Who is Icarus in ancient Greece? Character history

A long time ago, in the Greek city of Athens, there lived a wonderful artist. His name was Daedalus. He was a jack of all trades: he painted walls with amazing paintings, sculpted statues, built houses and palaces, and made tools for various crafts. But one day trouble came to the master: for his offense he was threatened with severe punishment, and he was forced to flee from his hometown. Daedalus ended up on the island of Crete. Here the master took up his craft again. It still seemed to people that there were no limits to his art. King Minos of Crete decided not to let Daedalus go. He guarded him like a prisoner.

Daedalus was very homesick and decided to return. Working at night, he made two pairs of large bird wings - for himself and his son Icarus. On the day when the wings were ready, Daedalus rose into the air with their help. He taught Icarus to fly, but before setting off on a long journey, he gave his son an instruction: once in the sky, Icarus should not approach the sun, otherwise the hot rays will melt the wax that holds the wings together.

And here is Daedalus and Icarus in the sky. Smoothly cutting through the air with amazing wings, they flew forward to their sweet homeland. Daedalus flew ahead, followed by Icarus. Soon the fast flight seemed to intoxicate him. Like a strange bird, Icarus soared in the air, enjoying freedom. He wanted to rise higher, even higher. In some joyful impulse, he flew up towards the sun - and at the same moment, scorched by its hot rays, fell down into the dark waters of the stormy sea.

Take a closer look at the map of Greece. You will find the island of Ikaria there. It got its name in memory of Icarus. People remembered the story of the young madman without particularly inquiring whether it was true or fictitious. The reckless courage of Icarus began to be contrasted with dull and joyless prudence, his daring impulse - with reconciliation with bondage and untruth for the sake of peace and external well-being. Icarus sacrificed his life in order to fulfill his bold dream.

Many times you will remember Icarus: you will compare your favorite heroes with him, you will recognize his feat in any great and wonderful undertaking. The flight of Icarus is both a scientist’s bold thought and a line from Pushkin’s poem. But the story of the Greek boy teaches us that it is not so easy to achieve freedom, it is not at all easy to recognize beauty and truth: they must sometimes be obtained at the risk of life.

The myth of Daedalus and Icarus is an ancient Greek legend about the father Daedalus and his son Icarus, which became a symbol for all those who are intoxicated with success, and, as a result, underestimate the real state of affairs. The very expression “flight of Icarus” has become a symbol of risky daring. All of us, when we hear the name of Icarus, we see before us the image of a man who boldly moves towards success, regardless of everything, despite the risks, in his quest he rises above the everyday life.

Daedalus and Icarus summary

The ancient Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus takes us back to ancient times and introduces us to the life of the Athenian architect, famous inventor, draftsman, sculptor Daedalus, as well as his son Icarus. These two images have become an example for most dreamers, and in order to become more familiar with the myth of Ancient Greece about Daedalus and Icarus, we offer a brief summary.

So, the myth of Daedalus and Icarus in brief takes us to Athens, where Daedalus lived, who was known as a sculptor and architect. He made various sculptures, statues, and built beautiful houses. In addition, he was also an inventor who came up with many tools that allowed him to create his own masterpieces. His nephew Talos, who was his student, also worked with Daedalus. Soon Daedalus began to notice how his student was superior to his teacher, so he went on a killing spree, throwing Talus off the Acropolis. But he failed to hide his crime, he was condemned by the Athenians, after which Daedalus fled to the island of Crete.

There he lives under the wing of King Minos, works for him and fulfills his wishes. This is how the famous labyrinth in which the Minotaur lived appeared to the world. Daedalus helped Theseus, who killed the Minotaur, get out of the Labyrinth by giving him a ball of thread. For which he was put in prison with his son. It was in the dungeon that the idea came to use the created wings to fly away from the hands of King Minos. This is how the feathers were collected. Daedalus sealed them with wax. When the four wings were ready, Daedalus and Icarus left the island.

The father warned his son about possible danger, so it was necessary to stay away from the sea and the sun, but Icarus, the son of Daedalus, intoxicated by flight, forgot about all the warnings. He wanted to fly higher and higher until the scorching sun melted the wax. As a consequence, Icarus falls from a bird's eye view and is broken. The body of Daedalus’ son was found by Hercules, who buried the guy on a small island, which later received the name Icaria, and the sea itself was called Icarian.

Daedalus, having mourned his son, reached Sicily, where he lived with King Kokal. When Minos became aware of the location of Daedalus, he began to demand that Kokal return the master, but Kokal did not want to lose such a craftsman. When King Kokal invited Minos to his place, his daughters poured boiling water on the guest, as a result of which Minos died a painful death. Daedalus himself lived for some time in Sicily, and then returned to Athens, where he became the founder of Athenian artists.

