Daedalus was a master architect who had created a labyrinth was an elaborate maze-like structure that no one could escape from. King Minos of Crete had specifically commissioned the labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur, a half-man/half-bull monster, so that the people of Crete could be safe from the Minotaur.

Theseus, a legendary Greek hero, gained fame by killing the Minotaur and escaping the labyrinth. However, he did not do it alone.

Minos’ daughter Ariadne who fell in love with Theseus, took the help of Daedalus to find out the secret to exit the maze. Daedalus suggested using a ball of thread to trace the path. Ariadne, in turn, passed on the information to Theseus, thereby helping Theseus successfully navigate the labyrinth to defeat the Minotaur.

When King Minos came to know about Theseus’ escape, he knew Daedalus had helped him. Angry, he put Daedalus and his son Icarus in the very maze Daedalus created. But, unfortunately, even Daedalus could not escape the labyrinth without a way to trace the exit.

“We cannot live like this imprisoned forever. We need to escape,” said Daedalus.

“But how, father? Even if we escape this prison by chance, the King has the sea and land watched all the time. So we cannot escape without getting caught,” replied Icarus.

“I have a plan, son,” said Daedalus.

Daedalus then tied many feathers, smallest to largest, joined together by strings fixed by wax. The finished product looked like the wings of a bird. Finally, Daedalus attached the wings to his arms and began flapping them. The wings helped his body lift above the ground.

“You are flying, father,” exclaimed Icarus.

“Indeed, Icarus. My invention worked. I will make another set of wings for you as well, and together we can escape Crete. The King has people watching the land and sea but not the air,” said Daedalus.

After Daedalus made wings for Icarus, both of them flew away from the labyrinth, escaping Crete.

“Take care, Icarus,” warned Daedalus. “The feathers are joined together with wax. Do not fly too high towards the sun because the wax will melt. On the other hand, do not fly too low close to the waters since the seawater will soak the feather and make them heavy.”

They continued flying but unfortunately, excited with the freedom the wings provided him, Icarus forgot his father’s warning. Instead, he flew high up in the sky, closer and closer to the sun.

“Icarus! Come back!” screamed Daedalus. “You are too close to the Sun.”

But Icarus did not listen. Slowly, the wax melted with the sun’s heat, and the feathers loosened. Then, with his wings broken, Icarus found himself falling from the sky into the ocean, and he drowned.

Mourning the loss of his son, Daedalus flew to Sicily, where he spent the remainder of his days.