Lecture on Icarus: A Summary

Greek Mythology: Icarus

• Icarus is a character from Greek mythology, son of the master craftsman Daedalus, architect of the labyrinth of Crete.
• Daedalus created wings from feathers, threads, leather, and beeswax to escape imprisonment by King Minos.
  • Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too low (feathers would get wet) or too high (wax would melt).
• Icarus ignored the warning, flew too close to the sun, causing the wax to melt.
  • Result: Icarus fell into the sea and drowned.
• The story is symbolic of over-ambition, captured in the idiom "fly too close to the sun."

Variations in the Myth

• Some versions suggest Icarus and Daedalus escaped by ship.
• In alternate accounts, Helios punished Icarus for hubris by melting the wax through his rays.
• Icaria (named by Daedalus) is where Icarus was buried; surrounding sea called the Icarian Sea.

Representation in Art and Literature

• Daedalus and Icarus feature in various artworks, mosaics, and paintings, e.g.:
  • "The Fall of Icarus" by Jacob Peter Gowy
  • Frescoes from Pompeii
  • "The Lament for Icarus" by H.J. Draper
  • Modern street art in Icaria, Greece

Literary Mentions and Influence

• Ancient texts mentioning Icarus include:
  • Pseudo-Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, Hyginus, Virgil, Ovid
• Influenced many authors: Chaucer, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Milton, Joyce.
• Renaissance iconography depicted Icarus as a symbol of ambition and overreach.
  • Notable paintings include Pieter Bruegel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus."
• 20th and 21st-century literary works and poems inspired by Icarus.

Psychological Interpretation

• Icarus Complex: A psychological interpretation linking excessive ambition, fascination with heights, and a narcissistic tendency.
• The myth is used to study personality traits associated with ambition and risk.

Related Myths and Cultural References

• Similar myths and stories:
  • Bladud, Etana, Kua Fu, Sampati
  • Kid Icarus, a video game series based on the Icarus myth.

Conclusion

• The myth of Icarus serves as a powerful metaphor for ambition and the consequences of overreaching.
• Its cultural and artistic influence persists across centuries and continues to be a reference point in discussions of human ambition and limitation.