The Road to Darkness (Dedalus European Classics)

Pliny the Elder 's Natural History According to Pliny, the tomb of the great Etruscan general Lars Porsena contained an underground maze.

The Road to Darkness (Empire of the Senses) (Dedalus European Classics)

Pliny's description of the exposed portion of the tomb is intractable; Pliny, it seems clear, had not observed this structure himself, but is quoting the historian and Roman antiquarian Varro. A design essentially identical to the 7-course "classical" pattern appeared in Native American culture, the Tohono O'odham people labyrinth which features I'itoi , the "Man in the Maze. The earliest appearances cannot be dated securely; the oldest is commonly dated to the 17th century. A prehistoric petroglyph on a riverbank in Goa shows the same pattern and has been dated to circa BC.

Early labyrinths in India typically follow the Classical pattern or a local variant of it; some have been described as plans of forts or cities. Labyrinths appear in Indian manuscripts and Tantric texts from the 17th century onward. They are often called " Chakravyuha " in reference to an impregnable battle formation described in the ancient Mahabharata epic. By the White Sea , notably on the Solovetsky Islands , there have been preserved more than 30 stone labyrinths.

The most remarkable monument is the Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island - a group of 13—14 stone labyrinths on 0. These labyrinths are thought to be 2,—3, years old. In antiquity, the less complicated labyrinth pattern familiar from medieval examples was already developed. In Roman floor mosaics , the simple classical labyrinth is framed in the meander border pattern, squared off as the medium requires, but still recognisable. Often an image of the Minotaur appears in the center of these mosaic labyrinths. Roman meander patterns gradually developed in complexity towards the fourfold shape that is now familiarly known as the medieval form.

The labyrinth retains its connection with death and a triumphant return: Earliest recovered labyrinth, incised on a clay tablet from Pylos. Sketch by Villard de Honnecourt c. Illustration of Jericho in a Farhi Bible 14th century. Basilica of Saint-Quentin , Aisne, France. Portrait of a man with labyrinth design on his chest, by Bartolomeo Veneto , Italy, early 16th century. Lambertus, Mingolsheim , Germany, following the Roman paradigm. Hemet Maze Stone, a prehistoric petroglyph near Hemet, California.

When the early humanist Benzo d'Alessandria visited Verona before , he noted the " Laberinthum which is now called the Arena "; [36] perhaps he was seeing the cubiculi beneath the arena's missing floor. The full flowering of the medieval labyrinth came about from the twelfth through fourteenth centuries with the grand pavement labyrinths of the gothic cathedrals , notably Chartres , Reims and Amiens in northern France.

These labyrinths may have originated as symbolic allusion to the Holy City ; and some modern thinkers have theorized that prayers and devotions may have accompanied the perambulation of their intricate paths. Over the same general period, some or more non-ecclesiastical labyrinths were constructed in Scandinavia. These labyrinths, generally in coastal areas, are marked out with stones, most often in the simple 7- or course classical forms.

They often have names which translate as " Troy Town. There are also stone labyrinths on the Isles of Scilly , although none is known to date from before the nineteenth century. There are examples of labyrinths in many disparate cultures. The symbol has appeared in various forms and media petroglyphs , classic-form, medieval-form, pavement, turf, and basketry at some time throughout most parts of the world, from Native North and South America to Australia , Java , India , and Nepal.

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In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in labyrinths and a revival in labyrinth building, of both unicursal and multicursal patterns. The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges was entranced with the idea of the labyrinth, and used it extensively in his short stories such as "The House of Asterion" in The Aleph.

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His use of it has inspired other authors e. Danielewski's House of Leaves. Additionally, Roger Zelazny 's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber , features a labyrinth, called "the Pattern," which grants those who walk it the power to move between parallel worlds. The avant-garde multi-screen film, In the Labyrinth , presents a search for meaning in a symbolic modern labyrinth. Australian author Sara Douglass incorporated some labyrinthine ideas in her series The Troy Game , in which the Labyrinth on Crete is one of several in the ancient world, created with the cities as a source of magical power.

A magical labyrinth, based on the original myth, appears in the third episode of The Librarians "And The Horns of a Dilemma". The labyrinth is also treated in contemporary fine arts.

Mark Wallinger has created a set of enamel plaques of unicursal labyrinth designs, one for every tube station in the London Underground , to mark the th anniversary of the Underground. The plaques were installed over a month period in and , and each is numbered according to its position in the route taken by the contestants in the Guinness World Record Tube Challenge. Labyrinths and mazes have been embraced by the video game industry, and countless video games include such a feature.

Prehistoric labyrinths may have served as traps for malevolent spirits or as paths for ritual dances. In this they may be preserving its original meaning: One can think of labyrinths as symbolic of pilgrimage ; people can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment.

Author Ben Radford conducted an investigation into some of the claims of spiritual and healing effects of labyrinths, reporting on his findings in his book Mysterious New Mexico. Many labyrinths have been constructed recently in churches, hospitals, and parks. These are often used for contemplation; walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets the mind.

The Labyrinth Society [47] provides a locator for modern labyrinths all over the world. In addition, the labyrinth can serve as a metaphor for situations that are difficult to be extricated from, as an image that suggests getting lost in a subterranean dungeon-like world. Octavio Paz titled his book on Mexican identity The Labyrinth of Solitude , describing the Mexican condition as orphaned and lost.

Labyrinths have on various occasions been used in Christian tradition as a part of worship. The earliest known example is from a fourth-century pavement at the Basilica of St Reparatus, at Orleansville, Algeria, with the words "Sancta Eclesia" [ sic ] at the center, though it is unclear how it might have been used in worship. In medieval times, labyrinths began to appear on church walls and floors around C. The most famous medieval labyrinth, with great influence on later practice, was created in Chartres Cathedral.

The use of labyrinths has recently been revived in some contexts of Christian worship. Many churches in Europe and North America have constructed permanent, typically unicursal, labyrinths, or employ temporary ones e. For example, a labyrinth was set up on the floor of St Paul's Cathedral for a week in March Roman mosaic picturing Theseus and the Minotaur. Chakravyuha , a threefold seed pattern with a spiral at the center, one of the troop formations employed at the battle of Kurukshetra , as recounted in the Mahabharata.

Labyrinth among rock drawings in Valcamonica , Italy. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Labyrinth disambiguation. Wall maze in Lucca Cathedral, Italy probably medieval. Cathedral of Amiens , France. Turf maze at Wing in Rutland , UK. This section possibly contains original research.

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Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Loaded with symbolism, verging on overload. Spiritual, mystical, and very, very human story about a boy finding his place in several worlds at once through love, conversations with spectres, and, of course, conflict with authority. I learned of the book through Carl Jung's references. The story follows Christopher Dovecote on his way to a pre-ordained destiny of final enlightenment.

Christopher is rescued as a boy from an orphanage by Baron Bartholomew von Jocher when the Baron learns Christopher is a natural mystic, able to take his body into the country of dreams as he sleeps. The Baron is a Freemason and a free-thinker. He lets Christopher develop along his own path, offering only the occasional piece of advice voiced as Taoist paradox.

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As Christopher matures, he finds and looses love, faces the dark side of himself, and finally learns that his soul has a secret history and a destiny to fulfill which is beyond anything he could ever have imagined. It is not at all about linear plot or even about character development. Meyrink said he wrote his novels "according to the laws of magic"--and this one perhaps most of all.

The beginning of the novel shows the strong influence of Dickens whom Meyrink translated into German , but after the first few chapters Meyrink has built the story into something entirely unique.