Ikarus Fritz Neuböck

In Greek mythology Icarus (“Íkaros” in Greek) was the son of Daedalus (“Daidalos” in Greek). As punishment for Ariadne’s thread (a process for solving problems), both men were imprisoned by King Minos in the labyrinth of the Minotaur on the isle of Crete. Since Minos controlled all navigation on the sea, Daedalus made wings for his son and himself. To that end, he attached feathers with wax to a pipe. Before they started their flight, he impressed upon his son the importance of not flying too high or too low, otherwise the heat of the sun or the moisture of the sea would make them crash. At first things went smoothly, but once they had flown over the isles of Samos and Delos and the isle of Lebinthos, Icarus became reckless and climbed so high that the sun melted the wax of his wings. The feathers fell apart and he crashed into the sea and drowned. Daedalus was desperate but finally arrived in Sicily. He called the land near the place where Icarus fell into the ocean Icaria, in memory of his child. He built a temple for Apollo and hung his wings there as a sacrifice. The myth of Icarus is usually explained this way: the fall and death of the reckless is a punishment by the Gods for their impertinent challenge of the sun. According to Ovid, the Gods let Icarus die because Daedalus had murdered his nephew and pupil Perdix, whom he envied.