June 20: World Refugee Day

The famous architect Daidalos (Daedalus), had been held as a prisoner by the Cretan king Minos. Together with his son Ikaros (Icarus), he fled his prison with self-crafted wings. Ikaros didn’t make it to safety, but Daidalos did, and under a false name, found refuge with king Kokalos in Sicily. A vengeful Minos put out the word that he was handing out a prize for the man who could pull a string through a conch shell. Not knowing it was a scam, Kokalos asked his clever guest to solve the puzzle. Daidalos pierced a hole in the tip of the shell, smeared it with honey and tied the thread around an ant, which wound its way through the spirals of the empty shell, taking the thread with it. To king Kokalos dismay, king Minos immediately showed up, and demanded Daidalos’ extradition. So Kokalos politely suggested Minos to take a relaxing bath first. Especially for this occasion, Daidalos had invented running hot water. When king Minos opened the tap, the bath filled so quickly he was boiled alive. And thrown away with the bathwater, I suspect.

Minoan Larnax (box) in the form of Bath Tub, Museum of Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Caldarium, Pompeï, Italy