I is for Icarus

The story of Icarus is one of my favourite myths.
Hans Bol [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Daedalus and his son Icarus had been imprisoned in the Labyrinth (which Daedalus built himself) by King Minos of Crete, because Daedalus gave Ariadne the string which saved Theseus. Daedalus created a pair of wings each for himself and his son to enable their escape. The wings were made from wax and feathers, and Daedalus warned Icarus of the dangers of flying too close to the sun and the sea before they left.

Once Icarus began flying, however, he became so giddy with the feeling that he forgot his father’s warnings. He soared high into the sky, and the sun melted the wax holding the feathers in place. He plummeted to the sea and drowned. 

The area which he apparently fell in is called the Icarian Sea, near an island called Icaria. 

Comments

  1. Outcast10 April 2013 at 10:29

    I remember hearing this myth and finding it extremely interesting, real shame that he didn't heed his warnings because that ability would still be awesome nowadays.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rob Z Tobor10 April 2013 at 11:22

    I do stuff Like this all the time.... Well Done Miss Laura not so far to Z now (sort of).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cathrina Constantine10 April 2013 at 13:08

    Good Post. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown10 April 2013 at 13:45

    Someone just told me this story the other day, and I had to look read it for myself. Fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nick Wilford10 April 2013 at 14:02

    I guess it means, freedom is great, but you also have to take responsibility about things.

    ReplyDelete
  6. S. L. Hennessy10 April 2013 at 14:24

    How have I been missing your A to Z posts? Uncool. And soon to be rectified. This is an AWESOME theme. And I love the story of Icarus. It's so tragic and interesting at the same time. It's one of my very favorite greek myths.

    ReplyDelete
  7. wsbhark10 April 2013 at 15:39

    I love how imaginative the Greek Myths are. Enjoyed your post.

    Nice to meet you through the A to Z!

    ReplyDelete
  8. MadelineAnn10 April 2013 at 15:55

    Lovely to see these stories nice and short! I am fascinated by the Minoan culture, and love the way the Greeks turned Knossos into a maze, when in fact it was just an architectural style that had no corridors, so every room opened off another room. I had fun in my novel, writing about Ancient Crete, and making up a religion for them!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Unknown10 April 2013 at 16:49

    I've actually heard this story before! I think it was when we covered ancient Greece in history when I was in grade school. I think the Greek myths are absolutely fascinating.

    What a fun theme for your A-Z posts! Well done! :)

    Jaimie
    Living in the Light
    A to Z Ambassador

    ReplyDelete
  10. jaybird10 April 2013 at 18:03

    Nice I post!

    ReplyDelete
  11. SK Anthony10 April 2013 at 18:06

    Another one I didn't hear of before! I'm enjoying this theme so much ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mark Means10 April 2013 at 18:59

    I've always liked this story because it reminds us not to overstep our reach.

    Left and Write

    ReplyDelete
  13. M10 April 2013 at 19:04

    Loving your A-Z theme! I recently read this story to my daughter.

    ~MPL
    http://pepperwords.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bevimus10 April 2013 at 21:31

    I could swear I saw an animated version of this story at some point... or claymation? One of those.

    ReplyDelete
  15. c.b.10 April 2013 at 23:00

    I remember being fascinated by the story of Icarus when I was a child. It's still a great story and I love it's message.

    Happy A to Zing! :-)

    http://cbwentworth.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Li11 April 2013 at 00:26

    One of my favorite myths too! I did a flash fiction last year which featured Icarus' mother :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Daily Bern11 April 2013 at 01:22

    I found out about this tale from the God Of War game. It is a cool myth.

    ReplyDelete
  18. M11 April 2013 at 04:52

    I hadn't heard of this before...I will have to read more now :)
    Happy A-Z1

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous11 April 2013 at 14:13

    Learnt this when I was a child!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo
Read more

IWSG

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I'
Read more

A is for Arachne and Arlee!

Before I get to my Greek Mythology part of this post, at the request of Alex J. Cavanaugh  (great idea by the way, Alex!), I'd first like to thank Arlee Bird for coming up with the challenge in the first place. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be taking part in this amazing experience every year. Thanks, Arlee! This is one of my favourite tales from Greek mythology, so naturally I chose it for my first letter. Arachne was the daughter of a shepherd, and was famous for the beautiful tapestries she weaved. Nymphs would travel from all over to see her work, and to watch her weave. One day, a nymph asked her if her talent was a gift from the goddess Athena. Arachne protested, saying her skill was all her own, and that her weaving was better than Athena's. Athena heard of this, and challenged the girl to a weaving contest. Both sat at their looms and began to weave, nymphs gathering round to watch. Athena weaved a tapestry based on the glories of the gods, showing the
Read more