Labyrinth clues 3

the phases of the moon and the seasons of the sun, counting days and months as we count cribbage points. They also tried to predict events by tossing oracle lots and dice.

Former rulers and nobles built at times large gameboards inlaid in the floor and used human actors as gamepieces.

The Greek Crane Dance, which Theseus (of Labyrinth and Minotaur fame) was said to have introduced from Crete, may have been a reenactment of the course of the sun on the dance floor.

Homer says nothing about Daedalus building a Labyrinth in Knossos, but he tells in the Iliad (18:590) how Daedalus once built at Knossos an elaborate dancing floor for Ariadne. Then he describes how the dancers circle and criss-cross each other "on their understanding feet," which may mean that marks or signs on the floor guided the steps of the dancers. The Minoan palaces of Knossos and Phaistos both have elaborate "dance floor" terraces nearby.

This symbol, that looks like a bat, is from a Minoan seal of the same

time as the Phaistos Disk. Professor Herberger, who sketched it from that seal for his book, "The Thread of Ariadne" (1972), interprets the lion's claws, bull's head and griffon wings as representing the three seasons of the Minoan year, held together by the sacred knot as a sign of completion and renewal for a cycle of time. This symbol combines the lions, bulls and winged cherubim King Solomon's craftsmen carved on the panels of his Temple (I Kings 7, 29).

Enough said for now. There is much more to discover because each sign on the Disk is there for a reason, and we wish you lots of fun in trying to figure them out. If you think you've found answers to some of the mysteries, please drop us a line. The best theories will win a prize.

Continue
to the rules for the Labyrinth game, or buy the Game of the Goose and of the Labyrinth at www.gamepuzzles.com

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