Frescoes depicting Daedalus, Icarus and Pasiphaë at the Archaeological Museum of Naples in Italy

Daedalus and Pasiphaë, Pompeii

Fresco - Water-based pigments on Coating (72 x 73 cm) 45–79 AD

Pasiphaë, wife of the famous King Minos of Crete, was overcome by a monstrous sexual desire for a sacred bull that she wanted to attract to her by hiding inside a wooden heifer.

Minos had left without keeping his promise to sacrifice this bull to Poseidon, the god of the oceans.

Daedalus and Pasiphaë The scene takes place outside in front of a temple with Doric columns.

Pasiphaë wears her diadem and jewellery, and is seated on a carved throne, holding a long sceptre in her right hand.

The richness and delicacy of the queen's pink and gold outfit contrasts with the simplicity of the short artisan's tunic held in place by a fibula on the shoulder worn by Daedalus, who presents her with the wooden heifer he has made for her.

From this monstrous union between Pasiphaë and the bull, the famous Minotaur was born.

“On his return, Minos decided to remove this object of shame from his home and lock it away in the many twists and turns of a dark dwelling.

Daedalus, famous among all for his skill in the art of building, carried out this work”. Ovid describes the construction of the labyrinth: “Daedalus confuses the landmarks of the different paths, and he misleads the eye with their treacherous twists and turns [...] Daedalus fills countless passages with causes for error; he himself could barely find his way back to the threshold, so deceptive was the structure.

He locks up the monster that combines the two forms of a bull and a young man.”
Ovid, Metamorphoses, VIII, 157-181

Daedalus and Icarus, Pompeii

Fresco - Water-based pigments on Coating (95 x 81 cm) 20–40 AD

Daedalus and Icarus When Daedalus wanted to return to Athens with his son Icarus after building his labyrinth, Minos held them prisoner by preventing them from embarking.

Daedalus had found a way to escape by air, building wings made of feathers stuck together with wax. However, this wax could melt if they flew too close to the Sun.

Daedalus warned Icarus of the danger, advising him to fly at a moderate altitude.

The fresco shows us the lifeless body of young Icarus crushed on the ground after losing his wings, which disintegrated when the wax melted because he let himself be carried away by the lure of the sky.

Two women look on at the unfortunate Icarus, who still bears the marks of the bonds that attached his wings.

Icarus had flown over the eastern part of the Aegean Sea and crashed on the island that bears his name: Icaria.

The Fall of Icarus, Pompeii