Talos (inventor)

Talos (/ˈteɪlɒs/; Ancient Greek: Τάλως Talōs) was a mythological Greek inventor. He is probably Perdix and nephew of Daedalus. On some accounts, Talos was also called Attalus.[1]

This article is about the mythological Greek inventor. For other uses, see Talos (disambiguation).

Mythology

Talos invented the saw after seeing a fish's spine. Daedalus was so jealous of the invention that he tried to murder him, but Athena intervened and turned Talos/ Perdix into a partridge to save his life.[2] According to Ovid, that partridge later watched the death and burial of Icarus with glee.

According to a version of Apollodorus,[3] Daedalus was successful in killing Talos/ Perdix and, as punishment, was exiled to the court of Minos: "After the corpse was discovered, Daedalus was tried...and went into exile at the court of Minos."

According to Ovid, Talos/ Perdix used a fish spine as the prototype of the saw.[4]

In some sources, Talos and Perdix appear to name the same person.

In arts

Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus includes a partridge on a tree, presumably representing the transformed Talos. However, like the rest of the charactets, it is yet to react to the fall.[5]

Notes
  1. Tzetzes, Chiliades 1.19 line 493
  2. Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3.15.8
  3. Library of Greek Mythology, 3.15 transl. Robin Hard
  4. Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.244-246
  5. Bruegel's Icarus and the perils of flight

References
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