Daedalus was the great architect and inventor who worked for King Minos. He had made a labyrinth of bushes that housed the terrible Minotaur.
King Minos learned that the Athenians had escaped from the labyrinth and killed his Minotaur. He was in a rage. He also knew whom to blame. Only Daedalus could have helped them escape. Only he knew the secret to escaping the maze.
As punishment, King Minos trapped Daedalus and his son Icarus in the labyrinth. They had only the clothes on their backs and a pair of candles to light their way.
Daedalus tried to lead his son through the endless paths of the maze. But he could not. Not without the ball of string he had given to Ariadne.
“Father, it is no use,” Icarus said with a sigh. “You have invented a maze that is too winding. Not even you can find your way out.”
Daedalus was about to give up when he looked up to the gods for an answer. And then it came to him! The labyrinth had many walls, but no ceiling.
“I have an idea, my son!” Daedalus told him with excitement. “If we can’t escape by land, we can escape by flying!”
“We are not birds, Father. We cannot fly,” Icarus pointed out.
But Daedalus didn’t listen. He was too busy gathering branches and leaves from the labyrinth’s bushes. Daedalus began stringing them together.
“Icarus, see these bird feathers that have fluttered down from the sky? Gather up as many as you can,” Daedalus told his son.
In a few minutes, Daedalus had made two pairs of wings. There was one set for each of them. He fastened a pair onto Icarus’s arms. Then he put on the other pair of wings.
“Listen carefully, Icarus,” Daedalus said.
“These wings are fragile. They are held together only with candle wax. You must not fly too high in the sky. Stay away from the sun. If you get too close, the wax will melt. Your wings will come undone and drop off,” he warned.
But Icarus wasn’t listening. He was too excited and busy flapping his new wings. Daedalus took off into the sky. At first, Icarus followed closely behind his father.