Daedalus and Icarus
Δαίδαλος καὶ Ἴκαρος
Ovid tells how Daedalus builds wings to escape Crete with Icarus, warns his son against extremes, and watches him fall after the Sun softens the wax.
Daedalus turns feathers, thread, and wax into a route through the air when land and sea are closed to him. His instructions demand a middle course between water and burning sky.
The version summarized here is Roman poet Ovid’s influential telling of Greek figures. It is labeled accordingly rather than presented as a single original or universally fixed Greek form.
Optional reflection
Remember this story?
From daedalus and icarus
What material softens during Icarus’s flight?
Follow the thread
Connected lore
Curated relationships invite comparison without implying that distinct traditions are the same.
Sources & citations
Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. Brookes More (Boston: Cornhill Publishing Co., 1922). Book 8.
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