ABSTRACT
In Greek mythology Daedalus built a retreat for King Minos at Knossus in Crete; it was called the Labyrinth and seemed to have neither beginning nor end, like the river Meander which returns on itself. Daedalus fell out of favour with the king who locked him up in a tower, together with his son Icarus. Daedalus was a very skilled craftsman and set to work to make wings for himself and Icarus. Then Icarus disobeyed his father's warning and began to soar towards the sun. The heat softened the wax, which allowed the feathers it held to come free, and he plunged into the sea and was drowned. Daedalus carried the body to a nearby island which is now called Icaria, and which gave its name to the surrounding sea. A cursory examination of the case could ascribe Icarus's death to a design defect.
