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Vocabulary Words Perdix was an apt scholar and showed striking

Select the letter of the word/group of words that evidence of ingenuity. Walking on the seashore, he
means the same as the highlighted words. picked up the spine of a fish. According to Ovid,
1. The old building is a complex labyrinth of imitating it, he took a piece of iron and notched it on
tunnels and chambers. the edge, and thus invented the saw. Perdix also put
a. earth b. maze c. palace d. path two pieces of iron together, connecting them at one
2. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave end with a rivet, and sharpening the other ends, and
to me a partridge on a pear tree. made a pair of compasses.
a. bird b. apple c. gift d. gears
3. He decided to be an apprentice to an 7
Daedalus was so envious of his nephew’s
electrician after he graduated. accomplishments that he seized an opportunity to
a. customer b. manager c. trainee d. son toss him from the hill of the Acropolis. As he was
4. She showed amazing ingenuity in finding ways plunging to his death, however, the goddess Athena
to cut costs. turned Perdix into a partridge to save him.
a. inventiveness c. power
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b. dullness d. attention Other sources claim instead that his apprentice
5. The officers permanently banished the was his nephew Talos. They say that it was Talos,
troublemakers from the youth recreational at the age of twelve, who displayed a skill that nearly
center. rivaled his mentor’s. Daedalus, fearing that the boy
a. shelter c. take in would surpass him in talent, murdered the boy by
b. expelled d. punished tossing him from the Acropolis of Athens.

