What is Icarus? Is it an object or a person?

What is Icarus? This posing the question immediately leads to a dead end. But the answer to it can be found in the textbook on astronomy, because Icarus called one of the asteroids.

Asteroid

If we translate from the ancient Greek language, then we learn that the asteroid means "star-like." It's a very small planet that looks like a star. How many asteroids rotate in the solar system and what is Icarus among them? Now astronomers counted about two thousand named celestial bodies. The forms of their orbits are loop-like, and they themselves have an irregular appearance.

For an unknown reason, they can not assemble into one body. To the Sun they come closer than all the known planets, but do not fall on it. Closer than Mercury, the asteroid Icarus approaches the sun. He is getting close to the Earth, but then he again goes away and goes his own way. Its attraction is so small that it does not affect the Earth in any way.

But that is not all. Icarus is a famous mythical hero who rose to the sun.

Artist and envy

In the enlightened Athens lived an amazing descendant of the legendary king Erechtei - sculptor, artist and architect Daedalus. To make the work more skillful, Daedalus invented two new tools: an ax and a drill. Sculptures he carved from white marble. They were so perfect that they seemed alive.

Daedalus had a student, his nephew, who, growing up, began to distill his master in craftsmanship. Envy settled deeply in the soul of Daedalus, and then began to expand. One day he led his pupil to the high rocky shore of the sea and, thinking that no one could see them, pushed his nephew from the rock. He to the death crashed. Daedalus hurried down to dig a grave and hide his crime. But Athena saw this atrocity and did not let the young man die, turning him into a partridge. The court of the council of elders sentenced Daedalus to death. Then Daedalus fled to Crete.

On the island

The unprincipled King Minos, son of Europe and Zeus, accepted Daedalus. He defended it from the Athenians, but demanded that he work only for him. In Daedalus, the son of Ikar was born from the slave Navkraty. Therefore, to ask - what is Icarus - not exactly exactly how Icarus is also a person, the son of Daedalus.

The latter did much for Minos, his daughters and his wife: statues, a labyrinth from which there was practically no way out. In it, Minos planted a monster, born of his wife, a terrible huge Minotaur. In the meantime, Icarus grew up, and his father missed in captivity. He planned an escape. But how can this be done? Ministers of Minos controlled each ship.

Thoughts on the flight

Daedalus found an unusual way out, how to escape from captivity. He decided to take advantage of the heavenly way, because the air did not own Minos. The inventor invented to soar above the sea like a free bird. This requires wings - that's it!

Icarus could not even imagine it at first. He spun around in the workshop, watching his father pick wax, which required a lot. It searches for the large feathers of birds, because the four wings should be large, with a huge number of feathers, to withstand the heaviness of the man and adolescent.

In workshop

While the son of Daedalus was playing in the studio, catching flying down her down, the master joined the feathers with strong ropes of flax. Then the wax was melted and heated, making it look like the wing of a bird, and gradually attached feathers to it. To the wings, Daedalus attached the hinges so that they could be inserted into their hands. When everything was ready, the inventor put on two wings, fled, waved his arms and soared in the air. With delight, Dedal's son looked at the miracle created by the father. When the balloonist, making a circle, sank to the ground, the joyful Icarus ran up to him. He was happy that he could fly like a father.

Pre-flight instructions

Daedalus ordered his son to follow him closely. Do not go up to Helios too high, so that the heat does not melt the wax, and do not fall to the sea too low to wet the feathers. They put their wings on their hands and easily climbed into the sky.

Flight of Icarus

The father was flying ahead and all the time looking around, watching his son. He first hovered uncertainly, and then felt the joy of flying. Catching the air currents, he then rose with them higher, then lowered slightly. Icarus completely forgot all his father's instructions and did not follow him. He grew bolder and bolder. Freely flapping wings, the teenager got too close to the sun. Hot beams melted the wax, feathers fell out of it. The sun destroyed the wings of Icarus.

The young man collapsed into the sea and drowned in his turbulent waters. So tragically ended the flight of the disobedient Icarus.

This sea was later called Ikaria, and buried the shaken body of Hercules.

Father, looking again, did not see his child. He noticed the feathers that floated on the water, and he understood and cursed the day when he thought of fleeing from Crete. Daedalus continued on his way, flying to Sicily in the realm of Cockal. Minos found out where the fugitive was hiding, and gathered an army to return him. Clever, intelligent and cruel daughter of Kokala did not want to let go of such a wonderful master. They asked my father to take Minos as a welcome guest and take his bath first. In her, the girls doused Minos with boiling water, and he died. Now no one threatened Daedalus. He lived long in Sicily, and then returned to Athens.

Judging by the events described in the myth, from ancient times people dreamed of conquering the sky. But it was possible only after many millennia.