Daedalus was born in ancient Athens and was a genius when it came to creating and inventing things. He is best known for the middle part of his legend, in which his son, Icarus, flies too close to the sun and falls to his doom when the wings made by Daedalus melt. There is much more to the legend of Daedalus, however.
The Great Skill of Daedalus
Daedalus was gifted at creating things with his hands, so much so that many thought he had been trained by Athena herself (she was Goddess of handicrafts, among other things). Above all, he was considered an extraordinary sculptor, woodworker and carpenter. Some said that his statues were so good that those who saw them expected them to come to life any second.
Daedalus and Talos
Like many ancient Greeks of legend, Daedalus suffered from pride. He took on his nephew Talos as an apprentice, but Talos proved to be as skilled as his uncle, if not more so. The young man invented a new saw, iron with serrated edges, that he had designed while observing the teeth on the jaw of a serpent. Talos also invented an early compass (the sort used to draw circles) and his fame began to spread.
Daedalus, enraged, murdered Talos. A neighbor saw him burying the body, however, and Daedalus was forced to flee to Crete, where his reputation as a gifted carpenter preceded him.
Daedalus and Minos
King Minos was ruler of Crete, and he welcomed Daedalus. At just that time, Minos angered Poseidon by sacrificing the second-best bull in his stable to the sea lord. Poseidon retaliated by making Pasiphaë, Minos’ wife, fall in love with the beautiful bull that had been spared. The result was the birth of the Minotaur, the monstrous half-man, half-bull of legend. Daedalus, moved by the plight of poor Pasiphaë, constructed a great labyrinth for the abomination.
Minos was infuriated and threatened to kill Daedalus, who went into hiding. Although Minos ordered all of Crete searched, Daedalus eluded him. In some versions, Minos imprisons Daedalus in his own labyrinth. Daedalus, realizing his danger, built wings which he could use to fly away to safety.
Daedalus and Icarus
In Ovid’s version of the myth, Daedalus warns Icarus to fly neither too close to the sun nor too close to the water. If he flies too low, the water will make the wings heavy, and if he flies too high, the sun will melt the wax holding the feathers onto the wing frame.
Icarus did not heed his father, however. An exuberant youth, he reveled in the freedom his wings gave him and he flew too high. The sun melted the wax, the wings fell apart, and Icarus plummeted to his death in the sea near the Island of Icaria, named for him.
Daedalus and Minos, Part II
Devastated, Daedalus moved to Sicily, where he took up residence at the court of Cocalus. King Minos had not forgotten his wrath, however, and he came up with a clever riddle to find out where Daedalus was hiding. Minos offered a reward to anyone who could thread a string through the coils of a small seashell. Eventually, the seashell and riddle arrived at the court of Cocalus.
Daedalus, an old man by then, was still clever. He solved the riddle by tying a thread to an ant, which he then lured through the shell with honey. Minos now knew where Daedalus was hiding and demanded that Cocalus turn him over. Cocalus and Daedalus tricked Minos into taking a bath first, and then Daedalus killed him (in some versions, the daughters of Cocalus do the murder) by pouring boiling water on him.
Importance of the Legend
Most people only know the middle part of the legend, the part which concerns Icarus, and do not know about the parts that involve Talos or Minos. The Icarus legend is often used as a parable about how people who do not heed good advice and “fly too high,” running great risk.
Source:
Hendricks, Rhoda A. Classical Gods and Heroes. New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 1974.
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