Icarus

For other uses, see Icarus (disambiguation). Íkaros redirects here; for other uses, see Ikaros.

Icarus and Daedalus by Frederic Leighton

The Fall of Icarus (detail), by Pieter Brueghel, 1558: Icarus is seen flailing in the water, but is ignored

Daedalus launches Icarus off the ledge.

Icarus (Greek: Ἴκαρος, Latin: Íkaros, Etruscan: Vicare) is a character in Greek Mythology. He is the son of Daedalus and is commonly known for his attempt to escape Crete by flight, which failed and fell to his death.

Escape from Crete

Icarus' father, Daedalus who was a talented artist attempted to escape from his exile in Crete, where he and his son were imprisoned at the hands of King Minos, the king for whom he had built the Labyrinth. Daedalus, the master craftsman, was exiled because it was he who built the faux cow for the queen to climb into such that she could copulate with the bull. The result of this coupling was the Minotaur, who grew to become violent and dangerous, so had to be imprisoned in the Labyrinth.

Daedalus fashioned a pair of wax wings for himself and his son. Before they took off from the island, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea. Overcome by the sublime feeling that flying gave him, Icarus soared through the sky joyfully, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted his wings. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms. And so, Icarus fell into the sea in the area which bears his name, the Icarian Sea near Icaria, an island southwest of Samos.

Hellenistic writers who provided philosophical underpinnings to the myth also preferred more realistic variants, in which the escape from Crete was actually by boat, provided by Pasiphaë, for which Daedalus invented the first sails, to outstrip Minos' pursuing galleys, and that Icarus fell overboard en route to Sicily and drowned. Heracles erected a tomb for him.

References in classical work

Icarus' flight was routinely alluded to by Greek poets in passing, but was told in a nutshell in Pseudo-Apollodorus, (Epitome of the Biblioteca) (i.11 and ii.6.3). Latin poets read the myth more philosophically, often linking Icarus analogically to artists. In the fifteenth century Ovid became the source for the myth as it was rediscovered and transformed as a vehicle for heroic audacity and the poet's own aspirations, by Renaissance poets like Jacopo Sannazaro and Ariosto, as well as in Spain.

Modern cultural references

• The film Heavyweights mentions the tale of Icarus but says how Icarus carried a burning some burning ball. This clearly is not the story i know
• In the 4th (and final) logo used by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment from 1997 to 1999, the logo is an Icarus who flies from a high mountainous area on an ominous-looking background.
• In Thrice's "Melting Point of Wax" off of their album The Artist in the Ambulance, the lyrics use the story of Icarus in a different fashion than the original, using it as an example of aiming high in your goals ("I will touch the sun or I will die trying.") The band later revisits the story on their album The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV, this time telling the story from Daedalus' point of view, the lyrics speaking of the troubles and worries of parenthood.
• In the Fullmetal Alchemist manga, Edward Elric compares himself and his brother, Alphonse Elric, to Icarus. They believe that they committed a sin by acting as God when they tried to resurrect their mother, Trisha Elric.
• Icarus has been alluded to in the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.
• A book in Canada about Richard Bronfman was printed, entitled "The Icarus Factor".
• There is a reference to Icarus in DJ Flutlicht's "The Fall".
• Joni Mitchell's song Amelia includes a verse comparing Amelia Earhart to Icarus in the lines "She was swallowed by the sky/or by the sea/like me, she had a dream to fly/like Icarus ascending/on beautiful foolish arms..."
• Blinded by American band Third Eye Blind. "Icarus is not a tee shirt or a swan song, no he is born again"
• Phish refer to Icarus in their song "The Squirming Coil": "I'd like to lick the coil some day, like Icarus, who had to pay, with melting wax and feathers brown, he tasted it on his way down."
• Wipeout 3, Wipeout Pure, Wipeout Pulse, and the upcoming Wipeout HD all contain the team Icaras, which is one of the top-tier ships in speed, rivaled only by Piranha Advancements. The Icaras motto is Flying High, a clear reference to Icarus of yore.
• Sunshine Science Fiction film made in 2007. The Spacecrafts were named "Icarus 1" and "Icarus 2".
• The band Counting Crows mentions Icarus in their song "Insignificant" on the album Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
• The metal band Emperor recorded a song entitled "An Elegy of Icaros" on their third album, IX Equilibrium, based on the legend.
• A track on The Aviator soundtrack is called "Icarus".
• Metal band Iron Maiden also recorded a song based on the legend, entitled "Flight of Icarus"; it appears on their album Piece of Mind.
• Cirque du Soleil has a running show called Varekai, which tells the story of Icarus' doings after he finds him self deserted on an island.
• Regina Spektor's song Lacrimosa says "Hi, I'm Icarus, I'm falling down"
• "Kid Icarus" is the name of a 1986-released Nintendo game starring a character named Pit, a young angel.
• Adam Guettel's song cycle Saturn Returns (released on CD as Myths and Hymns) includes a song called "Icarus," recounting the myth.
• Icarus is portrayed in the ps2 game god of war 2 as gone slightly mad trying to reach the sisters of fate
• "Ikarus" is the name of a song by the band Unheailig that portrays the story of Icarus. "I spread my wings and fly away, I pray for nature and catch the wind, but I won't break the agreement with the sun."
• Icarus is the main inspiration for the song The Horizon by Roman Rhodes 2005. Upcoming in the new album The Emergent Sea, Roman Rhodes and the Born Again Pagans.
• In the role-playing game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, there are a set of scrolls found on the body of a Bosmer who falls from the sky (dying on impact), called "Icarian Flight" which increase the player's jumping ability dramatically, allowing "flight" - however the magic does not last long enough to safely land.
• The band Jars of Clay sings a song on their debut album called "Worlds Apart" in which the singer compares himself to Icarus.
• "Icarus Armor" is the name of an enhancement armor Dr. Light built for X in the game Mega Man X8/Rockman X8 by Capcom.
• Epik High song "Icarus Walks" (Pieces, Part One album)
• Icarus was the name of the satellite in Moonraker Elite.
• The band Alesana has a song titled Icarus as the first song on their album On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax ("Black engulfs the dying light as he falls, on frail wings of vanity and wax.") The album title itself is a reference to Icarus as well.
• In the manga Air Gear the character Sora Takeuchi was firstly compared to Icarus.
• Brett Dennen has a song "So long Sweet MIsery" that has a verse dedicated to Icarus. "Springtime came again and Icarus fell, I flew past the numb lip nuns who'd never tell, The secrets of the sailors and their seven year spell, I will not fall nor will my wings ever melt"
• In the video game series F.E.A.R, many refrences are made to "Project Icarus", a program to give soldiers quick reflex and flight abilities.

See also

• Ovid
• Musée des Beaux Arts (poem)
• Metamorphoses (poem)

References

• Graves, Robert, (1955) 1960. The Greek Myths, section 92 passim
• Smith, William, ed. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
• Pinsent, J. (1982). Greek Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books.
• Joyce, James "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" : Stephen Dedalus

External links

• Daedalus et Icarus - original Latin text by Ovid (text starts about halfway down the page)
• Daedalus and Icarus - English prose translation of Ovid