A Brief History of the Labyrinth

From movies to board games and corn mazes to The Shining, labyrinths are as prevalent in today’s culture as they ever were, but why? What are labyrinths, and what purpose do they serve?

First, Are Labyrinths and Mazes the Same Thing?

You’ll often hear labyrinth and maze use synonymously, because, on the outside, they look very similar. But mazes and labyrinths are a bit different.

Labyrinths are a singular path, though they will have many twists and turns. It’s referred to as being unicursal, which means it’s a curved surface with a single path. This makes labyrinths far different than mazes.

Where labyrinths are a relaxing stroll to a central destination, mazes are a confusing collection of wrong ways and dead ends that force you to make decisions on how to get back out the other end. Corn mazes are popular during the fall and around Halloween, and can be created as labyrinths (and are in some places), but are usually designed as tricky mazes to make it so you have to search for your way out.

Labyrinths aren’t usually overgrown hedges; again, those are mazes. They are most often made with small stones, flowers, small bushes that you can see and step over, or even simply mowed into an overgrown lawn. Since they aren’t a game like a maze, it doesn’t matter if you can visibly see the entire path, though, but most often you can.

Labyrinths have an interesting place in mythology but are also a relaxing stroll without any wrong ways. The labyrinthos dates back to Greek mythology, and maybe even further. In Greek tales, the labyrinth was created as a place to keep the minotaur (the half-man, half-bull creature of mythology). As the myth goes, the minotaur was a ferocious creature that ate people, so the labyrinth was constructed to keep the half-bull man trapped.

Labyrinths and Spirituality

These days, labyrinths are more about fun or retrospection and spirituality. You may visit a parking lot where someone has drawn a walking labyrinth in chalk for people to stroll through. You won’t find any minotaurs within, and you don’t need a ball of string or breadcrumbs to help you find your way back out.

As long as your experience within the labyrinth is nothing like the one in The Shining (which was actually a maze, not a labyrinth), you should be able to find it a relaxing experience that allows you to reflect inwardly while enjoying nature. Even the labyrinth in the movie Labyrinth was not a Labyrinth at all, but a maze to trick people. There are no choices to make on paths or doors when walking through a Labyrinth.

Labyrinths are used in rituals by people from all different spiritual backgrounds. Walking through the labyrinth could be thought of as your journey through life, with the twists and turns. With this in mind, many labyrinth walkers will look for signs on their walk that will let them know about their path in life. Some use this as a sort of walking meditation -- there are no choices to make, so you can clear your mind and walk freely without a thought or care in the world.

Much like coloring mandalas is relaxing, so too can it be said of drawing a labyrinth. You can also create one in your backyard with stones. Use it as a way to spend more time in nature or to bond with friends. Put a statue or bench in the center for a relaxing place to sit before you walk back out.