#the labyrinth of the Minotaur

[prokopetz]

I know the unicursal (i.e., non-branching) labyrinth is a visual art thing and doesn't at all match the description of the mythological Labyrinth, but sometimes I picture some sort of ancient Greek SCP thing with very speedy stonemasons constantly lengthening the path in order to contain a very, very slow Minotaur.

[some-faulty-wiring]

[weepingwidar]

Todd Bienvenu (American, 1980) - Untitled (n.d.)

[illustratus]

Theseus and the Minotaur by Edward Burne-Jones

[jamgraphicdesign]

Tragedies of the Labyrinth

Icarus & the Minotaur

[arthur-lesters-right-arm]

Arthur the typa guy to get put in a labyrinth

[smile-files]

o ariadne, accomplice to the minotaur's murder; your scarlet string is his blood in your hands... and yet theseus, forsaking sand and sail, is the only creature dead to you

(objectober 2024 day 18: maze)

maze generated on https://www.mazegenerator.net

[orkazh-arts]

Bonding with the half-brother 🐮🧶✨

Or, Ariadne and Asterion (the Minotaur) spend some quality time together because f*ck Theseus 💅😌✨

[elysiuminfra]

asterion and the moth

[itsdefinitely]

hey don't cry. the jeri/rys will never be able to share simple human intimacy. they'll never get to hold hands. why are you crying louder

[logandria]

So you’ve found me then, have you? I’m afraid you won’t be making it out of my labyrinth now…

⛓️🫀⛓️

[inkishkingdoms]

Watching Saltburn is an experience that has to happen while actively looking for the hints and symbols of Greek mythology while paying attention to the characters growth into who he is. Everything has a meaning and everything is telling us from beginning that hell will break loose.

We gotta understand and see the hight difference not a directing choice for aesthetics but to represent the “difference” between Oliver and Felix family. The cousin and Felix are higher, always looking down on him. Felix being the “golden boy”, “the god”, “Apollo”, who is here to be loved and venerated by everybody. The gift represents Felix giving Oliver a taste of ambrosia, a test of what is to live with money, being part of the high class, he is feeding him/humiliating him by keeping it at hands reach. Same with the cousins that plays a role of constantly humiliating and reminding Oliver that he is a nobody and to remember that him being there is just because the “gods” allows it and that soon will be dispatched.

Clearly Felix close up is to show his sweetness and to depict Oliver’s obsession. How he see him with desire and infatuation that is actually obsession. The fact that Oliver follows him and watches him from outside his window only shows that is is obsessed and not in love. On the second gift, again we see Felix from below, making him superior and godlike, an angelic figure to be venerated.

Besides the obvious reference of blood and vampirism. Oliver is a real vampire not for sucking on blood, but because he is sucking on everyone’s life force, existence, money, and sanity. His first victim, which a transformative event, is Venetia. The young and unstable woman that feeds him secrets in exchange of her life force. From this scene we know that Oliver’s manipulative skin has started.

From this scene which is almost an opening scene of Oliver’s arrival to Saltburn, the director is foreshadowing Oliver’s plan and view of how all Felix’s family is an assemble of puppets, again telling us that Oliver will be pulling the strings as the puppet master.

Finally the labyrinth scene with the Minotaur. We ask in that scene: who is the Minotaur? Who is Perseus? Or better said, who is getting slaughter and who is coming out alive, which we know. Finally the lunch scene when we see all true characters that are left in the dinning room with the courtains closed and the heavy red color that surrounds them is not only their bloody mood but also the symbolism of falling into hell. A symbol of death and distress that has fallen into them even during a beautiful funny day.

Also, let’s not forget that Oliver is not bisexual or at least I don’t consider him that. I see him as a deconstruction of the archetypal character of the femme fatale a character that uses es everything at their disposal even sex to get their way. Giving a hand job was just a task to get to the cousin’s phone, which was obvious to everybody that he was also in love or infatuated with Felix. also, Oliver might seem that wanted to fxck Felix but it goes beyond that, Oliver wanted to get under Felix’s skin, suck him up alive, have what Felix has… become Felix. Own Saltburn.

[illustratus]

The House of Asterion by Piero Vettori

[grumfield]

Theseus is gonna save horse ride a cowboy

had this idea where the minotaur is a literal cow boy and a longhorn, Theseus is a cowboy, and ariadne’s thread is a lasso lmao

[greenbloods]

btw. the red keep is a labyrinth commissioned by a great and terrible king to trap him within it. the minotaur and the king are one and the same. if you even care

[televised-uhhh-nerdistry]

currently thinking about how ages ago my friend sent me a long-ass explanation about why saltburn is an adaptation of the myth involving theseus, the minotaur, and the labyrinth.

