Labyrinth of Knossos
placeThe legendary maze built by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur, possibly inspired by the elaborate palace at Knossos with its hundreds of interconnecting rooms.
The Myth
The Labyrinth was built by Daedalus on the orders of King Minos to contain the Minotaur, the monstrous offspring of Queen Pasiphaë and Poseidon's bull. The maze was so complex that even its creator could barely escape it. Every nine years (or annually), Athens was forced to send seven youths and seven maidens as tribute — food for the Minotaur — until Theseus volunteered. Ariadne, Minos's daughter, fell in love with Theseus and gave him a ball of thread (the "clew") to trail behind him. Theseus followed the thread to the centre, killed the Minotaur, and escaped. Daedalus was then imprisoned in the Labyrinth for helping Ariadne but escaped using the wings he fashioned for himself and Icarus. Arthur Evans, excavating Knossos from 1900, found a palace with 1,300 interconnecting rooms, corridors, and multiple levels — a structure that may have seemed labyrinthine to visitors unfamiliar with its plan.
Children
Minotaur (occupant)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The English word "clue" comes from "clew" — the ball of thread Ariadne gave Theseus. A "clue" was originally something you followed to find your way out of confusion, exactly as Theseus followed the thread. Every detective novel, every mystery solved by "following the clues," uses a metaphor born in the Labyrinth of Knossos. Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle were, etymologically speaking, writing Theseus stories.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Knossos
placeKnossos was the vast Bronze Age palace complex in Crete — seat of King Minos and the mythological...
Labyrinth
placeAn impossibly complex maze built beneath the palace of Knossos on Crete by the master craftsman...
Labyrinth (Concept)
conceptThe Labyrinth was the maze built by Daedalus beneath Knossos to contain the Minotaur — its name...
Ariadne
heroDaughter of King Minos who fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread that allowed him to...
Daedalus
heroThe greatest inventor and craftsman of Greek mythology. Daedalus built the Labyrinth, crafted wings...
Daedalus (Inventions)
heroThe legendary master craftsman of Athens and Crete who created the Labyrinth, artificial wings, and...
Icarus
heroThe son of Daedalus who flew on wings of wax and feathers but ignored his father's warning not to...
Icarus (Myth)
heroIcarus was the son of Daedalus who escaped Crete on wings of wax and feathers but flew too high —...
Minos
heroMinos was the legendary king of Crete who ruled the first great maritime empire, commissioned the...
Minotaur
creatureA monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, imprisoned in the Labyrinth beneath Crete....
Pasiphaë
heroPasiphaë was the queen of Crete whom Poseidon cursed with an unnatural desire for a bull — the...
Theseus
heroThe hero who navigated the Labyrinth, slew the Minotaur, and became the legendary king of Athens....