R emember the story of Theseus and the Minotaur? This story is about Daedalus, the architect who created the labyrinth that housed the monster.
Daedalus was a talented craftsman, artist and architect who had built many temples and palaces. He had a young son Icarus whom he loved. As his fame spread, King Minos of Crete invited the architect to his island to build a labyrinth for the Minotaur, the bull-headed monster that was ravaging his land. Daedalus agreed and designed a complicated maze. Someone who got in could not get out unless they knew the secret.
Caught unaware
After the labyrinth was built and the Minotaur housed there, Daedalus continued to live in Crete with Icarus. However, when Theseus killed the Minotaur and escaped, King Minos suspected that Daedalus had told the young prince the secret to navigating the maze. Even though Daedalus was innocent, Minos imprisoned him in a tower in one of his palaces.
An annoyed Daedalus began to look for ways to escape. Ships that came to the island were searched when entering and leaving the harbour. So, he could not escape by sea. Watching the sea birds fly gave Daedalus an idea. He began to gather all the feathers that lay along the tower. When he had gathered enough, he began to stick the feathers together with wax.
Finally, after much trial and error, he fashioned two pairs of wings for Icarus and himself. One morning, as the sun was rising, Daedalus and Icarus fastened the wings to their arms, ready to take off. The architect warned his son not to fly too high, as the sun’s heat would melt the wax.
Slowly, they flapped their arms and took off. Soon the island was a mere dot in the distance. Once the realisation of their escape sunk in, both Daedalus and Icarus were thrilled. In his excitement, the young boy began to fly higher and higher. Daedalus tried to call out to him but the wind blew his voice away.
As Icarus climbed the heights, his wings began to crumble. By the time he realised what was happening, it was too late to save himself. Daedalus watched in horror as his son fell into the sea and was drowned. The architect reached Sicily safely and surrendered his wings to a temple of Apollo. The portion of the sea where Icarus fell is still called Icarian Sea and the island Ikaria in Greece is also named after him.