nobody asked but here’s some of the fun proof that exists of this:

first and foremost, icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun. during the party scene, it is evident that felix symbolises this poor ill-fated youth, and the symbolism here is potent. he flew too close to finding out what oliver truly is. he discovered something he shouldn’t have, and dressing him up in icarus cosplay is the perfect showcase for his fate and his mistakes. it’s also brilliant in terms of what icarus actually did to “deserve” death. realistically, he was told not to go too high or too low, but in actuality, such cryptic instructions were difficult to follow mid-flight, and it resulted in catastrophe. felix is trying to navigate the responsibilities of being a good friend with his baggage as someone in a family of rich pricks. it’s hard, and in flying too far away from his background, he “flew too close to the sun” and discovered things he shouldn’t have. as a small nod to further the icarus imagery, felix’s body is discovered under bright and direct sunlight as he lays motionless in his winged costume.

secondly, saltburn is in the center of a labyrinth. the labyrinth lore runs deep in this movie, because not only does the labyrinth function as symbolism, it has lore that runs adjacent to the lore of the actual labyrinth. in theseus and the minotaur, the labyrinth is a construct of greek architect and inventor daedalus, who was conscripted by king minos to create the maze. in saltburn, the labyrinth is constructed upon special request from james catton, the owner of the estate, and a very wealthy man (almost like a modern day king).

the labyrinth (in the original myth) is dangerous to all characters that reside within it. it keeps all in within a chance for escape, and those that get close die tragically. in saltburn, the labyrinth functions as an ode to the ways in which riches and fame poison those that reside in the walls, keeping them locked within its dangerous talons, or in this case, cleanly trimmed hedges. it’s suburbia on a larger and more internal scale. even those that do not have riches themselves, namely farleigh and annabel, do everything they can to remain on the estate and in the good graces of those on the property with immense money. it affects how they act and how they are expected to act. farleigh, as a good example, is very stuck on the particulars of rich people’s behaviour. as mentioned above, those that try to leave the maze die tragically, and icarus is a prime example. felix, in his attempt to be better than the riches of the estate socially allow, flies too close to a possible escape from the confines of the labyrinth and is murdered as a result.

in the story of the labyrinth, it is unsolvable, unless you are clever and quick witted (manipulative), which theseus luckily is. the same is true for oliver. oliver, like theseus, gets into the heads of multiple characters, manipulating his way to the top of the food chain. the scene where oliver views the wooden counterprt of the maze through the head office in the estate, he is told that he shouldn’t be there, and a sense of ominous foreboding takes place. we feel that he has seen something that will change him. however, i believe this is simply symbolism for the fact that oliver has figured out the secret to the maze: a secret that he, an outsider and a poorer, less sociable man should not be aware of, as he is a representation of theseus, a character who has no right being king.

thirdly, oliver is juxtaposed with imagery if the minotaur during the party scene, and though this costume doubles as a reference to the changeling in a midsummer night’s dream, it is still highly important. in the original myth, people are sacrificed to the minotaur on a yearly basis. at first, felix fits the profile for the minotaur: a rich, wealthy man in a labyrinth who is regularly described as going through friends the way a young boy would go through toys. it is also true that the minotaur has often been seen as a controversial figure, one that begs the question “is a monster just a tormented creature fated to behave according to the will of the gods?”. felix’s behaviour, or namely, his attempted deviancy from the behaviour he is expected to show, is a major prt of his character arch. we expect oliver to be the victim of felix’s behaviour exactly because of this. but he isn’t. an easy explanation is that oliver is the minotaur, going through the family members as though they were victims in a maze. however, oliver is NOT the minotaur, as the myth is a lot more complex than the minotaur being the bad guy. despite what we expect, director emily fennel is leaning into the concept that the minotaur’s storyline is that of fate versus free will. the minotaur is cursed by the gods to fall into certain patterns and to be punished for its behaviour, despite it doing exactly what was expected. felix attempts to deviate from what is expected, but ultimately he fits in well with the rich and social, and his death is a punishment at the hands of a sort-of theseus who believes he is more deserving. rather, oliver is also seen to be theseus, who famously invaded the maze, manipulated its dwellers in order to navigate it, killed the minotaur, and then manipulated his way into becoming king as a result. sound familiar? it is because of this that the imagery of oliver as the changeling is particularly important. the horns can be evocative of the minotaur, offering us a red herring, where he is truly disguised as the opposite. it’s a fake out.

fourthly, king minos (owner of the labyrinth) did not die directly at the hands of theseus, he did eventually meet his downfall and was boiled to death in a bath. james catton, head of the estate, dies of a supposed suicide, also not directly by oliver’s hands, but still implicitly connected to the events of the story, much like king minos’ death.

the lore in this film is incredible, and though emily fennel has not said that the film is an adaptation of greek myth, the parallels are deliciously undeniable. saltburn is fascinating, and truly one of the best films of 2023. there is so much stuff jam packed into it, and it’s one of those films that takes a few watches to fully grasp its depth. i love it!