Back to Greek mythology and danger of flying too close to the sun. Once upon a time. ENDELEA The myth of Daedalus and Icarus
The myth of Daedalus and Icarus is one of
the most known and fascinating Greek
Myths, as it consists of both historical and
mythical details.
While in Crete Daedalus created the plan for
the Minoan Palace of Knossos, one of the
most important archaeological sites in Crete
and Greece today. It was a magnificent
architectural design and building, of 1,300
rooms, decorated with stunning frescoes
and artifacts, saved until today. The
sculpture of Ariadne in Knossos and many
others in Elounda and Karia are also his.
King Minos and Daedalus had great
understanding at first, but their
relationships started deteriorating at some
point; there are several versions explaining
this sudden change, although the most
common one is that Daedalus was the one
who advised Princess Ariadne to give
Theseus the thread that helped him come
out from the infamous Labyrinth, after
killing the Minotaur.
The Labyrinth was a maze built by Daedalus;
King Minos wanted a building suitable to
imprison the mythical monster Minotaur,
and according to the myth, he used to
imprison his enemies in the labyrinth,
making sure that they would be killed by the
monster.
Minos was infuriated when found out about
the betrayal and imprisoned Daedalus and
his son Icarus in the Labyrinth.
The flight of Daedalus and Icarus
Icarus was the young son of Daedalus and
Nafsicrate, one of King Minos servants.
Daedalus was way too smart and inventive,
thus, he started thinking how he and Icarus
would escape the Labyrinth. Knowing that
his architectural creation was too
complicated, he figured out that they could
not come out on foot. He also knew that the
shores of Crete were perfectly guarded,
thus, they would not be able to escape by
sea either. The only way left was the air.
Daedalus managed to create gigantic wings,
using branches of osier and connected
them with wax. He taught Icarus how to fly,
but told him to keep away from the sun
because the heat would make the wax melt,
destroying the wings.
Daedalus and Icarus managed to escape the
Labyrinth and flew to the sky, free. The flight
of Daedalus and Icarus was the first time
that man managed to fight the laws of
nature and beat gravity.
Icarus death
Although he was warned, Icarus was too
young and too enthusiastic about flying. He
got excited by the thrill of flying and carried
away by the amazing feeling of freedom and
started flying high to salute the sun, diving
low to the sea, and then up high again.
His father Daedalus was trying in vain to
make young Icarus to understand that his
behavior was dangerous, and Icarus soon
saw his wings melting.
Icarus fell into the sea and drowned. The
Icarian Sea, where he fell, was named after
him and there is also a nearby small island
called Icaria.