DÆDALUS, a mythical personage, whose name is taken as the symbol of artistic perfection. According to one account he was the son, and according to another the grandson, of Eupalamus, the son of Erechtheus. He was condemned to death by the Areopagus on account of the murder of his nephew Talus or Perdix, whom he had instructed in his art to a degree that roused his jealousy; and fled to Crete, where he was imprisoned by Minos for having constructed the labyrinth. He was released from prison by Pasiphae, and by the help of artificial wings escaped to Sicily. His son Icarus was the companion of his flight, but having flown too near the sun, the cement of his wings melted, and he was precipitated into the sea. From Sicily Dædalus passed to Sardinia; and at some period of his career he is said to have executed a variety of works in Egypt. He is principally renowned for the perfection of his carpentry, and was the reputed inventor of the saw, gimlet, plumb-line, and other tools. All the early works seem to have been attributed to Dædalus; and the story of his having constructed automata seems to point to him as the introducer of a lifelike style of statuary. His flight is generally explained by regarding him as the inventor or improver of sails.