As we can see, the legend of Daedalus and Icarus, which appeared in ancient times, indicates that already at that time man was striving to conquer the sky, probably for this reason, it was the invention of wings that became an outstanding event that rose above all his other works. But the myth of Daedalus and Icarus is also a collapsed dream, because the wings that allowed man to fly like a bird became the cause of a terrible tragedy. This was the only flight of father and son that ended tragically.

Daedalus, a descendant of King Erechtheus, lived in Athens; he was a great architect, artist and sculptor of ancient Hellas. He built many beautiful buildings and temples, created many wonderful statues, which were distinguished by such great skill that they were said to move and see. Daedalus invented many tools useful to people.
Daedalus had a nephew, his student Taloe. He was distinguished by even greater talent and skill than Daedalus. As a boy, he invented a saw without the help of his teacher - this idea was prompted by the sight of a fish bone. He invented a compass, a potter's wheel, a chisel and many other useful items.
And so Daedalus, jealous of his gifted student Talos, decided to kill him. One day he threw him off the high Acropolis of Athens. They found out about this, and in order to avoid the punishment that threatened him, Daedalus left his hometown of Athens and fled to the island of Crete, to the power-hungry King Minos, who joyfully accepted the skilled craftsman.
Minos instructed him to build a huge building with many winding, intricate passages for the terrible bull Minotaur.
And there was a Minotaur, half-bull and half-man, with the body of a bull. And so the inventive Daedalus built a huge labyrinth for the monster, consisting of many long underground corridors, from which it was impossible for anyone who did not know them to get back out. King Minos settled his Minotaur here.
But Daedalus soon realized that the king looked at him as his captive, that they were watching him and did not want to let him go, and he wanted to leave Crete and return to his homeland.
One day Daedalus gave a gift to Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, without telling the king about it. For this, the cruel Minos decided to take revenge on the artist.
He ordered Daedalus and his son Icarus to be imprisoned in a terrible labyrinth, but they managed to escape from there. And so Daedalus firmly decided to leave the island of Crete, but it was almost impossible to accomplish this. And then Daedalus thought: “If the sea routes are closed to me, only the free sky remains for me. The evil and greedy Minos can take possession of everything, but not the sky!” And he began to think about how he could rise into the air and master the free elements.
Daedalus thought for a long time, and, carefully observing the flight of the birds, he began to skillfully adjust the bird's feathers one to one, starting from the smallest to the longest, and tied them in the middle with linen threads, and fastened them with wax at the bottom. So he made them look like real big wings, then he gave them a slight bend, which happens when a bird flaps.
The young son of Daedalus, Icarus, closely followed his father’s work and began to help him. When the wings were ready, Daedalus put them on himself and, flapping them like a bird, rose into the air. Icarus began to ask his father to make him the same wings and take him with him in flight. Daedalus made wings for Icarus and began to instruct him before leaving:
- My son, stay in the middle while flying. If you go too low, the waves of the sea can wet your wings and you will drown in the sea, and if you rise too high, the hot sun can scorch them and the wax that holds your wings together will melt. Take your path between the sea and the sun, fly after me.
Having made wings for Icarus, he soon taught him to rise above the ground.
On the day when it was decided to fly from the island of Crete, Daedalus, very early at dawn, attached wings to Icarus, hugged him, kissed him and flew into the air. Icarus flew after him.
Just as a bird, having flown out of the nest for the first time with its chick, looks back, encourages it and shows how it is easier to fly, so Daedalus looked back fearfully at his son Icarus. The fishermen pulling a seine on the seashore looked at them in amazement; shepherds and farmers walking behind the plow wondered if these were gods flying over the fields. And there was already an open sea under Daedalus and Icarus, the islands of Samos, Patmos and Delos, Lebintus and Kalymna remained behind them, and the shores of Hellas were already visible in the distance. Many people marveled at the brave balloonists. Icarus began to fly more boldly and, forgetting about his father’s advice, rose high to the sky to refresh his chest in the cold ether. But the hot sun melted the wax that held the feathers on the wings together, they fell apart and hung on Icarus’s shoulders.
In vain the unfortunate young man stretched out his hands to his father, the air no longer held him, and now Icarus quickly falls into the sea. In fright, he only managed to shout his father’s name and drowned in the raging waves. Daedalus looked around, hearing his son’s cry, but he looked for him in vain. - Icarus, where are you? - Daedalus shouted for a long time. But only feathers floated on the sea waves. Del landed on the nearest island, and for a long time he wandered, sad, along the seashore. Soon the body of Icarus was washed ashore by the waves.
Daedalus buried his beloved son, and from that time on the island was called Ikaria, and the sea in which Icarus drowned was named Icarian in memory of him.
Delal headed his way from Ikaria to Sicily and was warmly received there by King Kokal. He did a lot of wonderful work for him and his daughters: he built a beautiful palace on a high rock, built a deep cave in which he installed underground heating, erected a temple to Aphrodite and made a golden honeycomb for it so skillfully that it seemed they were filled with real transparent honey . Minos, trying to find Daedalus, came up with a trick. He announced that he would give a big reward to anyone who could thread a thread through the winding shell. Kokal, seduced by the reward, entrusted Daedalus with this task. A skilled craftsman tied a thread to the ant's leg, and the ant pulled it through the shell. Kokal informed Minos about this, and he then guessed that Daedalus was with Kokal. Then Minos arrived on warships in Sicily to bring Daedalus back to him. But the daughters of the Sicilian king, who loved Delal, decided to destroy the evil Minos: they prepared a warm bath for him and, while he was sitting in it, poured boiling water over him.
Having lost his son, Daedalus was no longer happy from that time on. Having done a lot of wonderful things for people, he lived to a very sad old age and died, according to some legends, in Sicily, and according to others - in Athens, where he left behind the glorious family of Daedalids, that is, the descendants of Daedalus.

