In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate maze-like structure constructed for King Minos of Crete and designed by the legendary artificer Daedalus to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Theseus was aided by Ariadne, who provided him with a fateful thread to wind his way back again. The term labyrinth is often used interchangeably with maze, but a maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage, with choices ...

Including:

• Labyrinth - Ancient labyrinths
• Labyrinth - Labyrinth as pattern
• Labyrinth - Modern labyrinths
• Labyrinth - Modern interpretations of the Greek labyrinth
• Labyrinth - Cultural meanings

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In European folklore and folk belief, a changeling is the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature, left secretly in exchange for a human child. The motivation for this conduct stems from the desire to have a human servant, the love of a human child, or from malice. Some people believed that trolls would take unbaptized children. The reality behind many changeling legends was ...

Including:

• Changeling - Scandinavia
• Changeling - Wales
• Changeling - Ireland
• Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature film and gaming
• Changeling - Notes
• Changeling - External link

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Labyrinth is a word of pre-Greek ("Pelasgian") origin absorbed by classical Greek, and is apparently related to labrys, a word for the archaic iconic "double axe", with -inthos connoting "place" (as in "Corinth"). The complex palace of Knossos in Crete is usually implicated, though the actual dancing-ground, depicted in frescoed patterns at Knossos, has not been found. Something was being shown to visitors as a labyrinth at Knossos in the 1st century AD (Philostratos, De vita Apollonii T ...

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Labyrinth, Labyrinth - Ancient labyrinths, Labyrinth - Labyrinth as pattern, Labyrinth - Modern labyrinths, Labyrinth - Modern interpretations of the Greek labyrinth, Labyrinth - Cultural meanings

Read more here: » Labyrinth: Encyclopedia II - Labyrinth - Ancient labyrinths

Since most beings from Scandinavian folklore are said to be afraid of steel, Scandinavian parents often placed a steel item such as a pair of scissors or a knife on top of an unbaptized infant's cradle. It was believed that, if a human child was taken in spite of such measures, the parents could force the return of the child by treating the changeling cruelly, using methods such as whipping or even inserting it in a heated oven. In at least one case, a woman was taken to court for having killed her child in an oven.^{See also:}

Changeling, Changeling - Scandinavia, Changeling - Wales, Changeling - Ireland, Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature film and gaming, Changeling - Notes, Changeling - External link

Read more here: » Changeling: Encyclopedia II - Changeling - Scandinavia

Replacement people, also known as substituted people, shapeshifters, and/or changelings, appear in a number of modern works of fiction - books, films, television, games, and elsewhere. Literature: Refer to Brothers Grimm numerous fairy tales. Uther Pendragon took on the appearance of Gorlois Duke of Cornwall in the Arthur stories. Movies and television: Roger Zelazny, Changeling (1980). Movie depicting the adventures of both changelings, maladapted in their respecti ...

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Changeling, Changeling - Scandinavia, Changeling - Wales, Changeling - Ireland, Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature, film, and gaming, Changeling - Notes, Changeling - External link

Read more here: » Changeling: Encyclopedia II - Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature, film, and gaming

Replacement people, also known as substituted people, shapeshifters, and/or changelings, appear in a number of modern works of fiction - books, films, television, games, and elsewhere. Literature: Refer to Brothers Grimm numerous fairy tales. Uther Pendragon took on the appearance of Gorlois Duke of Cornwall in the Arthur stories. Movies and television: Roger Zelazny, Changeling (1980). Movie depicting the adventures of both changelings, maladapted in their respecti ...

See also:

Changeling, Changeling - Scandinavia, Changeling - Wales, Changeling - Ireland, Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature film and gaming, Changeling - Notes, Changeling - External link

Read more here: » Changeling: Encyclopedia II - Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature film and gaming

In Antiquity the more 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 a bull-man, a minotaur, appears in the centre of these mosaic labyrinths. Roman meander patterns gradually developed in complexity towards the four-fold shape that is now familiarly known as the medieval form. The labyrinth retains its connection with death an ...

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Labyrinth, Labyrinth - Ancient labyrinths, Labyrinth - Labyrinth as pattern, Labyrinth - Modern labyrinths, Labyrinth - Modern interpretations of the Greek labyrinth, Labyrinth - Cultural meanings

Read more here: » Labyrinth: Encyclopedia II - Labyrinth - Labyrinth as pattern

In parts of Ireland, left handed people were sometimes thought to be changeling fae. ...

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Changeling, Changeling - Scandinavia, Changeling - Wales, Changeling - Ireland, Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature film and gaming, Changeling - Notes, Changeling - External link

Read more here: » Changeling: Encyclopedia II - Changeling - Ireland

In Wales the changeling child (plentyn newid) initially resembles the human it substitutes, but gradually grows uglier in appearance and behaviour: ill-featured, malformed, ill-tempered, given to screaming and biting. It may be of less than usual intelligence, but again is identified by its more than childlike wisdom and cunning. The common means employed to identify a changeling is to a cook a family meal in an eggshell. The child will exclaim, "I have seen the acorn before the oak, but I never saw the likes of this," and vani ...

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Changeling, Changeling - Scandinavia, Changeling - Wales, Changeling - Ireland, Changeling - Replacement people in modern literature film and gaming, Changeling - Notes, Changeling - External link

Read more here: » Changeling: Encyclopedia II - Changeling - Wales

In modern imagery, the labyrinth is often confused with the maze, in which one may become lost. The myth of the labyrinth has in recent times transformed into a stage play by Ilinka Crvenkovska in which exploring notions of a man's ability to control his own fate, Theseus in an act of suicide is killed by the Minotaur only to be killed himself by the horrified towns people. The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges was entranced with the idea of the labyrinth, and used it extensively throughout his short stories. His modern lite ...

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Labyrinth, Labyrinth - Ancient labyrinths, Labyrinth - Labyrinth as pattern, Labyrinth - Modern labyrinths, Labyrinth - Modern interpretations of the Greek labyrinth, Labyrinth - Cultural meanings

Read more here: » Labyrinth: Encyclopedia II - Labyrinth - Modern interpretations of the Greek labyrinth

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the labyrinth symbol, which has inspired a revival in labyrinth building, notably at Willen Park, Milton Keynes; Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; Tapton Park, Chesterfield; and the Labyrinthe de Harbor 16 in Montreal. Countless computer games depict mazes and labyrinths. The internet is a huge labyrinth. ...

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Labyrinth, Labyrinth - Ancient labyrinths, Labyrinth - Labyrinth as pattern, Labyrinth - Modern labyrinths, Labyrinth - Modern interpretations of the Greek labyrinth, Labyrinth - Cultural meanings

Read more here: » Labyrinth: Encyclopedia II - Labyrinth - Modern labyrinths