Daedalus and Icarus This is one of the most renowned stories in Greek mythology. By Telle

            Daedalus, who had Icarus as a son, was one of the famed characters in Greek mythology. He invented a number of things but was famous for his convoluted brainchild: the labyrinth wherein the monster known as minotaur was imprisoned. But when an Athenean hero that went by the name of Theseus outsmarted them by killing the hideous monster, the Minotuar, King Minos threw both of them into the maze.

            They were held captive by the maze that they created. There was no way out. The land, the sea, they were all guarded. But out thought struck Daedalus’s mind: King Minos could have conquered the earth and the sea but the sky remained unscathed. And through it they would escape. The idea came when one time, Icarus, a fellow as great as his father, watched the seagull roamed the skies. The birds enjoyed a freedom no one can take away from them.

            So, they gathered every feather they could get, every rope they could weave, every wax they could find and engineered an escape so brilliant about which they themselves felt a little boastful. When the wings were done, they tried it on, a little sloppy at first, as every beginners are, until they perfected the skills no one had done before.

            Daedalus, as triumphant at his slyness, told Icarus the great leap they were giving mankind but warned the youth not to fly to near to the sun. The wings were of feathers and wax and the sun could become their greatest enemy thus far.

            Until the time of flight came. Wing wings at their back, they rode the wings of feather and wax up the saline air, towards the liberation that a selfish king took away from them. Into the greater unknown they flew. They were exultant for the achievement. They were conquerors of the skies. Those whose feet were touching the ground thought they were gods, immortals. But they were the kings for a moment.

            It proved that the greatest enemy lay within for a foe unseen slowly devoured Icarus’s heart. He felt pride from freedom and superiority. They were gods… gods for a fleeting moment. Icarus got his warnings but he transgressed. To the sun he flew, mocking the human attributes that he and his father overcame.

            Daedalus warned him but his cries fell on deaf ears. He flew up, higher than the clouds, feeling the air on his face when the wax melted away. The wings disintegrated. Death’s torrential waves waited below and into it he dove. That was his ocean grave.

            Daedalus, though heartbroken carried on, with a bleeding heart for a lost child towards the freedom he should have shared with his son