Editing Labyrinth (section)

==Etymology==

''Labyrinth'' is a word of [[pre-Greek]] origin whose derivation and meaning are uncertain. Maximillian Mayer suggested as early as 1892<ref>
{{cite journal |last=Mayer |first="Maximilian |title=Mykenische Beiträge. II. Zur mykenischen Tracht und Kultur |periodical=Jahrbuch des Kaiserlich deutschen archäologischen Instituts |date=1892 |volume=VII| page=191}}</ref> that ''labyrinthos'' might derive from ''[[labrys]]'', a [[Lydian language|Lydian]] word for "double-bladed axe".<ref>{{lang|grc|Λυδοὶ γάρ 'λάβρυν' τὸν πέλεκυν ὀνομάζουσι}}, Plutarch, ''[[Moralia|Greek Questions]]'', 45 2.302a.</ref> [[Arthur Evans]], who excavated the [[Minoan palace]] of [[Knossos]] in [[Crete]] early in the 20th century, suggested that the ruins there inspired the story of the labyrinth, and since the double axe motif appears in the palace ruins, he asserted that ''labyrinth'' could be understood to mean "the house of the double axe".<ref name= dapurito/> The same symbol, however, was discovered in other palaces in [[Crete]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rouse |first=W. H. D. |date=1901 |title=The Double Axe and the Labyrinth |journal=Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=21 |pages=268–274|doi=10.2307/623875 |jstor=623875 |s2cid=164124200 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2507941 }} Rouse criticised the association with Knossos, noting the reappearance of the same inscribed symbols at the newly discovered palace at [[Phaistos]] (p. 273).</ref> [[Martin P. Nilsson|Nilsson]] observed that in [[Crete]] the double axe is not a weapon and always accompanies [[goddess]]es or women and not a male god.<ref>Martin Nilsson (1967):'' Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion''. C.F.Beck Verlag Vol I, p. 277</ref>

The association with "labrys" lost some traction when [[Linear B]] was deciphered in the 1950s, and an apparent [[Mycenaean Greek]] rendering of "labyrinth" appeared as {{Lang|gmy-Latn|da-pu₂-ri-to}} ({{Lang|gmy|𐀅𐀢𐀪𐀵}}).<ref name= dapurito >''The Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Oxford University Press p.116. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ&dq=dapurito+linear+B&pg=PA960 Oxford Classical Dictionary]</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=da-pu2-ri-to-jo|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/da/da-pu2-ri-to-jo/|work=Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B|publisher=Deaditerranean|last=Raymoure|first=K.A.}}</ref><ref>Stephanie Lynn Buden. ''The Ancient Greeks. An introduction''. Oxford University Press.p. 227 [https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeksint0000budi/page/227 <!-- quote=dapurito. -->]</ref><ref name="Sarullo">{{cite journal | last=Sarullo | first=Giulia | title=The Cretan Labyrinth: Palace or Cave? | date=2008 | journal=Caerdroia |volume=37 |pages=31–40 }}</ref> This may be related to the Minoan word ''du-pu₂-re'', which appears in [[Linear A]] on [[libation]] tablets and in connection with [[Mount Dikte]] and [[Mount Ida]], both of which are associated with caverns.<ref>{{cite book| first=Francesco | last=Aspesi | chapter=Greco labyrinthos, ebraico d<sup>e</sup>bîr | title=KRHTH TIS GAI ESTI: Studi e ricerche intorno ai testi minoici | place=Roma | publisher=Il Calamo | date=1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first=Francesco | last=Aspesi | chapter=Lineare A (-)da-pu<sub>2</sub>-re: un'ipostesi | title=KRHTH TIS GAI ESTI: Studi e ricerche intorno ai testi minoici | place=Roma | publisher=Il Calamo | date=1996}}</ref> Caverns near [[Gortyna]], the Cretan capital in the 1st century AD, were called ''labyrinthos''.<ref name="Sarullo" />

[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]'s [[Pliny's Natural History|''Natural History'']] gives four examples of ancient labyrinths: the Cretan labyrinth, an Egyptian labyrinth, a Lemnian labyrinth, and an Italian labyrinth. These are all complex underground structures,<ref name="Kern III">{{cite book |last=Kern |first=Hermann |date=2000 |title=Through the Labyrinth |location=Munich, New York, London |publisher=Prestel |chapter=Chapter III: Ancient "Labyrinths" |pages=57–65 |isbn=3791321447 }}</ref> and this appears to have been the standard Classical understanding of the word.

[[Robert S.P. Beekes|Beekes]] also finds the relation with ''labrys'' speculative, and suggests instead a relation with Greek {{Lang|grc|λαύρα}} ('narrow street').<ref>{{cite book |last=Beekes |first=Robert |author-link=Robert S. P. Beekes |date=2009 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek |publisher=Brill |page= 819 |isbn=978-90-04-17418-4}}</ref>