Icarus (Ancient Greek: Ἴκαρος) is the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology. The main and most well-known story involving Icarus is the tale of his attempt to escape Crete with wings crafted by his father. Daedalus warned him not to fly too close to the Sun, but he ignored the advice and fell out of the sky causing his death. Today, Icarus is seen as the mythical pioneer in Greece's attempt to conquer the skies and an infamous story of hubris.
Mythology[]
Icarus' father, Daedalus was a remarkable Athenian craftsman who was exiled in the palace of Knossos by King Minos. He was exiled because of his involvement in helping Theseus, who survived the Labyrinth and defeated the Minotaur. He had given Minos's daughter, Ariadne, a ball of string (clew), which she used to help Theseus, Minos's enemy. Another reason Minos exiled him is because of his involvement with Pasiphae, since he built a false cow for her to mate with the Cretan Bull, which makes him complicit in her actions.
Along with Daedalus, Icarus was also imprisoned. Daedalus fashioned a pair of wings for his son and him, which they attempted to use to escape. Icarus was warned not to fly too close to the Sun for the wax on the wings will melt, nor too close to the water. However, Icarus ignored his father's words and flew too close to the Sun. The wax on his wings melted from the Sun's heat and it caused Icarus to fall and die. The sea in which he fell in became known as the Icarian Sea and the island his corpse landed was named after him, Icaria.
Hellenistic writers give the tale variants, which has Icarus escape from Crete via boat provided by Pasiphaë. Daedalus had constructed the first sails for the boat. Icarus when en route to Sicily fell into the water and drowned. Heracles erected a tomb for him.
Daedalus and Icarus
Family[]
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In Popular Culture[]
Video Games[]
- Icarus appears in the hit video game God of War II. He is killed by Kratos who later uses his wings.
- Icarus' wings make an appearance as available equipment in the video game Hero of Sparta II.
- He is the star of a Nintendo game series known as Kid Icarus.
Government[]
- The Hellenic Air Force Academy is named after him.
Gallery[]
Live Action[]
Animation[]
Video Games[]
.jpg "Icarus in God of War II (2).jpg (40 KB)")
