Icarus is most famed for his tale of perishing through force of the sun after flying too close with his wax wings. Notably, Icarus was the son of Daedalus the Greek inventor. The father would be central in understanding Icarus’ downfall. Daedalus had built the Labyrinth for King Minos in Crete. Said Labyrinth was created under the King’s order to contain the Minotaur in a complex prison.
The Minotaur was a figure whose existence was made secret to the inhabitants of Crete. This was due to the fact that the King’s wife had given birth to the creature. Poseidon had sent King Minos a white bull to sacrifice but the King ended up keeping the bull. As punishment, Poseidon had King Minos' wife, Pasiphae, fall in love with the bull. The end result was Pasiphae asking Daedalus to build her a contraception that would allow her to mate with the bull.
Therefore, by Daedalus becoming aware of the prisoner and their origin, the King had sentenced him and his family to a separate prison. Forcibly being held to not expose the Minotaur, Daedalus thought on how to escape his confinement. He landed on leaving through the sky, Daedalus collected the feathers of birds and held them together through wax.
Two pairs of wings were created, one for him and the other for Icarus. Unfortunately for Icarus, the boy had flown much too close to the sun resulting in melted wings. With no method of flying now, Icarus plummeted into the ocean beneath and drowned. The body was washed ashore onto a new land, for this the island was named Icaria in commemoration.
Shattered to the core by his son’s death, Daedalus had to escape nonetheless. The father sought shelter in Sicily where he was provided protection by daughters of King Cocalus. Yet, still enraged that Daedalus had escaped him with a grave secret, King Minos pursued him to Sicily. King Minos was then killed by the daughters of King Cocalus.
References:
“Icarus | Greek mythology | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Icarus-Greek-mythology. Accessed 11 April 2022.
Ancarola, Gabi. “The Tragic Story of the Fall of Icarus.” GreekReporter.com, 1 October 2021, https://greekreporter.com/2021/10/01/the-tragic-story-of-the-fall-of-icarus/. Accessed 11 April 2022.
“Minotaur | Definition, Story, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Minotaur. Accessed 11 April 2022.