# Daedalus — Metamorphoses character guide

> Daedalus in Metamorphoses by Ovid.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0088-death-of-nessus-the-centaur

## Snapshot

The exiled Athenian craftsman whose genius builds the Labyrinth, the wooden cow, and the wax wings — inventions that trap as often as they rescue.

## Who they are

Daedalus is the architect of impossible structures, a man whose skill serves kings and queens but never quite frees him from their power. His most famous creation, the Labyrinth, hides a monster but also swallows those who enter, and his later invention of flight carries a fatal cost. He matters because his art embodies Ovid's theme that human ingenuity, however brilliant, cannot outrun grief or the gods.

## In the story

### [The Labyrinth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/the-labyrinth)

The Athenian craftsman who designed and built the Labyrinth.

### [Story of Daedalus and Icarus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-daedalus-and-icarus)

The master craftsman who builds wings to escape Crete, loses his son Icarus, and is later received by King Cocalus in Sicily.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/daedalus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters