Aislin Freedman, Junior
Most people who have done any research on Greek Mythology know about the myth of Daedalus and Icarus. Even many people who know little to nothing about it have still heard the name Icarus, even if just from the song Burn in Hamilton. In fact, allusions to the story of Icarus are everywhere, likely because of the obvious moral lesson, and simplicity of the story. The story warns against both hubris and complacency, as well as strong filial relationship and firm grounding in a larger and more complicated myth. As with many myths, the story of Daedalus and Icarus has many versions that have been changed and recorded throughout history, so there is no true “correct” story, more like many, equally as accurate, versions of the same story. Even so, I will try to keep my retelling as close to the common storyline as possible.
The story begins with another myth. The Myth of the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a monster, half man half bull, on the island of Crete during the rule of King Minos. The King enlisted the famous inventor Daedalus to create a prison for the monster, as Daedalus was known far and wide to be the most skilled inventor alive. In order to imprison the Minotaur, Daedalus created his largest, and most impressive invention yet, the invention that would become his pride and joy. Daedalus created a mysterious labyrinth that only he could navigate. However, King Minos wished for no one to be able to find their way through the labyrinth, and so he imprisoned Daedalus, and his young son Icarus, in the center of the labyrinth.
The room that Daedalus and Icarus were imprisoned in was a tall room with no ceiling, but walls that stretched up far too high to ever climb, and so Deadalus’ pride invention became his biggest obstacle. However Deadalus didn’t give up. He was rarely checked upon by King Minos, and was given materials to create new inventions for King Minos, so Daedalus set to creating an escape for him and his son. It took a long time, but finally Deadalus had created wings, to fly out of the prison with, catching wind currents up through the open ceiling. The wings were created with hot wax and feathers, and so as Deadalus was readying his son for their flight, he reminded Icarus over and over again of the dangers of flying on the hastily made wings.
“Don’t fly too low to the sea, Icarus, or else the sea spray may fly up and erode the wax holding the wings together. But don’t get carried away and fly too high, my son, lest the sun become too hot and melt away the wax.” Daedalus repeated over and over, and Icarus heeded his father’s words. Icarus knew that this was important to his father, and so he nodded along every time his father repeated the order. However Icarus wasn’t truly worried for his safety, and being a teenager, he thought himself indestructible, for he had yet to experience the troubles of life.
With both sets of wings attached, Daedalus and Icarus set to the skies to escape their prison. However, upon feeling the freedom of the skies, Icarus instantly forgot his father’s warnings, and performed tricks in the wings. Icarus was happy to be alive, and thought nothing of the danger he could face. Deadalus tried to warn his son against his foolery, but the wind carried away the old man’s voice, and Icarus was too oblivious to notice the worry of his father. However, before long, Icarus was entranced by the sun and flew up as high as he could, embracing the warm light, and feeling the wind blow through his hair, he felt as free as ever.
Daedalus could do nothing but watch as his only son flew up to the sun, and the heat started to melt his son’s precious wings. Daedalus could do nothing but watch as the feathers on his son’s wings started to fall off. Daedalus could do nothing but watch as his precious son plummeted down into the sea, screaming as he trailed feathers.
This story is in the classic format of all Greek tragedies, and the death of Icarus has become a modern pop culture reference to being overcome with pride and self-importance. Many people nowadays point out the loopholes in the story, most of them fueled by scientific discoveries we didn’t know about when the myth was originally formed, such as how, as you go higher in the earth’s atmosphere, the air gets colder, not hotter. However these minor plot holes do not detract from the lesson of the myth. And so let that be a lesson, that everyone is mortal and vulnerable, and to always have confidence (so as to not fly too close to the ocean), but never too vain (so as to not fly too close to the sun). It can sometimes be hard, walking that thin line just between two extremes, but oftentimes it comes from knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and being realistic with yourself.