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Daidalos' story
Actually the tale goes like this:
Zeus had three sons with Europe, nymph from Phoenicia. Minoa and his two brothers were born in Gortyn. Europe, when Zeus left her, married Asterios, king of Crete.
Minoa succeeded him in the throne. He married Pasiphai, daughter of Hlios and Crete the nymph. Four daughters and four sons were the products of this marriage. We are interested in Ariadne, who will play an important role in our story.
Minoa dedicated to Poseidon the slaughter of a bull in the altar. Minoa asked Poseidon to produce a white bull from the sea. It was so done, but
Minoa was so impressed by the sight of the white bull, that he broke his promise and he sacrificed another bull! Poseidon was annoyed and to take revenge, he inspired Pasiphai with love for the white bull!
Daidalos was an Athenian sculptor and designer who lived happily in Athena with his son Icarus. Once he made a serious mistake, and he was exiled, in Crete.
Minoa greeted him with honors and Daidalos in order to please the king, he designed and constructed a maze known as the Labyrinth.
Pasiphai, in order to enjoy her love with the white bull, asked Daidalos for help and he constructed a wooden mock-up of a cow, with real skin, in which she was hidden when she mated with her god sent bull.
From this mating Minotaure was born. A man with a bull's head. He was called also Asterios. He was sent in the Labyrinth to live. Labyrinth was so complicated inside, so that you could not find your way out.
Now, after some athletic games in Athena, Athenians killed Androgeos, son of
Minoa. Minoa decided to punish Athenians by making them send young boys and girls, for Minotaure to eat. Thus it happened for a few years.
Theseus, been the son of king of Athena Aegeas, offered to go with the Athenian youth to kill the Minotaure. His father agreed with the condition that, he'll change the black sails, that they used for the ship that carried the condemned to death, on the way back with white sails, to show that he killed the beast. He succeeded with the help of Ariadne, who wanted to leave Crete. He killed Minotaure, he found his way out of the Labyrinth with Ariadne' s help, and they all sailed away. On the way back, Theseus abandoned Ariadne in the isle Dia (Naxos). Actually that was gods' will, so that Ariadne will mate with Dionysus.
Theseus forgot to change the black sails with the white ones and his father when watching from the hill in Sounion and when he saw the black ship, he thought that his son was dead and he committed suicide jumping from the hill to the sea. That's why, by the way, that the sea is called Aegean Sea.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Daidalos wanted to leave Crete but Minoa refused to let him and his son, to go anywhere else. So he designed and constructed two sets of wings, from feathers and wax, and they flew from Crete going north. Daidalos warned his son not to fly very high, but Icarus was so excited from the flight, that he ignored his father's rules of flight and crash-landed in the sea, after burning his wings. That sea is called now Icarian Sea.
Daidalos took refuge in Sicily. Minoa tried to assassinate him but he failed. In fact Daidalos, with the help of a Sicilian princess, succeeded to kill
Minoa. There is an ancient city there called Minoa, founded by the Minoa followers.
When Daidalos died, he and his brother Radamanthys were made gods - judges of the souls who were going to Hades.
There is a more reasonable version of the tale, which says that Daidalos and Icarus left with a ship and when they were passing east of the Cyclades isles, Icarus stumbled, fell and drowned in the sea. Daidalos buried him in the nearest isle, which is called now Icaria. Daidalos left with the same ship to Sicily.
I kind of like the first version. Daidalos and Icarus the first flyers in the world! Icarus, the inexperienced, died. Daidalos, the experienced, survived. That's my connection. I am a flyer and I hope I will survive.
This page was last updated on 20/03/2000. back to the top
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