Daedalus & Icarus    

Once upon a time in anitquity King Minos ruled the island of Crete.

On Crete lived the greatest inventor of ancient times. His name was Daedalus.

On this island he lived with his son Icarus.

Daedalus was famous for his craftsmanship and his inventions.

Daedalus had built the famous labyrinth/maze in which theMinotaur, a terrible beast, was kept.

King Minos was afraid of the great wisdom of Daedalus. He thought that Daedalus would overthrow him.

Because of this fear the king imprisoned Daedalus and his son in a lonely stone tower.

From a little window in this tower Daedalus and Icarus could see the blue ocean.

They spent hours watching the birds which flew back and forth.

Sometimes they used to see a ship sailing toward distant lands.

One dark night Daedalus opened the locks of the tower and he and his son escaped.

They could not escape from the island of Crete because the king's soldiers were watching every departing ship.

Father and son had to hide in a cave on the seashore.

While they were watching the birds Daedalus thought of a way by which they could escape.

One day Icarus with a rock killed a bird which he brought to his father.

Daedalus studied the arrangement of the wings.

Icarus caught birds whose feathers he plucked.

Daedalus put wax on the feathers, stuck them together,and so made large wings.

These wings were very similar to the wings of birds, but much larger.

Daedalus attached a wing to each arm and taught the boy how to fly.

After he practiced flying for some time, Daedalus believed that the time had come when they had to escape from Crete.

He told his son, "Do not fly too low because the waves would weigh down the wings.

He also told his son, "Do not fly too high because the sun is going to melt the wax of the wings."

Then Daedalus rose into the air and Icarus followed him.

Shepherds, looking up at them, thought that gods were flying.

Icarus stayed close behind his father.

Soon forgetting his father's warning, Icarus flew high in the sky.

The heat of the sun began to melt the wax holding together the feathers of the wings.

Thus the feathers began to come apart. Therefore there vas not enough left with which he could collect the breezes.

Icarus called his father in vain. Finally he fell down into the sea and drowned.

Thereafter this part of the Agean Sea was called the Icarian Sea.

Daedalus turned around and wished to help his son.

He was too late. The feathers floating on the sea indicated that Icarus had been drowned.

Heartbroken, he flew to the island of Sicily where he built a temple of Apollo.

He hung up his wings in the temple as an offering to Apollo and he never flew again.