ABSTRACT
Of these two terms, labyrinth is the more literary, being derived from the intricate subterranean structure built by Daedalus in Crete to hide and house the Minotaur (see Virgil Aeneid 6.14-30, Ovid Metamorphoses 8.155-68). The term maze (with related forms such as amazement) is closer to everyday language and experience: topiary mazes in gardens and pavement or turf mazes in churches and churchyards were commonly seen in Spenser’s day.
