Daedalus and Icarus read the myth online. Why is the legend of Icarus interpreted in a completely different way than the ancient Greek myth? Creating a mailing list - why is it needed

The dream of flying originated in man in ancient times. The desire to fly like a bird is reflected in ancient legends and myths. Over time, there have been attempts to realize this idea. The path to it seemed to be obvious - one should make large wings out of twigs and linen or feathers and, imitating the movements of birds, rise into the air. But in reality, everything was not so simple. On such "wings" the experimenters could not fly and often paid for their courage with their lives.

Legend of Icarus.

The greatest artist, sculptor and architect of Athens was Daedalus, a descendant of Erhetheus. It was said that he carved such marvelous statues from snow-white marble that they seemed alive; the statues of Daedalus seemed to be watching and moving. Daedalus invented many tools for his work, he invented an ax and a drill. The glory of Daedalus went far.
This artist had a nephew Tal, the son of his sister Perdika. Tal, was a student of his uncle. Already in his early youth, he amazed everyone with his talent and ingenuity. It could be foreseen that Tal would far surpass his teacher. Daedalus was jealous of his nephew and decided to kill him. Once Daedalus stood with his nephew on the high Athenian Acropolis at the very edge of the cliff. Nobody was around. Seeing that they were alone, Daedalus pushed his nephew off the cliff. The artist was sure that his crime would go unpunished. Falling from a cliff, Tal crashed to death. Daedalus hastily descended from the Acropolis, raised the body of Tal and already 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 mighty king Minos, the son of Zeus and Europe. Minos willingly took him under his protection. Many marvelous works of art were made by Daedalus for the king of Crete. He also built for him the famous palace of the Labyrinth 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 from Crete did not want to let him go, only he wanted to use the art of the great artist. As if a prisoner was held by Minos Daedalus in Crete. Daedalus thought for a long time how to escape him, and finally found a way to free himself from Cretan bondage. “If I cannot,” exclaimed Daedalus, “be saved from the power of Minos either by land or by sea, then the sky is open for flight! Here is my way! Minos owns everything, only he does not own the air!
Daedalus set to work. He collected feathers, fastened them with linen thread and wax, and began to make four large wings from them. While Daedalus worked, his son Icarus played near his father: either he caught fluff, which flew up from the breath of the breeze, or crumpled wax in his hands. Finally Daedalus finished his work: the wings were ready. Daedalus tied the wings to his back, put his hands through the loops attached to the wings, waved them and smoothly rose into the air. Icarus looked in amazement at his father, who soared 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. Do not go too low to the sea, so that the salt spray of the waves does not wet your wings. Do not rise even close to the sun: the heat can melt the wax, and the feathers will scatter. Follow me, keep up with me.
The father and son put wings on their hands and easily rose into the air. Those who saw them flying high above the earth thought that these were two gods rushing through the azure sky. Daedalus often turned around to see how his son was flying. They have already passed the islands of Delos, Paros, and are flying farther and farther.
A quick flight amuses Icarus, he flaps his wings more and more boldly. Icarus has forgotten his father's instructions, he does not fly after him. Strongly flapping his wings, Icarus flew high into the sky, closer to the radiant sun. The scorching rays melted the wax that held the feathers together, they fell out and scattered far through the air, driven by the wind. Icarus waved his hands, but there are no more wings on them. Headlong he fell from a terrible height into the sea and died in its waves. Daedalus turned around, looks around. No Icarus. Loudly he began to call his son:
— 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 planned to escape from Crete by air!
And the body of Icarus for a long time rushed along the waves of the sea, which became known by the name of the deceased Ikarian. Finally, the waves nailed the body of Icarus to the shore of the island, where Hercules found him and buried him. Daedalus continued his flight and finally flew to 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.
The daughters of Kokal did not want to lose such an artist as Daedalus. They persuaded their father to agree to the demands of Minos and accept him as a guest in the palace. When Minos was taking a bath, the daughters of Kokal poured a cauldron of boiling water over his head; Minos died in terrible agony. Daedalus lived for a long time in Sicily. He spent the last years of his life at home, in Athens; there he became the ancestor of the Daedalides, a glorious family of Athenian artists.

