EPISODE 13: DAEDALUS AND ICARUS

Daedalus, the greatest inventor of the ancient world, designed sailing ships, the wheel, the loom and the plow. But though he was a man of great talent, he was also an ambitious man who sought fame and fortune above all this. His son, Icarus, idolized his father and followed in his shoes, becoming just as talented and just as much of a glory seeker. Blinded by his ambition, Daedalus fails to honor his promises to the goddess, Athena, who helped the inventor become successful. In punishment, the goddess causes the great museum that Daedalus built to crumble to the ground, accidentally killing Talos, Daedalus’ apprentice. Blamed for the boy’s death, Daedalus is imprisoned. But Icarus helps his father escape to Crete where they hope to once again be appreciated for their talent. King Minos of Crete offers Daedalus and Icarus fame and glory like never before, but in return he demands that the great inventor build him weapons of war. Giving in to temptation, Daedalus agrees, only to see his incredible weapons used to defeat the Athenians, and his labyrinth (the inescapable underground maze) used to imprison them. All this violence against Daedalus’ own people causes great regret in the inventor, but when he voices this to Minos, he and Icarus are imprisoned in the very labyrinth they built. Desperate to escape, father and son make two pairs of wings from the feathers of birds. But though Daedalus has learned his lesson about the pitfalls of fame and glory, Icarus has not. Determined to fly higher than the gods, Icarus fails to heed his father’s warning to not fly too close to the sun. The wax holding together Icarus’ wings melts away and the boy falls into the sea.

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