Daedaulus is an Athenian craftsman who builds the labyrinth in Crete in which Minos stashes the Minotaur. After building the labyrinth, Daedaulus fashions sets of wings for himself and his son Icarus to fly back to Athens with. On the way, Icarus gets too close to the sun and his wings melt, sending him to his death in the sea. Daedaulus finds his body and buries him. Daedaulus was also Perdix’s teacher. He was jealous when Perdix invented the compass, so he pushed the boy off a mountain.
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Daedaulus Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Daedaulus appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 8: The Minotaur and Ariadne
...affair with the bull. To hide her shameful offspring, Minos hires an Athenian craftsman named Daedaulus to build a labyrinth that is impossible to escape from. Minos hides the Minotaur in...
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Book 8: Daedaulus and Icarus
Daedaulus grows to hate Crete and wants to return to Athens. Since King Minos has blocked...
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When Daedaulus finishes his wings, he puts them on himself and Icarus. He instructs his son not...
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Book 8: Daedalus and Perdix
While Daedaulus buries Icarus, a partridge chatters nearby. The partridge used to be one of Daedaulus’s pupils,...
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Book 9: Iphis
...who had mated with a bull, had mated with a male bull. She wonders if Daedalus could change her into a boy, the way he disguised the bull, so that Pasiphae...
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