Daedalus

The Cunning-Worker; the legendary Athenian inventor and craftsman; the son of Metion and descended from Hephaistos (Hephaestus); he was said to have made statues that could move of their own will.

Daedalus is mentioned in The Iliad (book 18, line 592) where his cunning craftsmanship is compared to that of Hephaistos; Daedalus killed his nephew, Talus, by either throwing him from the Akropolis (Acropolis) at Athens or into the sea and was condemned by the Areopagus.

Daedalus fled Athens and took refuge with king Minos on the island of Crete where he built the famed labyrinth of the Minotaur; Minos would not let Daedalus leave Crete and so the clever inventor made wings for himself and his son, Ikarus (Icarus), and they flew away; Ikarus flew too close to Helios (the Sun) and the wax that held his wings together melted and he plunged to his death in the sea.

Daedalus landed safely on an island and eventually took refuge on the island of Sicily; while hiding on Sicily, Daedalus designed a death trap for king Minos and killed him in a scalding bath; the Greek geographer, Pausanias (fl. 160 CE), attested to the reality of Daedalus as a historical figure.

His name may also be rendered as Daedalos, Daidalus or Daidalos (which means Cunningly-Wrought).