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On the one hand, the name "meander" recalls the twisting and turning path of the [[Büyük Menderes River|Maeander River]] in [[Asia Minor]], and on the other hand, as [[Karl Kerenyi]] pointed out, "the meander is the figure of a [[labyrinth]] in linear form".<ref>Kerenyi, ''Dionysos: archetypal image of indestructible life'' (Princeton University Press) 1976:89.</ref> Among some Italians, these patterns are known as Greek Lines. Usually the term is used for motifs with straight lines and right angles; the many versions with rounded shapes are called [[scroll (art)|running scrolls]].
Meanders are common decorative elements in [[Greek art|Greek]] and [[Roman art]]. In [[ancient Greece]] they appear in many [[Frieze|architectural friezes]], and in bands on the [[pottery of ancient Greece]] from the [[Geometric Period]] onwards. The design is common to the present-day in classicizing architecture. <!-- Too silly? Although Greek eateries will almost certainly have Greek Keys decorating walls, menus ''et cetera'', both Mexican and Chinese food menus and place mats frequently incorporate this style of fret. --> The meander is a fundamental design motif in regions far from a Hellenic orbit: labyrinthine meanders ("thunder" pattern<ref>See J. E. L., description of a Late Chou ''hou'' at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, in "A Chinese Bronze", ''Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts'' '''27''' (August 1929:48).</ref>) appear in bands and as infill on [[Shang dynasty|Shang bronze]]s, and many traditional buildings in and around China still bear geometric designs almost identical to meanders. There is a possibility that meanders of Greek origin may have come to China during the time of the [[Han Dynasty]] by way of trade with the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]], but space-filling curves have a long history in the region, extending back to [[Zhukaigou Culture]] and [[Xiajiadian Culture]] motifs over 2,000 years earlier.
They were among the most important symbols in [[ancient Greece]]; and perhaps symbolized infinity and unity; many ancient Greek temples incorporated the sign of the meander. Greek vases, especially during their [[Geometric Period]], were probably the main reason for the widespread use of meanders; alternatively, very ocean-like patterns of waves also appeared in the same format as meanders, which can also be thought of as the [[guilloche]] pattern. The [[Ceremonial shield from the Tombs of Vergina|shield]] of [[Philip II of Macedon]], conserved in the museum of [[Vergina]], is decorated with multiple symbols of the meander. Meanders are also prevalent on the pavement mosaics found in Roman villas throughout the Roman empire. A good example is at the [[Chedworth Roman Villa]] in England, leading many{{who|date=March 2019}} historians to believe that the pattern was part of the original inspiration for the Latin "G" character.{{cn|date=March 2019}}
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