The Athenian Daedalus, the son of Mecius, was the most skillful man of his time; he was at the same time a builder, and a sculptor, and a stone carver. In every city there were works made by his hand; his statues were said to live.

He had a nephew named Tal, whom he initiated into his arts and who showed even greater ability than his teacher. Almost as a child, he invented the potter's machine, made the first snake tooth saw, and many other tools, all on his own, without the slightest help from teachers. Thus, even in his youth, he acquired great fame, which made him proud and arrogant.

Daedalus became more and more jealous of his pupil; he was afraid of being outdone. Envy took possession of him so much that one evening, when no one was there, he pushed the boy off the city wall.

But when he wanted to bury the corpse, he suddenly felt embarrassed and afraid that he might be suspected of murder. He immediately fled to the island of Crete, where he received an advantageous position as an artist from King Minos. The king offered him to build for the Minotaur, a creature that had the body of a bull and at the same time looked like a man, a dwelling in which it would be hidden from the eyes of people.

The resourceful Daedalus built a labyrinth consisting of a whole network of intricate, winding corridors in which the eye was lost, and the traveler, getting into them, went astray. All these corridors led either forward or backward, so there was almost no way out. Inside this building, the Minotaur was supposed to settle.

The food for the monster was seven young men and seven beautiful girls, whom the Athenians had to give every nine years to the king of Crete for sacrifice. But Daedalus was frightened by these victims. It was hard for the cheerful artist to stay on this lonely island, in the middle of the sea, with a strict wayward king, and he strove to return to his homeland. His resourceful mind soon found a way to escape.

“True, Minos surrounded me with the sea,” he exclaimed, “but the air is still beyond his control, so I will subdue the air!

With indefatigable diligence, he began to bind all kinds of bird feathers, starting with the shortest ones and gradually attaching longer ones to them, so that it seemed that they were real wings. He fastened the feathers in the middle with linen laces, and from below with wax, then he made a barely noticeable bend.

Daedalus had a young son, Icarus, who followed his father's work with curiosity. Then he himself began to help him. After everything was finished, Daedalus attached wings to his body and easily, like a bird, took off into the air. When he again descended to earth, his son began to insistently ask him to make the same wings for him and take him with him on air travel. Daedalus was angry at first, but then gave in and soon prepared new wings for his son.

Hear what I tell you, my son,” he then turned to the boy, “fly carefully, because if you go too low, your wings may get wet in the sea water and you will fall into the waves. But you must also beware of the sun and not fly too high, as its rays can melt the wax that holds the wings together. Fly between the sea and the sun, right behind me and carefully follow my flight.

With such instructions he equipped his son, but his hand trembled when he attached the wings, and a heavy tear rolled down from his eyes.

Both of them took off into the air. At first everything went great. The islands of Samos, Delos and Paros were far behind them, and the coast of Greece was already visible in the distance ... Suddenly, Icarus, encouraged by a safe journey, lagged behind his caring father and teacher, and alone courageously headed up.

The close sun melted the wax that held the wings together with its hot rays; disintegrated, they hung helplessly on the boy's shoulders, and could no longer resist the wind, and the unfortunate man swiftly flew down. He wanted to call out to his father; but the waves had already swallowed him up... When Daedalus turned around, he did not see his son. In vain he called him, no one answered.

Finally, he took a careful look at the ground. And suddenly he noticed the wings of his son on the crests of the sea waves. He immediately descended to the ground and wandered for a long time along the seashore, looking for the boy. Soon the waves threw his corpse on the shore of the island, on which his father buried him, naming him Ikaria, in memory of his son.

So fate avenged the murdered Tal. After Daedalus buried his son, he flew to Sicily. Here he was hospitably received by King Kokal. Many generations later pointed to the beautiful lake he built, from which flowed a large and wide river. And on a high rock, where not a single tree could hold, he built a castle, to which a beautiful winding road, artfully carved between the stones, led. Kokal chose this corner as his seat and repository of his treasures.

The third work of Daedalus was a deep cave in which he arranged underground heating.
In addition, he erected a temple to Aphrodite and dedicated to the goddess golden honeycombs, so well made that they seemed to be filled with real honey.

When Minos learned that the builder Daedalus had fled to Sicily, he decided to go after him with a whole army and bring him back. He crossed the sea and sent messengers from the shore to the king with a proposal to extradite the fugitive.
Kokal pretended to accept the offer of the Cretan king and invited him to his castle.

