![]() If only he and his son could just fl y away … and then he had an idea which was both brilliant and ambitious. Daedalus stared up at the sky and the seagulls that circled overhead. They could not leave by ship all vessels were controlled by King Minos. But who would want to live like that – hiding away hoping they would not be captured? They needed to fi nd a way to leave the island, but how? They could not swim, the nearest land was too far away, and they would never make it. They could possibly survive for months or years without being seen. ![]() The trees and bushes surrounding the beach would provide an ideal sanctuary for the time being. After all, Daedalus had built the labyrinth and knew his way around! Once out of the labyrinth Deadulus and Icarus carefully made their way to the shore of the island and pondered on what to do next. Instead, unknown to the king, they escaped. The King expected that the inventor and his son would be found by the Minotaur and eaten. Now he had the perfect punishment for his enemies! Deciding he had no further use for Daedalus, the King threw him into the labyrinth along with his son Icarus. Anyone who was sent to the labyrinth would be trapped and eventually they would be found by the Minotaur who would eat them alive. Once the Minotaur was in the labyrinth the creature was unable to escape. ![]() Daedalus did as King Minos requested and then, following the King’s instructions, he enticed the Minotaur into the labyrinth by leaving a huge pile of fresh meat in its centre. He enlisted the help of Daedalus, a talented architect, inventor and craftsman, and asked him to build a labyrinth – a maze of passages that would be so complex that it would be virtually impossible for anyone (or anything) to ever fi nd a way out. To die at the hands of the Minotaur would be one of the most terrible deaths imaginable, and King Minos believed that his enemies deserved to meet such a fate. Instead, he constructed a plan to imprison the Minotaur. They begged their ruler, King Minos, to order that the creature be killed, but the King decided against this. The people of the island of Crete were terri fi ed of the Minotaur it loved nothing more than to feast on human fl esh. Daedalus and Icarus On the island of Crete there lived a Minotaur, a ferocious creature that was half man and half bull. When the time came for him and his son to escape, he warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun because if he flew too high, the wax holding together the wings would melt from the heat of the sun and not to fly too low for the spray of water from the sea would weigh down the wings.Understanding Myths and Legends 17 © Karen Moncrieffe and Brilliant Publications 2012 This page may be photocopied for use by the purchasing institution only. ![]() So from feathers of birds, he glued them together with wax to form wings for him and his son. The innovative Daedalus came up with an idea to the island, not by land or sea, but by flight. Anybody who had entered the maze, were never able to leave.Īfter the completion of the labyrinth, King Minos locked Daedalus and Icarus in a tower to keep the existence of the Minator a secret. ![]() King Minos ordered Daedalus to design a prison to contain the feared Minator but instead of creating a prison cell, he designed a labyrinth so the Minator could never escape, but so won’t anybody whom sets foot inside the maze. Daedalus worked for King Minos in his palace in Crete, Island of the Minator, a half human and half-bull monster. The story revolves around Daedalus, a skilled craftsman in Athens, and his son Icarus. You might have heard of the tragic story of the fall of Icarus, a Greek myth about the death of a boy who flew too close to the sun despite his father’s warnings. We can learn from these stories and apply them to our lives in this new age. The Ancient Greeks were wise and philosophical thinkers so they had a lot to teach from stories and myths about life that was passed down for millenniums. Jacob Peter Gowy’s The Flight of Icarus (Source Jacob Peter Gowy – Museo del Prado, Public Domain) ![]()
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