The labyrinth is a maze. The Labyrinth (Greek labyrinthos) was an ornate building designed and erected for King Minos of Crete at Knossos by the legendary artificer Daedalus. Its purpose was to house the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull beast that was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Daedalus had constructed the Labyrinth with such dexterity that he could scarcely leave it after completing it. Ariadne aided Theseus by giving him a fateful thread, literally the “clew,” or “clue,” to rewind his path.