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He was then tried at the Areiopagus, which was
Daedalus and Icarus the ancient Greek court, and banished from his
Nick Pontikis home city of Athens. He fled to the island of Crete,
where he began to work at the court of King Minos
1
Daedalus-his name means “skilled worker” - was and Queen Pasiphae, in the magnificent palace of
a famous architect, inventor, and master craftsman Knossos.
known for having created many objects that figure
prominently in various myths. He had a beloved son 10
It is said that Daedalus was the first to conceive
named Icarus. masts and sails for ships for the navy of Minos,
helping Crete become a naval power. The statues
2
Among the many inventions and creations he carved were so exquisite, they looked as if they
crafted by Daedalus were the wooden cow he were alive. It is said that they would have escaped
constructed for Queen Pasiphae, the Labyrinth of were it not for the chain that bound them to the
the Minotaur at Knossos on the island of Crete, palace wall.
artificial wings for himself and his son Icarus, and he
was even said to have 11
Daedalus also constructed a wooden cow for the
invented images. queen to hide in to satisfy her amorous longings for
a white bull sent by Poseidon.
3
The infamous
Labyrinth was so 12
When the dreadful Minotaur was born, Daedalus
cunningly crafted that built the Labyrinth to contain the monstrous half-man,
Daedalus himself could half-bull. For years, Minos demanded a tribute of
barely find his way out youths from Athens to feed the creature as
after constructing it. punishment for the accidental killing of his son while
With countless winding he was visiting Athens.
passages and turns that
opened into one
another, the Labyrinth
appeared to have
neither beginning nor
end. Daedalus built the
maze to imprison the
Minotaur, half man - half bull beast.
4
His homeland was Athens but his parentage is
uncertain. Alcippe, Merope, and Iphinoe are all
mentioned at different times as being his mother. His
father’s identity was never precisely established, but
many claim that it was Metion, son of Erectheus. 13
Eventually, the Athenian hero Theseus came to
Crete to attempt to slay the Minotaur. Princess
5
For a short time, his apprentice was his sister’s Ariadne, daughter of King Minos and Queen
son Perdix. But Daedalus was so proud of his Pasiphae, fell in love with Theseus and asked
achievements that he could not bear the idea of a Daedalus to help him.
rival. His sister had placed her son Perdix under his
charge to be taught the mechanical arts.
14 24
Daedalus gave her a flaxen thread for Theseus to His father cried, bitterly lamenting his own arts,
tie to the door of the Labyrinth as he entered, and by and called the land near the place where Icarus fell
which he could find his way out after killing the into the ocean Icaria in memory of his child. The
monster. Theseus succeeded, and escaped Crete Icarian Sea, where he fell, was forever named after
with Ariadne. him and it is said that the great hero Heracles
(Hercules), who was passing by, gave him proper
15
Minos, enraged at the loss of his daughter, not to burial.
mention the killing of his pet Minotaur, shut Daedalus
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and his son Icarus into the Labyrinth, knowing that Daedalus grieved for his dead son and then
Theseus could not have accomplished the deed continued to Sicily, where he came to stay at the
without inside help. court of Cocalus in a place called Camicus. On the
island’s south coast, Daedalus built a temple for
16
Daedalus managed to get out of the Labyrinth - Apollo, and hung up his wings, as an offering to the
after all, he had built it and knew his way around. Olympian god.
Daedalus decided that he and his son Icarus had to
leave Crete and get away from Minos, before he 26
But vengeful King Minos wasn’t quite done — he
brought them harm. then went in pursuit of Daedalus, hoping to locate
and trick the great inventor into revealing himself.
17
However, Minos controlled the sea around Crete.
27
The King kept strict watch on all vessels, permitting At each city he visited, Minos offered a reward to
none to sail without being carefully searched by his whoever could thread a spiral seashell, a seemingly
soldiers. impossible task. Eventually, Minos came to Camicus
in Sicily and presented the contest at Cocalus’ court.
18
Since Minos controlled the land and sea routes,
and there was no route of escape there; Daedalus 28
Cocalus knew of Daedalus’ talents, and gave the
realized that the only way out was by air. But only shell to him. The clever Daedalus tied the string to
the gods could fly! an ant, placed the ant at one end of the shell, and
allowed the ant to walk through the spiral chambers
19
To escape, Daedalus built wings for himself and until it came out the other end.
Icarus, fashioned with feathers held together with
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wax. Daedalus tried the wings on himself first and When Minos saw that someone had solved the
was satisfied that his plan would work. puzzle, he demanded that Cocalus surrender
Daedalus, for he insisted that only he would have
20 been inventive enough to solve the task. King
Before taking off from the island, Daedalus
warned his son to follow closely behind him. He Cocalus promised to do so, but he persuaded Minos
sternly cautioned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, to first take a bath and stay for some entertainment.
as it would melt his wings, and not too close to the
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sea, as it would dampen them and make it hard to Minos agreed, and was consequently murdered
fly. by Cocalus’ daughters, who had been totally
impressed by the toys and gifts which Daedalus had
21 bestowed upon them.
They successfully flew from Crete, but Icarus
grew exhilarated by the thrill of flying and began
31
getting careless. The father and son passed the Daedalus eventually left Camicus, much to the
islands of Samos, Delos and Lebynthos, and the dismay of King Cocalus and his daughters, and
further away from Crete they flew, the more cocky ended up in Sardinia with a group led by Iolaus, who
became Icarus. was a nephew of Heracles.

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Forgetting his father’s stern advice, Icarus flew Source: http://thanasis.com/icarus02.html
too close to the sun god Helios, who was pulling the
sun behind his chariot high in the sky. Task 8 FACTS AND DETAILS
1. Who hires Daedalus?
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The wax holding 2. What does Daedalus design to hold the
together his wings Minotaur?
softened and melted 3. What does Daedalus invent to help him and
from the heat and, try Icarus escape from the Labyrinth?
as he might, Icarus 4. What does he warn Icarus not to do?
could not prevent the 5. What happens to Icarus?
feathers from falling
off his body. Furiously Task 9 WHAT’S GOING ON?
he flapped his arms, 1. Why did Minos imprison Daedalus in the
but soon no feathers Labyrinth?
at all were left and he 2. Why did Minos think that, if Daedalus can’t find
fell to his death, his way out, “so much the better”?
drowning in the sea, 3. Minos tells Icarus that the plan is dangerous.
as his helpless father Why does he want them to take this risk?
watched his son 4. Why did Daedalus leave his wings on the altar of
perish with anguish. Apollo? Why wouldn’t he want to fly some
more?