About what the myth tells about Daedalus and Icarus

From early childhood, we loved listening to mystical stories about the exploits of heroes of antiquity, especially myths and legends. After all, they told us about the strength, dexterity, wisdom of man, about love and hate; We plunged into a fantastic world that is not accessible to us.

Myths. What are they telling us about?

Myth is an ancient tradition conveying the understanding of the surrounding world by our ancestors, and therefore humanity will never cease to be interested in them. Different peoples have their own stories, but the myths of Ancient Greece were most famous. The ancient population of Greece became famous for its tireless activity, energy, the ancient Hellenes tried to find an explanation for the emergence of all life on Earth, natural phenomena and determine the true position of man in this world. The myth of Daedalus and Icarus in ancient Athens was born . In those distant times, this city was the center of trade, crafts, it engaged in science, and all sorts of arts.

Daedalus was an honorary resident of Athens, and the city dwellers respected him for the unsurpassed art of a builder, sculptor and carver in stone. But not only the Athenians knew and respected Daedalus, in other cities of Greece he was famous for his sculptural and building works: everyone said that his statues stand as living.

Daedalus had a nephew in his pupils, and he began to outstrip his mentor: even in his youth he came up with a new machine for working with clay, a snake tooth saw and many other necessary adaptations. Thanks to his inventions, when he was young he became famous, became proud of this and became presumptuous. The uncle began to envy the young master, he was afraid that the student would surpass his mentor, and he decided on a crime: late in the evening he threw his nephew off the city wall. After the crime, he was overcome by fear: he would be considered the murderer of his nephew.

What is the fate of Daedalus?

After all these experiences, as the myths of ancient Greece tell, Daedalus found shelter and protection from the Cretan king Minos: he made the architect his own painter. Minos ordered Daedalus to create a special shelter for the Minotaur, a mythical animal with a human body and a bull's head, so that people would not see it.

The famous builder built the Labyrinth (as the myth of Daedalus and Icarus relates), where there were many moves and intricate transitions, it was easy to get lost. They walked forward and backward, and it was simply impossible to get out of there. In such an intricate place, the Minotaur had to live.

To feed the Minotaur, the Athenians were sent to seven girls and boys, this was their tribute to the Cretan king.

But Daedalus was a witty man, and when the captives were brought, he gave the king's daughter Ariadne a ball of thread, with which they could go back if theseus in the battle with the Minotaur won. This is what the Cretan king knew and hid Dedal into prison.

How to cross Daedalus across the sea?

As the myth of Daedalus and Icarus goes on to tell, the illustrious master did not like imprisonment, and he began to think about how to leave his prison unnoticed. He realized that the Cretan king would not let him go voluntarily, and decided to fly through the air. To fulfill his dream, he collected different bird feathers, connected them in a special order, like a bird, and from afar his creation could be taken for real bird wings. To fasten the feathers, he used linen laces and wax, and slightly bent them.

Little Icarus, son of Daedalus, liked to look at his father's work, but over time he began to help him make wings. At the end of work, Daedalus attached his wings to his body, and began to soar above everyone, like a bird. After his father landed, Icarus ran up to him and began to beg him to tear himself up and have exactly the same wings to travel together in the air. At first, his father was very angry with his son for asking, but soon relented with his heart and made wings for the boy.

Daedalus warned his son that wings were waxed, and you need to fly carefully, not climbing high into the sky, where the sun was very near. But the naughty Icarus did in his own way - rose too high, the wax began to melt from the hot sunlight, the wings collapsed, and he fell into the sea. Even later, people called the sea in his honor - it is still called Ikaria. The body was nailed to the shore, and the mighty Hercules betrayed his land on a small island, which also bears the name of a proud young man - Ikarios.

What is the myth of Daedalus and Icarus?

After reading this legend, a person will want to deal with sublime affairs himself, moving away from everyday routine. After mankind learned how to move by land and water, it began to think about the movement through the air.

The image of Icarus embodies the idea that any, the most exalted dream can be realized, achieve the set goal by their diligence, diligence and skill. And the wings created by Daedalus can be a symbol of higher craftsmanship.

Ikar's disdainful attitude towards his father's advice led him to destruction, but he, forgetting everything in an exciting flight, sought to fly to the sun. This was not liked by the Olympic gods, and they cruelly punished him.