Daedalus-his name means "skilled worker"- was a famous architect, inventor, and master craftsman known for having created many objects that figure prominently in various myths. He had a beloved son named Icarus. Among the many inventions and creations crafted by Daedalus were the wooden cow he constructed for Queen Pasiphae, the Labyrinth of the Minotaur at Knossos on the island of Crete, artificial wings for himself and his son Icarus, and he was even said to have invented images. The infamous Labyrinth was so cunningly crafted that Daedalus himself could barely find his way out after constructing it. With countless winding passages and turns that opened into one another, the Labyrinth appeared to have neither beginning nor end. Daedalus built the maze to imprison the Minotaur, half man - half bull beast. His homeland was Athens but his parentage is uncertain. Alcippe, Merope, and Iphinoe are all mentioned at different times as being his mother. His father's identity was never precisely established, but many claim that it was Metion, son of Erectheus. For a short time, his apprentice was his sister's son Perdix. But Daedalus was so proud of his achievements that he could not bear the idea of a rival. His sister had placed her son Perdix under his charge to be taught the mechanical arts. Perdix was an apt scholar and showed striking evidence of ingenuity. Walking on the seashore, he picked up the spine of a fish. According to Ovid, imitating it, he took a piece of iron and notched it on the edge, and thus invented the saw. Perdix also put two pieces of iron together, connecting them at one end with a rivet, and sharpening the other ends, and made a pair of compasses. Daedalus was so envious of his nephew's accomplishments that he seized an opportunity to toss him from the hill of the Acropolis. As he was plunging to his death, however, the goddess Athena turned Perdix into a partridge to save him.
He was then tried at the Areiopagus, which was the ancient Greek court, and banished from his home city of Athens. He fled to the island of Crete, where he began to work at the court of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae, in the magnificent palace of Knossos.
It is said that Daedalus was the first to conceive masts and sails for ships for the navy of Minos, helping Crete become a naval power. The statues he carved were so exquisite, they looked as if they were alive. It is said that they would have escaped were it not for the chain that bound them to the palace wall.
Daedelus also constructed a wooden cow for the queen to hide in to satisfy her amorous longings for a white bull sent by Poseidon.
When the dreadful Minotaur was born, Daedalus built the Labyrinth to contain the monstrous half-man, half-bull. For years, Minos demanded a tribute of youths from Athens to feed the creature as punishment for the accidental killing of his son while he was visiting Athens.
Eventually, the Athenian hero Theseus came to Crete to attempt to slay the Minotaur. Princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae, fell in love with Theseus and asked Daedalus to help him.
Daedalus gave her a flaxen thread for Theseus to tie to the door of the Labyrinth as he entered, and by which he could find his way out after killing the monster. Theseus succeeded, and escaped Crete with Ariadne.
Minos, enraged at the loss of his daughter, not to mention the killing of his pet Minotaur, shut Daedalus and his son Icarus into the Labyrinth, knowing that Theseus could not have accomplished the deed without inside help.
Daedalus managed to get out of the Labyrinth - after all, he had built it and knew his way around. Daedalus decided that he and his son Icarus had to leave Crete and get away from Minos, before he brought them harm.
However, Minos controlled the sea around Crete. The King kept strict watch on all vessels, permitting none to sail without being carefully searched by his soldiers.
Since Minos controlled the land and sea routes, and there was no route of escape there; Daedalus realized that the only way out was by air. But only the gods could fly!
To escape, Daedalus built wings for himself and Icarus, fashioned with feathers held together with wax. Daedalus tried the wings on himself first and was satisfied that his plan would work.
Before taking off from the island, Daedalus warned his son to follow closely
behind him. He sternly cautioned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, as it would melt
his wings, and not too close to the sea, as it would dampen them and make it hard to
fly.
They successfully flew from Crete, but Icarus grew exhilarated by the thrill of
flying and began getting careless. The father and son passed the islands of Samos,
Delos and Lebynthos, and the further away from Crete they flew, the more cocky
became Icarus.
Forgetting his father's stern advice, Icarus flew too close to the sun god Helios,
who was pulling the sun behind his chariot high in the sky.
The wax holding together his wings softened and melted from the heat and, try
as he might, Icarus could not prevent the feathers from falling off his body. Furiously
he flapped his arms, but soon no feathers at all were left and he fell to his death,
drowning in the sea, as his helpless father watched his son perish with anguish.
His father cried, bitterly lamenting his own arts, and called the land near the
place where Icarus fell into the ocean Icaria in memory of his child. The Icarian Sea,
where he fell, was forever named after him and it is said that the great hero Heracles
(Hercules), who was passing by, gave him proper burial.
Daedalus grieved for his dead son and then continued to Sicily, where he
came to stay at the court of Cocalus in a place called Camicus. On the island's south
coast, Daedalus built a temple for Apollo, and hung up his wings, as an offering to
the Olympian god.
But vengeful King Minos wasn't quite done — he then went in pursuit of
Daedalus, hoping to locate and trick the great inventor into revealing himself.
At each city he visited, Minos offered a reward to whoever could thread a spiral
seashell, a seemingly impossible task. Eventually, Minos came to Camicus in Sicily
and presented the contest at Cocalus' court.
Cocalus knew of Daedalus' talents, and gave the shell to him. The clever
Daedalus tied the string to an ant, placed the ant at one end of the shell, and allowed
the ant to walk through the spiral chambers until it came out the other end.
When Minos saw that someone had solved the puzzle, he demanded that
Cocalus surrender Daedalus, for he insisted that only he would have been inventive
enough to solve the task. King Cocalus promised to do so, but he persuaded Minos to
first take a bath and stay for some entertainment.
Minos agreed, and was consequently murdered by Cocalus' daughters, who
had been totally impressed by the toys and gifts which Daedalus had bestowed
upon them.
Daedalus eventually left Camicus, much to the dismay of King Cocalus and his
daughters, and ended up in Sardinia with a group led by Iolaus, who was a nephew
of Heracles.