Historiae Romanorum

Icarus

The son of Daedalus by Naucrate, a slave of Minos.

When he and his father were imprisoned by Minos in the labyrinth, Daedalus constructed wings for the two.  Before their flight, Daedalus warned Icarus to not fly too close to the sun or sea, for either extreme heat or moisture would melt the glue.  Once in the air, however, Icarus forgot his father's warning, for he was having too much fun.  He flew too close to the sun, destroying the wings.  He plunged back to the earth and drowned in the sea, which was then called the Icarian Sea (the south-eastern Aegean Sea).  Daedalus, however, safely flew to Sicily.

Source(s):

1. Apollodorus.  Bibliotece.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.