Painting by Charles Paul Landon (Nonant 1760 – Paris 1826)
We pronounce our name DEH-dah-lus.
The word is Latin, from the Greek Δαίδαλος (Daidalos). It also appears in Hellenized Latin as Daedalos and in Etruscan as Taitle.
Daedalus was the Greeks’ original skillful artificer and inventor, the personification of resourcefulness and innovation. His name means “cunning worker.” Stories about him are thinly peppered throughout Greek mythology. They vary greatly, with tantalizing parallels threaded through grand inconsistencies.
Daedalus did not fly too close to the sun. That was his son, Icarus. Daedalus made it all the way from Crete to Sicily. This is a point of honor for people named Daedalus.
In Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, James Joyce exiled the first A to give Stephen Dedalus more Irishability. He pronounced it DEE-dah-lus.
No, we’re not Greek.
Yes, Leo has had the name Daedalus all his life.
No, telemarketers never get it right.
Yes, it’s amusing to hear them try.
We are not the heirs to the Daedalus Books fortune nor that of Daedalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Nor the Oregon winery, Daedalus Cellars. If there are any such fortunes, and they’re in need of heirs, we’re happy to oblige.
- See Daedalus in Wikipedia.
- We have a towel from Hotel Daedalus.
- Anna made a portrait of herself as Ariadne for Leo’s birthday.
