Stephen's last name, Dedalus, is an unusual name for an Irish person. The name comes from the mythical Greek Daedalus, the great inventor who created the labyrinth for King Minos and escaped from Crete using wings he made from birds' feathers; Daedalus' son, Icarus, was given a similar set of wings for escaping, but flew so near the sun that the wings disintegrated and he drowned. Daedalus is often used as a symbol of the rational, unemotive, scientific mind, while Icarus represents the unrestrained artist; Stephen bears far more resemblance to the latter