Minos came and was received with great cordiality. Since he was very tired going up the steep road, a warm bath was offered to him. But while he sat in it, the water was gradually heated up until he suffocated from the heat.

The corpse of the king was handed over to the retinue with the explanation that the king, having fallen, choked in hot water. Kokal buried him with great honors, and an open temple of Aphrodite was built over his grave near Agrigent by the hand of Daedalus.

Throughout his life, Daedalus remained with Kokal, and many famous masters were brought up under his guidance. But since the death of his son, he was never happy again, and, despite the fact that with his works he made the country cheerful and beautiful, he himself lived out his old age in sorrow. He was buried in Sicily.

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 of such great skill that they were said to be moving and seeing. Daedalus invented many tools useful for people.
Daedalus had a nephew, his disciple Taloe. He was distinguished by even greater talent and skill than Daedalus. As a boy, he invented the saw without the help of his teacher - this idea prompted him to look at a fish bone. He invented compasses, potter's wheel, chisel and many other useful items.
And so Daedalus, jealous of his gifted student Talos, decided to kill him. Once he threw him from the high Athenian Acropolis. They learned 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 for the terrible bull Minotaur with many winding, intricate passages.
And there was a Minotaur half-bull-half-man, he had a body of a bull. And so the inventive Daedalus built a huge labyrinth for the monster, consisting of many long underground corridors, from where it was impossible for anyone who did not know them to get back. This is where King Minos settled his Minotaur.
But Daedalus soon realized that the king was looking at him as his prisoner, that they were watching him and did not want to let him go, but he wanted to leave Crete and return to his homeland.
Once Daedalus presented 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 to conclude Daedalus, along with his son Icarus, 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 do 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 over everything, but not the sky! And he began to think about how he could rise into the air and master the free element.
Daedalus thought for a long time, and, carefully watching the flight of birds, he began to skillfully fit the bird 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 with the wingspan of birds.
The young son of Daedalus, Icarus, closely followed the work of his father and began to help him. When the wings were ready, Daedalus put them on and, waving them like a bird, rose into the air. Icarus began to ask his father to make the same wings for him and take him on a flight with him. Daedalus made wings for Icarus and began to instruct him before departure:
- My son, hold on, flying, the middle. If you go too low, the waves of the sea can wet your wings and you will drown in the sea, but if you rise high, the hot sun can scorch them and the wax that holds the wings together will melt. Keep 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, early at dawn, attached wings to Icarus, hugged him, kissed him and flew into the air. Icarus followed him.
As a bird that has flown out of its nest for the first time with its chick looks back, encourages it and points out how easier it is to fly, so Daedalus looked back timidly at his son Icarus. The fishermen looked at them in amazement, pulling a net on the seashore; the shepherds and farmers, who followed the plow, wondered if it was the gods flying over the fields. And there was already an open sea under Daedalus and Icarus, the islands of Samos, Patmos and Delos, Lebint and Kalymna remained behind them, and the shores of Hellas were already visible in the distance. Many people marveled at the brave aeronauts. Icarus began to fly bolder and, forgetting 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 fastened the feathers on the wings, they fell apart and hung on the shoulders of Icarus.
In vain, the unfortunate young man stretched out his hands to his father, the air no longer held him, and now Icarus is rapidly falling into the sea. In fright, he only managed to shout the name of his father and drowned in the raging waves. Daedalus looked around, hearing the cry of his son, but he looked for him in vain. - Icarus, where are you? Daedalus shouted for a long time. But only feathers floated on the waves of the sea. Delal 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 that Ikaria began to be called, and the sea in which Icarus drowned was named Ikarian in memory of him.
Directed his way Delal from Ikaria to Sicily and was there cordially received by King Kokal. He did many wonderful works for him and his daughters: he built a beautiful palace on a high rock, built a deep cave in which he arranged underground heating, erected a temple to Aphrodite and made golden honeycombs for him 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 whoever could thread a thread through a winding shell. Kokal, seduced by the reward, instructed Daedalus to complete this task. A skilled craftsman tied a thread to the ant's leg, and the ant pulled it through the shell. Kokal reported this to Minos, and he then guessed that Daedalus was at Kokal. Then Minos arrived in warships in Sicily to bring Daedalus back to him. But the daughters of the Sicilian king, who loved Delalus, 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 from that time on was no longer happy. 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 after him there was a glorious family of Daedalides, that is, the descendants of Daedalus.

