In mythological ancient Greece, soaring above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nature. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and higher. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient Greece, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cross it was severe. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was highly regarded as a genius inventor, craftsman, and sculptor in his homeland of Athens. He invented carpentry and all the tools used for it. He designed the first bathhouse and the first dance floor. He made sculptures so lifelike that Hercules mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and celebrated, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. Worried that his nephew was a more skillful craftsman, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his storied reputation, Daedalus was welcomed with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace technical advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alive. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans control over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus challenged human limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's prized bull. Under this spell, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With characteristic audacity, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a hollow wooden cow so realistic that it fooled the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible perversion of natural law. As punishment, Daedalus was forced to construct an inescapable labyrinth beneath the palace for the minotaur. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus and his only son Icarus within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a genius inventor. While observing the birds that circled his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their prison as only birds or gods could do. Using feathers from the flocks that perched on the tower, and the wax from candles, Daedalus constructed two pairs of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flying too near the ocean would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they surely would die. Therefore, the key to their escape would be in keeping to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first mortals ever to fly. While Daedalus stayed carefully to the midway course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus ascended higher and higher, powerless to change his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun melted the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of defying the natural laws of mortal men in the service of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their departure from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.
Prema mitologiji antičke Grčke, lebdeći iznad Krita krilima napravljenim od voska i perja, Ikar, Dedalov sin je prkosio i ljudskim i zakonima prirode. Ignorišući upozorenja njegovog oca, uzdizao se sve više i više. Za svedoke na zemlji izgledao je poput boga, a dok je piljio odozgo na dole, i osećao se poput boga. Međutim, u mitovima antičke Grčke, linija koja je razdvajala boga od čoveka je bila apsolutna, a kazna za smrtnike koji su pokušali da je pređu je bila ozbiljna. Takav je bio slučaj sa Ikarom i Dedalom. Godinama pre Ikarovog rođenja, njegov otac Dedal je bio visoko cenjen kao genijalan izumitelj, zanatlija i skulptor u svojoj domovini Atini. Izumeo je stolarstvo i sve alate koji se u njemu koriste. Dizajnirao je prvo kupatilo i prvi plesni podijum. Pravio je toliko živopisne skulpture da ih je Herkul mešao sa pravim ljudima. Iako je bio vešt i slavan, Dedal je bio sebičan i ljubomoran. Iz zabrinutosti da je njegov nećak veštiji zanatlija, Dedal ga je ubio. Za kaznu, Dedal je prognan iz Atine i probio se do Krita. Kako je imao basnoslavnu reputaciju, Dedala je dočekao otvorenih ruku kralj Krita, Minoj. Tu, vršeći službu tehničkog savetnika u palati, Dedal je nastavio da pomera granice. Kraljevoj deci je pravio mehanički animirane igračke koje su delovale živo. Izumeo je jedra i jarbol za brodove, koji su dali ljudima kontrolu nad vetrom. Svakim delom, Dedal je izazivao ljudska ograničenja, koja su do tad odvajala smrtnike od bogova, dok je naposletku potpuno prekoračio granicu. Ženu kralja Minoja, Pasifeu, prokleo je bog Posejdon da se zaljubi u kraljevog cenjenog bika. Pod činima, zatražila je od Dedala da joj pomogne da zavede bika. Pristao je svojstvenom odvažnošću. Dedal je konstruisao šuplju drvenu kravu, toliko realistično da je zavarao bika. Kako se Pasifea skrivala unutar Dedalovog dela, zatrudnila je i rodila polučoveka-polubika, minotaura. Ovo je naravno razbesnelo kralja koji je krivio Dedala jer je dozvolio tako užasno izopačenje prirodnog zakona. Za kaznu, Dedal je bio primoran da konstruiše lavirint bez izlaza ispod palate za minotaura. Kada je dovršen, Minoj je zarobio Dedala i njegovog sina jedinca Ikara unutar najvišeg tornja na ostrvu gde je trebalo da budu do kraja njihovih života. Međutim, Dedal je ipak bio genijalan izumitelj. Posmatrajući ptice koje su kružile oko njegovog zatvora, način za beg je postao očigledan. On i Ikar će da odlete iz zatvora, kako samo ptice i bogovi mogu. Koristeći perje od jata koja su sletala na toranj i vosak od sveća, Dedal je sagradio dva para džinovskih krila. Dok je vezivao krila na njegovog sina Ikara, upozorio ga je: let suviše blizu okeanu će da skvasi krila i zbog toga će da budu suviše teška za upotrebu. Zbog leta suviše blizu suncu, toplota će da otopi vosak i krila će da se raspadnu. U oba slučaja će zasigurno da umru. Stoga je ključ za njihov beg bio u držanju u sredini. Pojasnivši uputstva, oba čoveka su skočila sa tornja. Bili su prvi smrtnici koji su leteli. Dok se Dedal pažljivo držao srednje putanje, Ikara je preplavila ekstaza letenja i savladalo ga je osećanje božanske moći koje je išlo uz let. Dedal je samo sa užasom mogao da gleda Ikara kako se uzdiže više i više, nemoćan da promeni sinovljevu kobnu sudbinu. Kada je toplota sunca otopila vosak na njegovim krilima, Ikar je pao s neba. Baš kao što je Dedal mnogo puta ignorisao posledice prkošenja prirodnim zakonima smrtnika, robujući svome egu, Ikara je takođe zaneo sopstveni hubris. Naposletku, oba čoveka su skupo platila svoje odvajanje od staze umerenosti, Ikar životom, a Dedal svojim kajanjem.