Daedalus Icarus' wings, Daedalus is portrayed assisting in the creation of something that has subsequent negative consequences, in this case with his creation of the monstrous Minotaur's almost impenetrable Labyrinth, which made slaying the beast an endeavour of legendary difficulty. The most familiar literary telling explaining Daedalus' wings is a late one, that of Ovid: in his "Metamorphoses" (VIII:183–235) Daedalus was shut up in a tower to prevent the knowledge of his Labyrinth from spreading to the public. He could not leave Crete by sea, as the king kept a strict watch on all vessels, permitting none to sail without being
Daedalus the waves ... a hawk-like man flying sunward above the sea, a prophecy of the end he had been born to serve”. Daedalus is said to have created statues that were so realistic that they had to be tied down to stop them from wandering off. In "Meno", Socrates and Meno are debating the nature of knowledge and true belief when Socrates refers to Daedalus' statues: "... if they are not fastened up they play truant and run away; but, if fastened, they stay where they are." Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (; "Daidalos" "cunningly wrought", perhaps related to δαιδάλλω