Daedalus Daedalus, and he to Hephaestus, son of Zeus." This suggests that Daedalus was related to Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, and therefore to Zeus himself. Daedalus is first mentioned by Homer as the creator of a wide dancing-ground for Ariadne. He also created the Labyrinth on Crete, in which the Minotaur (part man, part bull) was kept. In the story of the labyrinth as told by the Hellenes, the Athenian hero Theseus is challenged to kill the Minotaur, finding his way with the help of Ariadne's thread. Daedalus' appearance in Homer is in an extended metaphor, "plainly not Homer's invention",
Daedalus Howell for its pronunciation, "DAY-de-lus." Howell spells "Daedalus" with the "ae" diphthong which would properly be pronounced "Deedalus." Howell's recorded birth name was "Daedalus Christopher Ferguson," though he changed his surname to "Howell" at 18, which was his father's original last name prior to adoption by his stepfather. Throughout his formative years, Howell used the name "Chris Ferguson" and did not begin using "Daedalus Howell" in earnest until his early 20s when he became a professional writer. Howell is sometimes connected to Albert Summers Howell, co-founder of Bell & Howell Co. (maker of motion picture cameras in the pioneering days of