, the labyrinth was always described as having multiple dead ends and turns when spoken of in a story, but was always depicted (pic related, a coin of the era from Crete) as having a single path. That is, it was a maze in stories, but a labyrinth in pictures.
I connected this to Platonism-- the idea specifically that when viewed from outside, a confusing situation (e.g., for Plato, the corporeal world) would become clear and easy to understand. Hence, in part, the cave-- the realm of ideas, is clear and comprehensible, whereas the realm of things is murky and confusing. The labyrinth/maze dichotomy was not meant to be two different places, but was rather a (I suspect subconscious, but may have been intentional) reflection of the dominating philosophy of how we understand the world, and how objectivity is a heavenly trait.
Glad this came up! Still studying mazes/labyrinths, what a deep and wonderful topic. Read Borges, read Eco, read Xueqin.