Myths and legends of ancient Greece. Illustrations.

On this page you can read one of the myths of Ancient Greece - Daedalus and Icarus. Many works have been created based on this myth. Here are presented 2 versions of the text - as presented by Vera Vasilievna Smirnova (1898 - 1977) - a Russian Soviet writer, and as presented by Nikolai Albertovich Kun (1877 - 1940) - a Russian historian, writer, teacher and author of the popular book “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece” 1922. Select the presentation option that interests you and read its contents.

The ancient Greek myth “Daedalus and Icarus” as presented by Smirnova V.V.

Excerpt from the book: Smirnova V. Daedalus and Icarus // Heroes of Hellas
Moscow "Children's Literature", 1971

In those distant times, when people still had neither tools nor machines, the great artist Daedalus lived in Athens. He was the first to teach the Greeks how to build beautiful buildings. Before him, artists did not know how to depict people in motion and made statues that looked like swaddled dolls with closed eyes. Daedalus began to carve magnificent statues from marble depicting people in motion.

For his work, Daedalus himself invented and made tools and taught people how to use them. He taught building builders how to test, with a stone on a string, whether they were laying walls correctly.

Daedalus had a nephew. He helped the artist in the workshop and learned the arts from him. One day, while examining the fins of a fish, he hit upon the idea of ​​making a saw; invented a compass to draw a perfect circle; cut a circle out of wood, made it rotate and began to sculpt pottery on it - pots, jugs and round bowls.

One day Daedalus and a young man climbed to the top of the Acropolis to look at the beauty of the city from above. Lost in thought, the young man stepped on the very edge of the cliff, could not resist, fell from the mountain and crashed.

The Athenians blamed Daedalus for the boy's death. Daedalus had to flee from Athens. On the ship he reached the island of Crete and appeared to the Cretan king Minos.

Minos was glad that fate had brought him the famous Athenian builder and artist. The king gave Daedalus shelter and forced him to work for himself. Daedalus built him a Labyrinth, where there were so many rooms and the passages were so intricate that anyone who entered there could no longer find the exit on their own.

The remains of this magnificent structure are still shown on the island of Crete.

Daedalus lived for a long time as a prisoner with King Minos on a foreign island in the middle of the sea. He often sat on the seashore, looking towards his native land, remembering his beautiful city and feeling sad. Many years had already passed, and probably no one remembered what he was accused of. But Daedalus knew that Minos would never let him go and not a single ship sailing from Crete would dare to take him with them, for fear of persecution. And yet Daedalus constantly thought about returning.

One day, sitting by the sea, he raised his eyes to the wide sky and thought: “There is no way for me by sea, but the sky is open for me. Who can stop me on the air route? Birds cut the air with their wings and fly wherever they want. Is a man worse than a bird?

And he wanted to make himself wings to fly away from captivity. He began collecting feathers from large birds, skillfully tying them with strong linen threads and fastening them with wax. Soon he made four wings - two for himself and two for his son Icarus, who lived with him in Crete. The wings were attached crosswise to the chest and arms using a sling.

