One of the most famous artists and inventors in Greece, Daedalus had a son, Icarus, who was unlike his father very clumsy and slow. After having killed Icarus' cousin in a fit of jealous rage, Daedalus and his son fled to Crete, where the inventor was summoned to the court of King Minos. The king told Daedalus that he wished the artisan to construct a huge, labyrinthine maze, a prison for his bastard son, the Minotaur, which his wife had conceived after having lain with the Cretan Bull. On completion of this task, Daedalus and his son were sealed up in the labyrinth with the raging Minotaur, but due to the inventor's knowledge of the maze, they both managed to escape.
