Linda Felbinger
November 7, 2017
English 111
Icarus Project
The Truth About What Really Happened To Daedalus
The myth of Icarus and Daedalus is one that has been told by many people, and a ton of different ways. Daedalus was a handyman and had built many things for King Minos. Daedalus had built the Labyrinth, which was home to the famous Minotaur. Princess Ariadne wanted the Minotaur killed so Daedalus advised her of a way for someone to kill the Minotaur. Well, the Minotaur was killed and King Minos found out and was very furious. He demanded to know who killed him and when he found out that Daedalus was the one who advised the Princess, he imprisoned Daedalus and his son inside of the labyrinth. Once inside, Daedalus knew they could not survive there, so he devised a plan to get out. He decided to build a set of wings for both of them. Before they took off, Daedalus advised Icarus to stay away from the water because the water will make them fall off, and to stay clear of the sun because the sun will melt the wax which the wings are made of. But being young like Icarus was, he didn’t listen, and flew to close to the sun which caused his wings to melt. Icarus fell to the water were he would drown. Daedalus continue onto his destination.
The moral behind the story involves something called hubris. Daedalus is a human, who thought he could act like a god, which in turn disrespected the gods since only gods should be able to fly. So, in turn do not act like a god, and things will turn out just fine. Campbell once said “One man’s myth, is another man’s religion,” and that can be related back to the painting done by Brueghel. In most religions, the world ends that same way but turning into a big ball of fire, but in a few the world ends up covered by water. In Brueghel’s painting, one can see building and what looks like an island that slowly has been covered up by water. Over time, the water will continue to rise and the whole town will be covered up it.
"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus"
by William Carlos Williams
According to Brueghel, when Icarus fell, it was spring. A farmer was plowing his field. The whole pageantry of the year was awake, tingling near the edge of the sea, concerned with itself, sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax. Unsignificantly, off the coast, there was a splash. Quite unnoticed. This was Icarus drowning.
Works Cited:
"icarus & Daedalus A Tragic Story." Myth Man's Greek Mythology Today, N.D., http://thanasis.com/icarus02.html. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017