Galaxy/The codex of Daedalus

The greatest inventor of antiquity. He built the wooden cow for Pasiphae, the Labyrinth for the Minotaur, and wings of wax and feathers to escape the island of Crete.1

I

Daedalus was originally an Athenian, a descendant of King Erechtheus and a master architect and sculptor. After killing his own nephew Talos out of professional jealousy, he was tried by the Areopagus and fled to Crete to serve King Minos.2

II

In Crete, his genius became an instrument of both marvel and horror. He constructed the hollow wooden cow that allowed Queen Pasiphae to mate with the Cretan Bull, and later designed the inescapable Labyrinth to imprison the resulting monster, the Minotaur. He also gave Ariadne the thread that allowed Theseus to escape the maze.3

III

Furious at this betrayal, Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus within the very Labyrinth he had built. Knowing that Minos controlled the land and sea, Daedalus crafted pairs of wings from feathers bound with wax, successfully flying to Sicily, though he lost his son along the way.4

the spine ignites as you read · hover a bond on the card — every mention of them lights in the story

BEYOND THE POETS

How the centuries since have seen Daedalus — art, artifacts and echoes.

Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus and Icarus
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