This modern labyrinth has roots that stretch back thousands of years. Mazes and a range of labyrinth designs are found all around the world in many cultures and civilizations. They are found carved into rock, ceramics, clay tablets, mosaics, manuscripts, stone patterns, turf, hedges, and cathedral pavements.

The earliest known designs are about 3,000 years old.

The labyrinth has, since ancient times, been associated with the legend of the Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull monster who dwelt in the heart of a maze on the island of Crete. Theseus was able to get to the center of the labyrinth, slay the Minotaur, and find his way out again by following the thread he had trailed behind him on the way in. The story has caused confusion ever since, because clearly the Minotaur’s liar was a maze that you could get lost in, whereas a labyrinth, however confusing it looks, has only one twisting pat that weaves its way to the center and back out again. There is only one entrance and one exit, no dead ends, and no crossing of paths with a choice of which way to turn.

The Romans adapted the ancient labyrinth as a decorative floor pattern, and developed the Roman pattern into a new an beautiful form, which was used as a feature in many medieval cathedrals. It was marked out on the floor in colored stoned or tiles, usually between 10 and 40 feet in diameter. The pattern used at Chartes Cathedral in northern France is the archetype and perfection of all medieval labyrinths.