And then the day came when Daedalus tried his wings, put them on and, smoothly waving his arms, rose above the ground. The wings kept him in the air, and he directed his flight in the direction he wanted.

Going down, he put wings on his son and taught him to fly.

- Wave your arms calmly and evenly, do not go too low to the waves so as not to wet your wings, and do not rise high so that the rays of the sun do not scorch you. Follow me. - This is what he said to Icarus.

And so early in the morning they flew away from the island of Crete.

Only fishermen in the sea and shepherds in the meadow saw them fly away, but they also thought that these were winged gods flying over the earth. And now the rocky island was far behind them, and the sea spread wide beneath them.

The day was heating up, the sun rose high, and its rays burned more and more.

Daedalus flew carefully, staying closer to the surface of the sea and timidly looked back at his son.

And Icarus liked free flight. He cut the air faster and faster with his wings, and he wanted to rise high, high, higher than the swallows, higher than the lark itself, which sings, looking straight into the face of the sun. And at that moment, when his father was not looking at him, Icarus rose high up, towards the very sun.

Under the hot rays, the wax that held the wings together melted, the feathers disintegrated and scattered around. It was in vain that Icarus waved his arms; nothing could hold him up anymore. He fell rapidly, fell and disappeared into the depths of the sea.

Daedalus looked around and did not see his flying son in the blue sky. He looked at the sea - only white feathers floated on the waves.

In despair, Daedalus landed on the first island he encountered, broke his wings and cursed his art, which had destroyed his son.

But people remembered this first flight, and since then the dream of conquering the air, of spacious heavenly roads, has lived in their souls.

The ancient Greek myth “Daedalus and Icarus” as presented by Kuhn N.A.

The myth is presented by N.A. Kuhn based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses".

The greatest artist, sculptor and architect of Athens was Daedalus, a descendant of Erechtheus. It was said about him that he carved such marvelous statues from snow-white marble that they seemed alive; the statues of Daedalus seemed to be looking and moving.

Daedalus invented many tools for his work; he invented the ax and the drill.

The fame of Daedalus spread far and wide. This great artist had a nephew Tal, the son of his sister Perdika. Tal was his uncle's student. Already in his early youth he amazed everyone with his talent and ingenuity. It was foreseeable that Tal would far surpass his teacher. Daedalus was jealous of his nephew and decided to kill him. One day Daedalus stood with his nephew on the high Acropolis of Athens at the very edge of the cliff.

There was no one visible around. Seeing that they were alone, Daedalus pushed his nephew off the cliff. The artist was sure that his crime would go unpunished. Tal fell to his death from a cliff. Daedalus hastily descended from the Acropolis, picked up Tal's body and wanted to secretly bury it in the ground, but the Athenians caught Daedalus when he was digging a grave. The crime of Daedalus was revealed. The Areopagus sentenced him to death.

Fleeing from death, Daedalus fled to Crete to the powerful king Minos, the son of Zeus and Europa.

Minos willingly accepted the great artist of Greece under his protection. Daedalus made many wonderful works of art for the king of Crete. He also built for him the famous Labyrinth Palace, with such intricate passages that once entering it, it was impossible to find a way out.

In this palace, Minos imprisoned the son of his wife Pasiphae, the terrible Minotaur, a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull.

Daedalus lived with Minos for many years. The king did not want to let him go from Crete; only he wanted to use the art of the great artist. Minos held Daedalus as a prisoner in Crete. Daedalus thought for a long time about how to escape, and finally found a way to free himself from Cretan captivity.

“If I cannot,” exclaimed Daedalus, “escape from the power of Minos either by land or by sea, then the sky is open for escape!” This is my way! Minos owns everything, only he does not own the air!

Daedalus set to work. He collected feathers, fastened them with linen threads and wax, and began to make four large wings from them. While Daedalus was working, his son Icarus played near his father: either he caught fluff that flew up from the breeze, or he crumpled wax in his hands. The boy frolicked carelessly, amused by his father’s work. Finally, Daedalus finished his work; the wings were ready.

Daedalus tied the wings behind his back, threaded his hands into the loops attached to the wings, waved them and smoothly rose into the air. Icarus looked in amazement at his father, who was soaring in the air like a huge bird. Daedalus descended to earth and said to his son:

- Listen, Icarus, now we will fly away from Crete. Be careful while flying. Don't go too low to the sea so that the salty spray of the waves doesn't wet your wings. Don't get too close to the sun: the heat can melt the wax and the feathers will fly away. Fly with me, don't lag behind me.

