Icarus

Summary  The story of Icarus and his father Daedalus is one of many myths portrayed in the epic poem Metomorphoses, written by Roman author Ovid in 1700 or 1800 B.C.E. Imprisoned in his own labrynth by the Cretian king Minos, master inventor Daedalus fastens together feathers using wax and string to create wings that he and his son Icarus may escape with. Daedalus warns his prideful son that flying too close to the waves will dampen the feathers, and flying too high may cause them to melt from the sun's heat. However after their escape from Crete, Icarus is overcome with joy and confidence in his freedom and climbs higher towards the sun. The rays melt his artificial wings and he falls to his death in the sea below. Upon seeing the destroyed wings floating in the water, Deadalus realizes that his son has drowned, and buries him on a nearby island. The island is then called Icaria, and the sea, the Icarian Sea, after the man who met his fate there. ﻿Examples from Pop Culture and Modern Society Music: Queen – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Song, No-One But You Joni Mitchell – AmeliaIron Maiden – Flight of Icarus Literature & Comics: The Underland Chronicles, by Suzanne Collins – In the third book, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, Icarus is the name of a bat that dies right after its seen in the series. X-Men comic – Joshua Guthrie’s, or Jay’s codename is Icarus in the series; he has wings, rapid healing, and the ability to mimic sound. Theatre & Film: James Bond movie, Die Another Day – The light reflecting satellite in the film, referred to as a second sun, is named Icarus. Planet of the Apes – The name of the space ship that takes all the main characters; Heston, Franciscus, etc., to the future Earth, is named Icarus.Cirque du Soleil – Part of the Cirque is a show titled, Varekai, in which there is a continuation of Icarus’s story. The show relates to Icarus’s adventures after he washed ashore on a deserted island. Other: - [] - []

Place in Literature Dante Alighieri's poem //Divine Comedy (Inferno)//: Alluded to evince Dante's fear as he falls from air into the eighth circle of hell // Henry VI Part 1 Act IV, Scenes v-vii // : Talbot returns with his son and compares him to Icarus. He had a "high-flying" spirit and was brought down by the French.

﻿Tip-offs -Wings, birds, feathers, or flying -Wax -Flying too high -Close to the sun -Melting -Falling in body of water

Function within a specific text In //Fahrenheit 451,// Captain Beatty says to Montag, "Now you did it. Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he's burnt his damn wings, he wonders why. Didn't I hint enough when I sent the hound around your place?" (Bradbury 113). - By alluding to the story of Icarus, the characters are compared to those from Greek mythology (specifically Montag is compared to Icarus), which helps the reader understand what was meant by the author. It also reveals a message of the scene as related to Icarus which is a downfall at a moment of glory. Other messages include when taking a risk, even when things are going well, don't get overconfident or ignore warnings, and the value of moderation (not flying too high or too low). With this in mind, we can interpret stories better.