In olden times, Crete was home to Daedalus, one of the greatest inventors. Ordered by the king, he constructed a maze for imprisoning Minotaur, a monster, who was half-man and half-bull, so that it would never escape. But later, he helped Theseus, a famed hero, to kill Minotaur. The king punished him for this by imprisoning Daedalus in the same labyrinth, along with Icarus, his young son.

Daedalus cheered up his son, telling him that he knew of a way out of their labyrinthine cell! He made a large pair of wings, which could be moved up or down, by moving the arms, and fixed them with wax onto Icarus’s shoulders. He made another pair for himself.

Then, the two men flew off! With a few strokes, they crossed the walls of the labyrinth. Icarus felt very proud of his feat and wanted to fly higher. But the sun’s heat melted the wax from his wings and these fell off, causing Icarus to fall to the ground and die. Filled with sadness, Daedalus flew on, till he was safe.