Myths and legends of ancient Greece. Illustrations.

Once upon a time there lived the most skilled man of his time - a wonderful artist, builder, sculptor, stone carver, inventor. His name was Daedalus.

His paintings, statues, houses, palaces adorned Athens and other cities of Ancient Greece. He made amazing tools for various crafts. Daedalus had a nephew who already in his youth showed the makings of an even more skilled craftsman. The young man could overshadow the glory of Daedalus, and he pushed the young rival off the cliff, for which he was expelled from Athens.

Minos kept Daedalus in Crete as a prisoner. And Daedalus was very homesick and decided to return. The king was sure that he would not allow Minos to leave the island by sea. And then Daedalus thought that the air was not subject to Minos and decided to subjugate the air.

Secretly from Minos, he made wings for himself and his son. When the wings were ready, Daedalus attached them behind his back and took to the air. He also taught Icarus to fly.

It was possible to take a long flight. But before embarking on a long journey, he instructed his son: once in the sky, Icarus should not fly too low, otherwise the wings will get wet in the sea water, and he may fall into the waves, but he should not fly too high, since the rays the sun can melt the wax that holds the wings together.

Daedalus flew ahead, followed by Icarus. The rapid flight seemed to intoxicate him. Icarus hovered in the air, enjoying freedom. He forgot about his father's order and rose higher and higher. Icarus got too close to the sun, and its hot rays melted the wax that held the wings together. The broken wings hung helplessly on the boy's shoulders, and he fell into the sea.

In vain did Daedalus call his son, no one answered. And the wings of Icarus swayed on the waves.

Later, people began to contrast the reckless courage of Icarus with cowardly and joyless prudence.

And here is what is said about these events in the poem of the ancient Roman poet Ovid "Metamlrfosa".

Retelling by Georg Stoll

A descendant of Erechtheus, Daedalus, the greatest artist of antiquity, became famous for his wonderful works. The rumor spread far and wide about the many beautiful temples and other buildings he built, about his statues, which were so alive that they spoke of them as if they were moving and seeing. The statues of the former artists looked like mummies: the legs were moved one to the other, the arms were tightly attached to the torso, the eyes were closed. Daedalus opened the eyes of his statues, gave them movement and untied their hands. The same artist invented many tools useful for his art, such as: an ax, a drill, a spirit level. Daedalus had a nephew and student Tal, who promised to surpass his uncle with his ingenuity and genius; as a boy, without the help of a teacher, he invented a saw, the idea of ​​which led him to a fish bone; then he invented the compass, chisel, potter's wheel and much more. With all this, he aroused hatred and envy in his uncle, and Daedalus killed his student, throwing him off the Athenian cliff of the acropolis. The case was announced, and in order to avoid execution, Daedalus had to flee from his homeland. He fled to the island of Crete, to the king of the city of Kloss Minos, who received him with open arms and entrusted him with many artistic works. By the way, Daedalus built a huge building, with many winding and intricate passages, in which they kept the terrible Minotaur.

Although Minos was friendly with the artist, Daedalus soon noticed that the king looked at him as his prisoner and, wanting to get as much benefit from his art as possible, did not want to ever let him go home. As soon as Daedalus saw that they were watching him and guarding her, the bitter lot of the exile became even more painful for him, love for the motherland awakened in him with double strength; he decided to escape by any means.

“Let the water and dry paths be closed to me,” Daedalus thought, “the sky is in front of me, the air path is in my hands. Minos can take over everything, but not the sky. So Daedalus thought and began to think about a hitherto unknown subject. Skillfully he began to fit pen to pen, starting with the smallest; in the middle he tied them with threads, and at the bottom he blinded them with wax and gave the wings composed in this way a slight bend.

