Summer is beautiful! - Hersonissos Online

MYTHOLOGY OF CRETE
Daedalus (or Daidalos in Greek,
Δαίδαλος) was the greatest inventor of Ancient
Greece, a man of many skills and
arts, as indicated by his name, which
comes from the Ancient Greek verb "daedalo",
meaning "to work cunningly".
The Labyrinth in Minoan Crete, Ariadne's
Clue, Pasiphae's Wooden Cow, Ariadne’s
Dancing-Floor, the prow of contemporary
ships and flying with wings
of wax and feathers were all, according
to mythology, Daedalus' inventions.
There are several legends concerning Daedalus,
written down for the first time by
Athenian mythographers of the 6th c. BC,
under Peisistratus. Most of the myths on Daedalus’s
life are set on Crete, so the myths
concerning Daedalus must be Cretan in origin.
How Daedalus came to Crete
Talos or Calos (not to be confused with the giant
Talos, guardian of Crete) was the son of Daedalus'
sister (Perdicas or Polycastes) and he was a apprentice
in Daedalus' workshop. It seems that the
family as a whole was talented, and Talos was
growing into an exceptionally skilled craftsman.
Rumour in Athens had it that the nephew would
outstrip his uncle. Daedalus, blinded by jealousy,
threw Talos off the Acropolis. The crime was
soon out and Daedalus was banished from the
city. His sister killed herself for grief at losing her
beloved son, and Daedalus eventually ended up in
Crete. Daedalus was immediately made welcome
in Crete, as his fame as a great artisan had gone
before him. He became the confidant of Minos,
the mythical King of Knossos. Minos put Daedalus
in charge of all technical works in the Palace. In
Crete Daedalus met Naucratis, who worked in the
service of Minos, and had a son by her: Icarus.
Pasiphae’s Wooden Cow
Minos had asked his uncle Poseidon, the
god of the sea, to send a sign in order to
prove that he was greater than his brothers.
Poseidon sent Minos a beautiful bull from the
sea, which Minos was supposed to sacrifice in
his honour. But Minos was reluctant to kill such
a wonderful animal, and cunningly sacrificed a
different bull in its place. Poseidon was furious
and punished Minos for his impiety in an unusual
way: he made Minos' wife, Queen Pasiphae, fall
in love with the bull. Mad with passion for the
bull, Pasiphae asked Daedalus to find her a way
to lie with it without endangering her life. So
Daedalus made a hollow wooden cow, covered it
with the hide of a real cow, and left it in a field
with the queen inside. The bull was deceived and
mounted the false cow, and from this unnatural
union was born the Minotaur, a monster with
10 /Summer Breeze/Aug-Sept 2010
the head of a bull and the body of a man.
Daedalus’ Labyrinth
After the birth of the Minotaur, Daedalus was
called upon to hide Minos' guilt for this heavy
punishment, by finding a way to imprison the Minotaur.
Daedalus built the Labyrinth, a maze-like
building of winding corridors and complicated
twists and turns, which confused anyone who entered
it so much that he could not find the way out.
Ariadne’s Clue
Every nine years, the Athenians sent seven
youths and seven maidens to Crete, as a blood
tax for the unjust murder of Androgeos, the
son of Minos. The youths and maidens were
cast into the Labyrinth to be devoured by the
Minotaur. One year, one of the seven youths
was Theseus, the son of the King of Athens.
Brave and handsome, he fell in love with Minos'
daughter Ariadne, who would on no account
let her beloved become food for the Minotaur.
Daedalus' aid was requested once more, and he
gave Ariadne a clue or ball of strong thread.
Theseus, following Daedalus' advice, tied one
end of the string to the Labyrinth entrance,
and walked through the maze unwinding it until
he found the Minotaur. Once he had killed
the monster, he followed the thread back out.
Minos imprisons Daedalus
Daedalus meant no harm when he helped Pasiphae
and Ariadne, but he fell out with Minos
as a result. Obviously the king didn't wanted
his wife to mate with the bull or Theseus
to find his way out of the Labyrinth. Furious,
he imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus
in the Labyrinth. The cunning Daedalus, however,
found a way to escape: he made two
pairs of wings from feathers and wax, one
for himself and one for Icarus. They used these
to fly from their prison, the first flight in history.
Icarus tragic death
Before the flight, Daedalus gave his young son
Icarus instructions in how to fly. He warned him
that if he flew too close to the sea, the spray
would soak the feathers, making the wings useless.
If, on the other hand, he flew too close
to the sun, the heat would melt the wax and
destroy the wings. Icarus agreed, but he was
so thrilled with flying that he got carried away
and turned it into a game, ignoring his father's
advice. He climbed high in the sky, so high that
the sun melted the wax, the wings fell apart
and Icarus fell into the sea and drowned. When
Daedalus realised that his son was not following
him as he had asked him to, he began frantically
searching for him. Icarus fell into the sea
near Samos and his body was washed ashore
on a nearby islet. This was named Icaria in his
honour, and the sea around the island was called
the Icarian Sea. Icarus' lifeless body was recognised
by Hercules, who delivered it to Daedalus.
The death of Daedalus
Daedalus appears to have lived to a ripe old
age, his fame ever increasing due to the technical
marvels he created. We do not know if his
glory was ever enough to make up for the loss
of his son, Icarus. As for where Daedalus died,
the myth is unclear. The most common reference
is to Egypt, specifically to an islet in the
Nile, where Daedalus was honoured as a god.
source: Viccio Cinti, "Dizionario Mitologico",
edizione Sonviogno
Dei e Niti, Enciclopedia Mitologica,
edizione FMA
Νίκος Ψιλάκης, "Κρητική Μυθολογία", εκδ.
Καρμάνως