The myth of Icarus and his father, Daedalus, teaches by its tragedy. Myths reflect subconscious truth power can be a dangerous and potentially fatal commodity for a boy as he transitions from boyhood to manhood. It teaches us about power in our relationship with our fathers. The myth of Icarus is especially relevant to boys of the baby boom (children born after World War II and up until the Vietnam era). Icarus had soared towards the sun, his wax melted and he fell to his death. He peered down at the ocean and saw a small cluster of feathers floating on the water. Daedalus looked around in flight and could not find his son. Drunk with his newfound power, he soared higher in the sky, ignoring his father's warning. Also, like many adolescents, Icarus moved rapidly from ungainliness to false prowess. He found flight awkward at first, but learned quickly and soon flew with the attributes of adolescence-his physical strength made up for his lack of coordination and balance. Like any adolescent boy, Icarus struggled with parental advice. Icarus took off with all intentions of following his father's sage advice. If he flew too low, his wings would get wet in the ocean if he flew too high, the sun would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. Just before their flight, Daedalus warned his son to be careful. In theory, the wings would allow Daedalus and Icarus to fly above the labyrinth and off the island to freedom. Ever the inventor, Daedalus built wings of feathers and wax to escape. Because he was his father's son, Icarus faced the same fate. Sometime after building it, Daedalus fell into disfavor with the king of Crete and was condemned to live the rest of his life inside the labyrinth. Even Daedalus could not find a way out of his maze. He was the son of Daedalus, an accomplished inventor, who produced an ingenious labyrinth on the island of Cnossus for Minos, the king of Crete. He still created the most magnificent sculptures in the whole country - in fact the only ones that bore even a spitting resemblance to human models back in those days.Icarus was a minor character in Greek Mythology, famous for not surviving the transition from boyhood to manhood. There, for many years he continued to develop his art, and again enjoyed the fame and admiration of the locals.

Daedalus managed to escape with their help to the island of Crete, where he won the favour of King Minos. Luckily for him, he was well liked by some of the rich people of Athens, so he didn’t spend much time in prison. But he was caught red handed by the city guards, and swiftly locked up. One day, overwhelmed by anger and envy, he crept up behind Talos, who was watching birds from a tower, and pushed him off.

Talos started gradually gaining fame and praise all over Athens.ĭaedalus feared the glory of his student would overshadow his own. But what made Daedalus so jealous is that his apprentice didn’t need his master’s help. Not only did he create beautiful artworks, but he also invented various tools that improved his craft even more. However, it wasn’t long before Daedalus noticed that Talos was very talented, perhaps even more so than the master craftsman himself. He couldn’t stand when someone was seen as a better artist than him.ĭaedalus had an apprentice whose name was Talos. As skillful as he was, Daedalus was also jealous. Beautiful statues all over the empire had been shaped by the tapping of his chisel as it dug smoothly into stone.

Daedalus, who hailed from Athens, was the greatest artist and most skillful craftsman in all of Ancient Greece.

Icarus and daedalus short story