While Daedalus was busy with his work, his son Icarus stood by him and interfered with his work in every possible way. Now, laughing, he ran after the feathers flying in the air, then crushed the yellow wax with which the artist stuck the feathers one to another. Having made wings, Daedalus put them on himself and, waving them, rose into the air. He also worked a couple of small wings for his son Icarus and, handing them over, gave him the following instruction: “Keep in the middle, my son; if you go too low, the waves will wet your wings, and if you go too high, the sun will scorch them. Between the sun and the sea choose the middle path, follow me. And so he attached wings to his son's shoulders and taught him to rise above the earth.

Giving these instructions to Icarus, the elder could not refrain from tears; his hands were trembling. Touched, he hugged his son for the last time, kissed him and flew away, and his son followed him. Like a bird that has flown out of its nest for the first time with its cub, Daedalus looks timidly at his companion; encourages him, shows him how to wield wings. Soon they rose high above the sea, and at first everything went well. Many people marveled at these air swimmers. The fisherman, throwing his flexible fishing rod, the shepherd, leaning on his staff, the farmer - on the handle of the plow, looked at them and thought if these were the gods floating through the ether. Already behind them lay a wide sea, on the left were the islands: Samos, Patnos and Delos, on the right - Lebint and Kalymna. Encouraged by good luck, Icarus began to fly more boldly; left his guide and rose high to the sky to wash his chest in pure ether. But near the sun, the wax melted, blinding the wings, and they fell apart. The unfortunate youth in despair stretches out his hands to his father, but the air no longer holds him, and Icarus falls into the deep sea. In fright, he barely had time to shout out the name of his father, as the greedy waves already swallowed him up. The father, frightened by his desperate cry, looks around in vain, waits in vain for his son - his son lay down. “Icarus, Icarus,” he shouts, “where are you, where can I look for you?” But then he saw feathers carried by the waves, and everything became clear to him. In desperation, Daedalus descends to the nearest island and there, cursing his art, he wanders until the waves wash Icarus' corpse ashore. He buried the boy here, and since then the island has become known as Ikaria, and the sea that swallowed him up - Ikarian.

From Ikaria, Daedalus directed his path to the island of Sicily. There he was cordially received by King Kokal, and he performed many works of art for this king and for his daughters.

Minos found out where the artist settled, and with a large military fleet arrived in Sicily to claim the fugitive. But the daughters of Kokal, who loved Daedalus for his art, treacherously killed Minos: they prepared a warm bath for him and, while he was sitting in it, heated the water so that Minos would not come out of it. Daedalus died in Sicily or, according to the Athenians, in his homeland, in Athens, where the glorious family of Daedalides considers him to be their ancestor.

Daedalus was the famous sculptor of Athens, and his nephew Tal inherited the skill of his uncle and surpassed him in the art of architecture. Daedalus became jealous of Tal and decided to get rid of him by pushing his nephew off a cliff. Having committed the murder, Daedalus hastened to bury the body of the unfortunate man, but the Athenians caught him doing this, and Delalus was sentenced to death for what he had done.

Fleeing from retribution, Daedalus found himself with King Minos of Crete, who gladly gave shelter to the great sculptor. Daedalus built such a palace for Minos, the Labyrinth, that entering it, it was impossible to find a way out. In this palace, Minos settled the Minotaur, a monster with a bull's head and a human body.

The cunning Minos did not let Daedalus go anywhere to use his talent alone. Daedalus was weary of such dependence and decided to flee from Minos through the air.

From feathers with the help of wax, Daedalus made four huge wings.

When the work was completed, Daedalus turned to his son Icarus:

- We're leaving with you. You must not go low to the sea, so as not to wet your feathers, and do not rise high, so that the wax does not melt and the feathers fly apart. Fly only for me.

Daedalus with his son Icarus in the photo and pictures above:

Putting on their wings, they flew. Having passed the islands of Delos and Paros, Icarus grew bolder and stopped following his father. Rapidly flapping his wings, Icarus rose to the very heights, to the Sun. And what happened was what his father had warned him about. The wax that held the feathers together melted, the feathers scattered, and Icarus fell into the depths of the sea and died.

The fall of Icarus in the photo below:

When Daedalus turned around, he saw feathers on the waves of the sea and realized that his son was no more, Daedalus cursed his talent and the day when he decided to escape from Crete with the help of wings.

The sea in which Icarus died was later called the Icarian.

The myth of Daedalus and Icarus shows the desire of people to take possession not only of land and water routes of movement, but also to conquer the airspace.