Arriving there, he went directly to the
palace of King Minos, who, at that time, was the most powerful king in all the
world, and made him a gift of the marvelous tool that could cut wood more swiftly than knife or ax. Minos, delighted, immediately appointed Daedalus
Court Artificer, Smith Extraordinary, and fitted out a workshop for him with
the likeliest lads for apprentices. Minos also gave the old fellow a beautiful
young slave girl for his own.
Now, the Cretan women were the loveliest in the world, and Crete's court
the most glittering. The capital city of Knossos made Athens seem like a little
village. Women and girls alike wore silken dresses, gems in their hair, and a
most beguiling scent made by slaves who had been blinded so that their noses
would grow more keen. Daedalus was an honored figure at this court - and
a novelty besides. The Cretans were mad for novelties, so the old man was
much flattered and content.
He was a special favorite with the young Princesses, Ariadne and Phaedra,
who loved to visit him at his workshop and watch him make things. He
became very fond of the girls and made them marvelous jointed wooden
dolls with springs cunningly set and coiled so that they curtsied and danced
and winked their eyes. Queen Pasiphae also came to see him often. He made
her a perfume flask that played music when it was uncorked, and a looking
glass that allowed her to see the back of her head. She spent hours with him
gossiping, for she was very bored.
The queen kept coaxing Daedalus to tell her why he had really left Athens,
for she sensed a secret; however, all he would ever say was that the goddess
Athena had withdrawn her favor, so he had been forced to leave her city.
"Goddess Athena!" she cried. "Goddess this and god that...What nonsense!
These are old wives' tales, nursery vapors, nothing for intelligent men and
women to trouble themselves about."
"Oh, my lady," cried Daedalus. "In heaven's name, take care what you say.
The gods will hear, and you will be punished."
"And I took you for a sophisticated man," said the queen. "A man of the
world, a traveler, a scientist. I am disappointed in you. Gods, indeed! And are
you not, my Smith, more clever by far than that lame Hephaestus? And am I
not more beautiful than Aphrodite?"'
She stood up tall and full-bodied, and, indeed, very beautiful. The old man
trembled.
"Come here. Come closer. Look at me. Confess that I am more beautiful
than Aphrodite. Of all the gods, she is the one I disbelieve in most. Love? My
serving maids prate of it, my daughters frisk with the idea. All through the
island, men meet women by rock and tree, their shadows mingle. And I? I
have Minos, the crown on a stick who loves nothing but his own decrees."
"Softly, madame, softly," said Daedalus. "You are not yourself. It is
midsummer, a confusing time for women; what they say then must be
discounted. Your wild words will be forgiven, but please do not repeat them.
Now, see what I have made for you, even as you were saying those foolish
things: a parasol, lighter than a butterfly's wing, and yet so constructed that it
opens by itself like a flower when it feels the sun."
But Aphrodite had heard, and she planned a terrible vengeance.
Now, Minos had always been very fond of bulls, especially white ones.
He was not aware that this was a matter of heredity, that his mother, Europa,
had been courted by Zeus' who had assumed the guise of a white bull for the
occasion. The king knew only that he liked white bulls. And, since he was
in a position to indulge his preferences, he sent through all the world for the
largest, the finest, and the whitest. Finally, one arrived, the most splendid bull
he had ever seen. It was dazzling white, with hot black eyes, polished hooves,
and coral-pink nostrils; its long sharp horns seemed to be made of jet. The
king was delighted and sent for all the court to see his fine new bull.
He had no way of knowing that the animal had been sent there by Aphrodite,
and neither did Pasiphae. As soon as the queen saw the bull, she felt herself
strangling with a great rush of passion. She fell violently, monstrously, in love
with the bull. She came to Daedalus and told him.
"What shall I do?" she moaned. "What can I do? I'm going mad. It's
tearing me to pieces. You are the cleverest man in the world. Only you can
help me. Please, please, tell me what to do."
Daedalus could not resist the beautiful queen; besides, she had touched his
vanity. He had to prove himself clever enough to help her in her impossible
wish. He thought and thought, and finally went to work. He fashioned a
wooden cow with amber eyes, real ivory horns, and ivory hooves and tenderly
upholstered it with the most pliant cowhide. It was hollow, and so shaped that
Pasiphae could hide herself inside. He put wheels on the hooves, and springs
in the wheels. That night, as the moon was rising, the great white bull saw
the form of a graceful cow gliding toward him over the meadow, mooing
musically.
The next morning, Pasiphae came to the workshop. She gave Daedalus a
great leather bag full of gold, and said, "Be careful, old friend. This secret is
a deadly one."
Both Pasiphae and Daedalus were good at keeping secrets, but this was one
that had to come out for, after a while, the queen gave birth to a child, who
attracted a great deal of notice as he was half bull. People derisively called
him the Minotaur, or Minos' bull.
