Stephen Dedalus Stephen Dedalus Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, appearing as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographical novel of artistic existence "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and an important character in Joyce's "Ulysses". In "Stephen Hero", an early version of what became "Portrait", Stephen's surname is spelled "Daedalus" in more precise allusion to Daedalus, the architect in Greek myth who was contracted by King Minos to build the Labyrinth in which he would imprison his wife's son the Minotaur. Buck Mulligan makes reference to the mythological namesake in "Ulysses", telling Stephen, "Your absurd
Daedalus Erechtheus, claiming that Daedalus fled to Crete after killing his nephew Talos. Over time, other stories were told of Daedalus. Some Greeks claimed to be descendants of Daedalus. People in ancient Greece often believed that their family was descended from mythical characters, though it is likely these characters were seen as historical rather than fictional. The Greek philosopher Socrates claimed to be a descendant of Daedalus in at least three of Plato's books: "Euthyphro", "Alcibaides", and "Meno". In "Euthyphro," Socrates says, "Your statements, Euthyphro, seem to belong to my ancestor, Daedalus." In "Alcibaides", Socrates says, "And mine, noble Alcibiades, to