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.
在古希腊神话中, 代达罗斯之子伊卡洛斯, 用蜡与羽毛做的翅膀飞越克里特岛, 藐视了人类与自然法则。 他无视父亲的警告,飞向高空, 在看到他的人的眼中,他像神一样, 他向下俯视的时候,也觉得自己如神一般。 但是,在古希腊神话中, 人与神之间界线分明, 试图越界的凡人会受到严厉的惩罚。 伊卡洛斯和代达罗斯就是一个例子。 在伊卡洛斯出生前多年, 他的父亲代达罗斯在他的家乡雅典, 被尊为天才创造家,工匠, 和雕刻家。 他发明了木工手艺和其需要的工具。 他设计了世界上第一个浴室,和第一个舞池。 他雕刻的雕塑让人栩栩如生, 让大力神误以为那是个真人。 尽管代达罗斯技术高明且声誉卓著, 但是他却是一个自我主义又善妒的人。 代达罗斯担心他的外甥比他更出色, 于是代达罗斯杀害了他。 作为惩罚,代达罗斯被驱逐出雅典, 前往克里特岛。 出于他以前显著的名声, 代达罗斯受到了国王米诺斯的欢迎。 在那里,他成为了宫廷技术顾问, 代达罗斯做着不断地突破。 他为国王的孩子们制造了 一个个活灵活现的机械玩具。 他发明了船帆和桅杆,使人们能够操纵风。 他的每一个发明都缩短了人与神之间的距离, 直到最后,他直接穿过了那条界线。 米诺斯国王的妻子帕西淮, 被海神波塞冬诅咒, 与国王的公牛坠入爱河。 在法术的影响下, 她请求代达罗斯帮助她勾引公牛。 出于代达罗斯大胆的性格,他应允了。 他造了一个空心的木牛以假乱真, 公牛被他造的木牛所愚弄。 帕西淮藏在木牛里, 她怀孕并生下了一个人身牛头怪。 这显然激怒了国王, 他指责代达罗斯扭曲了自然法则。 代达罗斯被迫在牛头人身怪的宫殿下 建造一个无法逃脱的迷宫作为惩罚。 完工之后,米诺斯国王关押了代达罗斯 和他的独子伊卡洛斯 在岛上最高的塔里, 并打算让他们在那度过余生。 但是代达罗斯依旧还是一个天才发明家。 他在囚牢里观察周围的鸟的时候, 他找到了逃脱的办法。 他和伊卡洛斯能够飞出监狱, 像只有鸟和神能做到的那样。 他用在塔上栖息的鸟群的羽毛 和蜡烛的蜡, 他造了两对巨大的羽翼。 在他给他的儿子伊卡洛斯绑上翅膀的时候, 代达罗斯警告了他: 你如果飞得太低,羽翼会碰到海水, 羽翼沾湿了就会变得过于沉重。 要是飞得太高, 翅膀上的蜡就会融化,翅膀就会碎裂。 不论是在哪种情况下,他们都会死。 因此,逃脱的关键在于保持在半空中飞行。 在指令清晰以后,二人从塔上跃下。 他们是世上首个能够飞翔的凡人。 当代达罗斯小心翼翼在半空中飞行的时候, 伊卡洛斯因为能够飞行而感到狂喜, 且被自己有如上帝一般的力量的感觉所压倒。 代达罗斯只能恐惧地看着伊卡洛斯越飞越高, 却无法改变他可悲的命运。 当太阳的热量融化他翅膀上的蜡时, 伊卡洛斯从高空坠落。 就像代达罗斯屡次无视 违抗自然法则的后果, 伊卡洛斯也被他的傲慢自大而冲昏头脑。 最后, 二人都为自己的行为付出了代价, 伊卡洛斯的代价是他的生命, 而代达罗斯的代价是永恒的懊悔。