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Labyrinths Across the Ancient World
Labyrinths represent a notable symbol from the ancient world. The earliest known examples date back approximately 4,000 years.
Egypt’s Labyrinth at Hawara
Around 1800 BC, Pharaoh Amenemhet III constructed a vast labyrinth at Hawara. The Greek historian Herodotus visited the site in the fifth century BC and reported that the complex contained three thousand rooms. His description later prompted scholar Athanasius Kircher to create a plan of the underground structure.
The Symbol Appears Worldwide
People often connect the labyrinth and the double-headed axe called the labyris with Minoan culture. However, the same symbol appears across many regions. Examples exist in Italy, India, Egypt, England, Finland, and Peru. Researcher Evan Hadingham documented one at Pacatnamú in Peru. In Scandinavia, communities traditionally call these structures Troy Towns, or Trojeborgar. Sweden preserves the largest number, with about 200 examples.
Archaeologists found the largest Swedish labyrinth at a Mesolithic site on Blå Jungfrun Island.
A Significant Find in India
In 2015, workers partly uncovered India’s second-largest labyrinth at Gedimedu near Pollachi. The square structure measures 56 feet (17.07 meters) by 56 feet (17.07 meters). Experts estimate that it is about 2,000 years old. Its design closely resembles patterns on clay tablets from Pylos in Greece that date to 1200 BC.
Neolithic Labyrinths in Russia
In 2014, writer April Holloway reported on thirty-five Neolithic labyrinths on Russia’s Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. Local people call them “vavilons” or “Babylons.” The structures date to around 3,000 BC. Fourteen of the most striking stone examples lie within a small area on Bolshoi Zayatsky Island.
Labyrinths in European Churches
Builders placed labyrinths in the floors of several churches and cathedrals throughout Europe. Researcher Tracy Boyd noted that the Church later destroyed many of the labyrinths installed in French cathedrals.
Connection with Atlantis
Spiritual Labyrinth
After the ceremonies in those halcyon days of Golden Atlantis, filled with light and joy, families and communities would cluster round the stones in groups and relate tales, sing and chant. Children were encouraged to tell stories so that they practised fully using their memory banks. The people experienced deep peace and belonging. Drawn to the energy of the rituals, animals would join the humans and bathe in the glorious light with them.
Discover Atlantis
Then, as now, a labyrinth was a powerful and symbolic shape. As you walk into and out of one that is marked on the ground, or trace it with your finger, you are symbolically travelling the sacred journey of your life: going into the heart of your being, then returning out into the world again. The labyrinth itself has a cross in its centre, surrounded by a spiral. Many people think that it is the same as a maze. However, a maze is a puzzle, which engages the left brain to solve, whereas the labyrinth is a right-brain meditative journey, which opens you up spiritually.
Discover Atlantis
Scholarly Observations
Researcher Eberhard Zangger observed that most labyrinths appear around the Mediterranean. He stated that the pattern had become recognized across the eastern Mediterranean by the end of the Bronze Age. Zangger linked the symbol to the city of Troy, which he identified as Atlantis in an earlier study.
Several writers have suggested a connection between labyrinths and Atlantis. Lewis Spence explored this idea in his book The History of Atlantis. J. D. Brady discussed it in his book Atlantis and wrote that Atlantean gold treasure lies inside a labyrinth on the Greek island of Lemnos.
Comparison with Plato’s Description
Some researchers attempt to link the labyrinth outline with the harbor of Plato’s Atlantean capital city. In the Critias, Plato described the harbor as a series of perfectly concentric circles “as if created on a lathe.” The labyrinth follows a spiral path with a slightly offset entrance.
