Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus was the greatest engineer in all the Mediterranean.
King Minos of Crete was the greatest king in all the Mediterranean, but he had a big problem. He had disrespected Neptune, the god of the oceans, and, in return, the angry god had given him a monster for a son: The flesh-eating Minotaur, with the head of a bull and the body of a man.
Minos had to find a safe place to keep this dangerous monster, and so he sent for Daedalus.
By the time the wise old engineer arrived on the island with his son, Icarus, he had figured out a solution to the king's problem: A great stone maze, the Labyrinth, that would act as the monster’s home.
The people of Crete would be safe because the Minotaur would never be able to find his way out. And the Minotaur would be safe, because nobody could ever find his way in.
When the Labyrinth was completed, it was everything Daedalus had promised, and everything Minos had wished for.
In fact, as far as the king could see, there was only one security flaw in his new building: Daedalus.
In his bed at night, Minos lay awake and worried. Daedalus had designed the Labyrinth; that meant he knew its complicated twists and turns. Daedalus could betray Minos and give away the secrets of the maze.
Daedalus assured King Minos that even he could not find his way in and out of the Labyrinth, but the king did not trust his word.
He had Daedalus and Icarus put into the Labyrinth. If Daedalus knew the way out, he reasoned, the guards at the doors would capture him before he could escape. And if he truly could not find his way out, well, so much the better.
And so Daedalus and his son took up their residence in the maze, and Daedalus truly could not find a way through the twists and turns of the Labyrinth. But that did not mean he couldn’t find a way to escape from the king’s trap.
He studied the birds of the air as they flew over the Labyrinth, and he began to gather their feathers. Fortunately for him, he had been imprisoned with all his tools and the materials he had used to build models of the Labyrinth.
And so, alone with his son in the maze, Daedalus began to plan his escape.
Over several months, he carefully built two sets of enormous wings, with harnesses, one set made to his measurements, the other designed just for Icarus. And he covered the wings with feathers, held in place by bees wax.
As the project took shape, young Icarus became more excited. He watched the seagulls each day as they whirled and glided overhead, and imagined himself flying among them.
His father sometimes saw him standing, gazing up at the birds, and once again would say, “This is not a game, my son. It is serious business. If I thought we could live here, I would never risk our lives like this.”
Icarus would nod, and promise his father to take their escape seriously. But then he would see another bird soar high overhead, and his thoughts would soar with it.
Finally, the day came when Daedalus put the final touches on the two great pairs of wings and climbed with them to the top of the Labyrinth’s walls.
He slipped into his own harness, helped Icarus into his, and then fastened all the straps tightly.
“Listen carefully,” he warned his son. “Follow me closely, because I have charted a course that will take us to safety.
“And, as you follow me, do not fly too high,” the old man went on, “for the sun is hot and will melt the wax that holds the feathers to your wings. But do not fly too low, or the moist air of the ocean will gather on your wings and make them too heavy to fly.”
They stepped from the wall, opening their wings, and the wind carried them upwards. Daedalus steadily moved his arms to keep the great wings flapping at the right speed.
But when he looked back, his eyes filled with horror. Icarus was flying in circles, looking first at the ground below and then up to the clouds above. Daedalus called to him, but the boy paid no attention.
Then, as his father watched helplessly, Icarus began to climb higher and higher into the air, laughing and circling joyously. And as the boy flew closer to the sun, Daedalus saw what his son did not: One feather after another, floating in the air behind him, as the wax melted and the wings began to fall apart.
At last, Icarus felt the change in his wings, but it was too late. A great cloud of feathers came off in the middle of the blue sky and the boy plunged down, down into the wine-dark sea that bears his name to this day.
And a sad old man slowly flew on to safety. When he finally landed, Daedalus built a temple to Apollo and put on its altar the great wings that he would never have the heart to fly with again.
The Melting Point of Wax by Thrice
Icarus' (Son) Point of View
I've waited for this moment
All my life and more
And now I see so clearly
What I could not see before.
The time is now or never
This chance won't come again
Throw caution and myself to the wind.
There's no promise of safety with these secondhand wings
But I'm willing to find out what impossible means.
A leap of faith.
Parody of an angel
Miles above the sea
I hear the voice of reason
Screaming up to me
"You flew too high, for now you're too close to the sun
Soon your makeshift wings will come undone"
But how will I know limits from life if I never try?
There's no promise of safety with these secondhand wings
But I'm willing to find out what impossible means.
Climb to the heavens on feathers and dreams
Because the melting point of wax means nothing to me.
Nothing to me
Nothing to me
I will touch the sun or I will die trying.
Die trying.
Fly on these secondhand wings
Willing to find out what impossible means
Climb to the heavens on feathers and dreams
Because the melting point of wax means nothing to me
Nothing to me
Means nothing to me
Miles above the sea.
Daedalus by Thrice
Daedalus' (Father) Point of View
I stand on the cliffs with my son next to me
This island our prison, our home
And everyday we look out at the sea
This place is all he's ever known
But I've got a plan and some wax and some string; some feathers I stole from the birds
So we leap from the cliff and we hear the wind sing a song thats too perfect for words
But son, please keep a steady wing
And know your the only one that means anything to me
Steer clear of the sun, or you'll find yourself in the sea
Now safely away, I let out a cry
"We'll make the mainland by noon"
But Icarus climbs higher still in the sky
Maybe I've spoken too soon
But son, please keep a steady wing
And know your the only one that means anything to me
Steer clear of the sun, or you'll find yourself in the sea
Won't you look at your wings
They're coming undone
They're splitting at the seams
Steer clear of the sun, for once wont you listen to me?
Oh Gods!
Why is this happening to me?
All I wanted was new life for my son to grow up free
And now you took the only thing that meant anything to me
I'll never fly again, I'll hang up my wings
Oh Gods!
Why is this happening to me?
All I wanted was new life for my son to grow up free
And now you took the only thing that meant anything to me
I'll never fly again, I'll hang up my wings
Oh Gods!
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