Father and son put wings on their hands and easily flew away. Those who saw their flight high above the earth thought that these were two gods rushing across the azure sky. Daedalus often turned around to watch his son fly. They have already passed the islands of Delos and Paros and are flying further and further.

The fast flight amuses Icarus; he flaps his wings more and more boldly. Icarus forgot his father's instructions; he no longer flies after him. Flapping his wings forcefully, he flew high into the sky, closer to the radiant sun. The scorching rays melted the wax that held the feathers of the wings together, the feathers fell out and scattered far through the air, driven by the wind. Icarus waved his hands, but there were no more wings on them. He fell headlong from a terrible height into the sea and died in its waves.

Daedalus turned around and looked around. No Icarus. He began to call his son loudly:

- Icarus! Icarus! Where are you? Respond!

No answer. Daedalus saw feathers from the wings of Icarus on the sea waves and understood what had happened. How Daedalus hated his art, how he hated the day when he decided to escape from Crete by air!

And the body of Icarus rushed for a long time on the waves of the sea, which began to be called after the name of the deceased Icarian. Finally the waves washed him to the shore of the island; Hercules found him there and buried him.

Daedalus continued his flight and finally arrived in Sicily.

There he settled with King Kokal. Minos found out where the artist had hidden, went with a large army to Sicily and demanded that Kokal give him Daedalus.

Kokal's daughters did not want to lose an artist like Daedalus. They came up with a trick. They persuaded the father to agree to Minos’ demands and accept him as a guest in the palace.

While Minos was taking a bath, the daughters of Cocalus poured a cauldron of boiling water on his head; Minos died in terrible agony. Daedalus lived in Sicily for a long time. He spent the last years of his life at home, in Athens; there he became the ancestor of the Daedalids, a glorious family of Athenian artists.

1 Part of the Aegean Sea between the islands of Samos, Paros and the coast of Asia Minor.

A long time ago, in the Greek city of Athens, there lived a wonderful sculptor, artist, builder and inventor. His name was Daedalus. Let's talk about the legend of Daedalus and Icarus.

He was a jack of all trades. Daedalus painted walls with amazing paintings, sculpted statues, built houses and palaces, and made tools for various crafts.

The statues and works of Daedalus looked like they were alive, and so people tied them to prevent them from escaping; the horses neighed in front of his paintings, as if they recognized their living brothers in them; people showed him almost divine honors.

However, for all his genius, he was not without human weaknesses. So, when the great master realized that his nephew Taloe was even more gifted, out of envy he killed him by throwing him off a cliff.

Fleeing a death sentence, he decided to flee his hometown. After some time, he and his son Icarus reached the island of Crete. Here the master took up his craft again. Once again people believed in the boundless power of his art.

King Minos of Crete decided not to let Daedalus go. He guarded him like a prisoner. He was very homesick and dreamed of returning. Working at night, he made two pairs of large bird wings - for himself and his son.

On the day when the wings were ready, he rose into the air with their help. He taught his son to fly too. But before setting off on a long journey, he gave his son an instruction: once in the sky, Icarus should not approach the Sun, otherwise the hot rays will melt the wax that holds the wings together.

And here they are in the sky. Smoothly cutting through the air with amazing wings, they flew forward to their beloved homeland. Daedalus flew ahead, followed by his son. Soon the fast flight seemed to intoxicate the young man.

Like a strange bird, the son soared in the air, enjoying freedom. He wanted to rise higher, even higher.

In some joyful impulse, he flew up towards the Sun - and at the same moment, scorched by its hot rays, fell down into the dark waters of the stormy sea.

On the map of modern Greece you can find the island of Ikaria. It got its name in memory of this great inventor. People remembered the story of the young madman, without particularly inquiring whether it was reliable or not. Here is a small legend and story about Daedalus and Icarus.

Flight of Icarus

1. This is not only a person’s dream of rising into the sky, but also a contrast between the dream of dull prudence, reconciliation with bondage, and external well-being.
2. 500 years ago, the first sketches of flying machines appeared in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
3. 250 years ago, Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was engaged in drawings and construction of flying machines.
4. 200 years ago, the Montgolfier brothers' balloon, rising into the sky, fulfilled mankind's cherished dream - to fly like a bird.
5. 150 years ago the first controlled airships appeared in the sky.
6. 100 years ago the English Channel was crossed by air; a flight was made across the Alps; flight speed reached 200 km per hour; flight altitude - 2,000 m.
7. Regular civil aviation lines opened 80 years ago.
8. 55 years ago Chkalov flew over the North Pole.
9. 50 years ago jet aviation was born.
10. 35 years ago, the TU-104 ushered in the era of passenger jet aviation.