I find Greek Mythology so fascinating. Recently, while reading through my notes, I came upon the tale of Icarus. This picture here is a picture depicting Icarus's fall into the sea. You may be able to see his leg sticking out of the water below the boat. I find it strange that no one in the painting saw Icarus fall from the sky or that no one heard the splash and no one jumped in to save him. Well the picture isn't really the point of this entry. I just like the painting a lot. Now, to the tale of Icarus.
The tale begins with his father Daedalus. Daedalus was a famous architect, inventor, and master craftsman. He created many objects that figure prominently in various myths. Among his inventions and creations were the wooden cow he constructed for the queen Pasiphae, the Labyrinth of the Minotaur at Knossos, and the artificial wings for himself and his son Icarus. After being cast out of Athens, Daedalus fled to the island of Crete, where he began to work at the court of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae, in the magnificent palace of Knossos. When the Minotaur was born of the Queen, Daedalus built the Labyrinth to contain the monstrous half-man, half-bull. For years King Minos demanded a tribute of youths from Athens to feed the creature. Eventually, the hero Theseus came to Crete to attempt to slay the Minotaur. Ariadne, daughter of Minos and Pasiphae, fell in love with Theseus and asked Daedalus to help him. Daedalus gave her a flaxen thread for Theseus to tie to the door of the Labyrinth as he entered, and by which he could find his way out after killing the monster. Theseus succeeded, and escaped Crete with Ariadne. Minos, enraged at the loss of his daughter, not to mention the killing of the Minotaur, shut Daedalus and his son Icarus into the Labyrinth. Of course Daedalus managed to get out of the Labyrinth because he had built it and knew his way around. Daedalus decided that he and his son Icarus had to leave Crete and get away from Minos. However, Minos controlled the sea around Crete and there was no route of escape there. Daedalus realized that the only way out was by air. To escape, Daedalus built wings for himself and Icarus, fashioned with feathers held together with wax. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, as it would melt his wings, and not too close to the sea, as it would dampen them and make it hard to fly. They successfully flew from Crete, but Icarus grew exhilarated by the thrill of flying and got careless. Flying too close to the sun god Helios, the wax holding together his wings melted from the heat and he fell to his death, drowning in the sea.
The tale of Icarus is a rather tragic one yet it happens to everyone. No nearly as drastic as our drowning in the sea but sometimes we get too caught up in things of the world and we get so preoccupied with these worldly prizes that it comes back to hurt us. We fly too high and the sun casts us down into the depths of the sea. However, there is hope. We have our own Daedalus in a way. Whether he comes in the form of friends, family, church leaders, or the spirit, Daedalus is the master craftsman. These people in our lives know more and are more experienced. They know we'll want to fly higher and they also know that if we do then the wings will melt. I guess the moral of the story is heed the wise words of Daedalus. Doing so will save you much grief and pain and ease your burdens.
Comments
Post a Comment