0:05 in the area that I grew up in brick
0:07 mythology was never something that
0:09 really featured in schools but the first
0:11 story I was taught was that of Icarus
0:13 the boy who flew too close to the Sun
0:15 now in the grander scale of Greek
0:18 mythology occurs has quite a minor role
0:19 but there's no doubt that he's become an
0:21 iconic figure and his stories still told
0:24 and retold to this day it's likely that
0:25 even if your knowledge of Greek
0:27 mythology is limited you would have
0:29 heard the story of Icarus or at least
0:32 know the name today we'll be going over
0:33 the story of Icarus and his father
0:35 Daedalus as we attempt to understand why
0:38 the story has become so popular and what
0:43 exactly it means the story takes us to
0:45 the island of Crete - during the rule of
0:48 King Minos Minos had the problem of
0:50 where he would house the Minotaur as he
0:52 ran rampant through his kingdom to solve
0:54 this issue he enlisted the help of
0:56 Daedalus a master craftsman who had
0:58 previously arrived in Crete after being
1:01 exiled from Athens Daedalus was
1:04 instructed to create a large labyrinth
1:06 that was capable of holding the Minotaur
1:08 Minos was so pleased with Daedalus his
1:11 work that his status and position began
1:13 to grow as he went from a slave to a
1:16 valued member of Minos is Kingdom the
1:18 downfall of Daedalus began with the
1:22 arrival of the Athenian hero Theseus who
1:23 with the help from Minos daughter
1:26 Ariadne and Daedalus himself was able to
1:28 slay the Minotaur and return from the
1:31 labyrinth he then said so back to Athens
1:33 with both of the Kings daughters
1:35 naturally Minos was infuriated by the
1:37 actions of Daedalus and his daughter
1:39 conspiring against him with the
1:41 Athenians but with his daughter gone the
1:44 blame fell solely on Daedalus rather
1:47 than lose his price craftsman Minos
1:49 decided against the execution of
1:51 Daedalus instead he locks both Daedalus
1:53 and his son Icarus away in the labyrinth
1:56 that they created there are some
1:57 variants sources that suggest they were
1:59 locked away in a tower but personally I
2:01 prefer the irony have been locked away
2:03 in a prison that you designed
2:06 having designed the labyrinth Icarus and
2:08 Daedalus were aware that escape for most
2:10 would be impossible but Daedalus was not
2:13 most men and the master craftsman began
2:15 surmising a plan for his son and himself
2:17 to escape aware that they would have to
2:18 leave Crete forever
2:20 Daedalus planned to do so through the
2:22 skies as there would be no chance in
2:25 escaping Minos his Navy
2:27 Daedalus knew that he would have to
2:29 construct a method of flying but this
2:31 was no easy task as a manned flight had
2:34 never been undertaken before it was
2:36 thought that one morning a flock of
2:38 birds flew over the head of Daedalus and
2:41 he was instantly inspired asking Icarus
2:42 to collect all the feathers he could
2:45 just like the birds he had just seen
2:47 Daedalus would build wooden frames in
2:49 the shape of wings when Icarus had
2:51 amassed the required feathers they were
2:55 glued to the wooden frames using hot wax
2:58 once Daedalus had crafted two pairs of
3:01 wings he carefully warned Icarus telling
3:03 him that the wings had many flaws and
3:05 flying too high in the sky would cause
3:07 the wax that he used as glue to melt but
3:10 flying too close to the sea would cause
3:11 the feathers to soak up the excess
3:13 seawater making them too heavy to fly
3:15 the following day
3:17 Icarus and Daedalus decided that they
3:19 would attempt to finally escape crete
3:21 the two left in the air and began
3:24 flapping their wings the invention of
3:26 Daedalus had worked and both hey man
3:28 Icarus soared through the sky as they
3:32 escaped Crete without being noticed the
3:34 further they flew the more Icarus grew
3:37 in confidence but he's confident soon
3:40 turned into overconfidence Icarus was so
3:41 overwhelmed by the feeling of flying
3:43 that he believed he now knew what it
3:45 felt like to be a God and in his
3:48 newfound divinity he disregarded his
3:51 father's warnings he flew higher and
3:53 higher as his father Daedalus could only
3:56 watch him fly closer to the Sun the wax
3:58 on Icarus his wings began to melt and
4:00 the feathers attached to wooden frames
4:03 began to drop off when Icarus had
4:05 finally realized how high he had flown
4:06 it was already too late
4:09 as he began to plummet holding onto his
4:11 bare wooden frame the wings for dear life
4:12 life
4:14 Daedalus could do nothing but watch as
4:17 Icarus plunged into the sea dine upon
4:23 impact the area of water
4:25 Icarus landed would be known as the
4:28 Icarian sea in the island where his body
4:30 washed up upon would also be named eye
4:33 carrier in memory of Icarus in most
4:35 variations of the story after watching
4:38 his son die Daedalus flew to safety
4:40 where King Minos would begin his search
4:42 for the Crossman as he would not let him
4:45 work for anyone else the hero Heracles
4:47 witnessed Icarus his death and having
4:50 recognized him as the son of Daedalus he
4:51 then performed the funeral rites the
4:57 Daedalus could not over the years people
4:59 have taken dozens of meanings and
5:00 Murrells away from the story of Icarus
5:03 on a very basic level the story
5:04 essentially tells us to listen to our
5:07 elders but as we delve deeper the story
5:10 means so much more it highlights the
5:12 carelessness of youth and some of the
5:14 consequences that it may bring we see
5:16 Daedalus in his experience maintain
5:18 level-headed while fly-in
5:20 whereas Icarus is overwhelmed and
5:22 somewhat loses control disregarding
5:24 everything he was told and lead into his
5:27 death you could also see the death of
5:29 Icarus as the God's punishin Daedalus
5:31 and his son in the eyes of the gods
5:34 men were never meant to fly and as an
5:35 attempt to elevate themselves the level
5:38 of the gods Icarus was killed and
5:40 Daedalus faced the lifetime of guilt and
5:43 regret the story teaches us to remain
5:45 level-headed and somewhat warns against
5:47 the pursuit of instant gratification
5:49 Icarus could have listened to his father
5:51 and once they were safe he could have
5:53 experienced his feet in a flying many
5:55 more times but he was unable to see the
5:58 long-term picture only concerned by how
6:00 good it felt now in the present and he
6:02 was punished for doing so the fall of
6:05 Icarus is a tragic but also necessary
6:07 tale of moderation and caution
6:09 hopefully I've been able to shed some
6:11 light on the story that you may have
6:12 heard before and if you enjoyed the
6:14 video then please let me know what you
6:16 thought in the comments below but as
6:19 always I've been your host mythology and
6:21 fiction explain you
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