Why Is the Third Task Set in a Maze?
THE THIRD AND FINAL TASK OF THE Triwizard
Tournament is set within a maze built just for that purpose. Within
it the competitors encounter a boggart, a sphinx, a Blast-Ended
Skrewt, a giant spider, and a golden mist that turns them upside
down. At the center is the Triwizard Cup.
THE LABYRINTH OF CRETE
The maze—or labyrinth—is central to one of the
best-known Greek myths about a hero’s test of skill, the story of
Theseus and the Minotaur. That labyrinth was built on the island of
Crete by Daedalus, perhaps the most able inventor of his time. It
was created to hold the pet of King Minos—a man-eating monster with
a bull’s head and a human body, known as the Minotaur.
At the time, Crete dominated Athens, which was
forced to pay an annual tribute of
seven young men and seven young women to Crete. Every year these
unlucky souls were sent into the labyrinth, which was too confusing
to escape, and were eaten by the Minotaur. One year, Theseus, son
of the Athenian king, was among the offerings. But Minos’s daughter
Ariadne fell in love with him before he entered the labyrinth. To
save his life, she gave him a sword to kill the Minotaur and a ball
of thread to trail behind him so he could find his way back.
The Minotaur, from a vase
of the fifth century BC.
See also: Centaurs
Fluffy
Although Theseus proved ungrateful to Ariadne,
after his success in the labyrinth he became one of the greatest
kings of Athens.