In those distant times, when people still had no tools or machines, he lived in Athens great artist Daedalus. He was the first to teach the Greeks how to build beautiful buildings. Before him, artists could not depict people in motion and made statues that looked like swaddled dolls with their eyes closed. Daedalus began to carve magnificent statues from marble depicting people in motion.
For his work, Daedalus himself invented and made tools and taught people how to use them. He taught the builders of buildings how to check - with a stone on a thread - whether they were laying walls correctly.
Daedalus had a nephew. He helped the artist in the workshop and studied the arts with him. Considering once the fins of a fish, he guessed to make a saw; came up with a compass to draw the right circle; He cut a circle out of wood, made it rotate and began to sculpt earthenware on it - pots, jugs and round bowls.
Once Daedalus and a young man climbed to the top of the Acropolis to look at the beauty of the city from a height. Thinking, the young man stepped on the very edge of the cliff, could not resist, fell down the mountain and crashed.
The Athenians blamed Daedalus for the death of the boy. Daedalus had to flee from Athens. By ship, he reached the island of Crete and appeared before the Cretan king Minos.
Minos was glad that fate had brought him the famous Athenian builder and artist. The king gave shelter to Daedalus and forced him to work for himself. Daedalus built a labyrinth for him, where there were so many rooms and passages so tangled that anyone who entered there could no longer find the way out himself.
Until now, the remains of this magnificent structure are shown on the island of Crete.
Daedalus lived for a long time with King Minos as a prisoner on a strange island in the middle of the sea. He often sat on the seashore, looking towards his native land, remembered his beautiful city and yearned. Many years have passed, and, probably, no one remembers what he was accused of. But Daedalus knew that Minos would never let him go and no ship sailing from Crete would dare to take him with them for fear of persecution. And yet Daedalus constantly thought about returning.
Once, sitting by the sea, he raised his eyes to the wide sky and thought: “There is no way for me by the sea, but the sky is open for me. Who can stop me on the airway? Birds cut through the air with their wings and fly wherever they want. Is a man worse than a bird?
And he wanted to make himself wings in order to fly away from captivity. He began to collect the feathers of large birds, skillfully tied them with strong linen threads and fastened them with wax. Soon he made four wings - two for himself and two for his son Icarus, who lived with him in Crete. Wings were attached crosswise to the chest and to the arms with a bandage.
And then the day came when Daedalus tried his wings, put them on and, smoothly waving his arms, rose above the ground. The wings kept him in the air, and he directed his flight in the direction he wanted.
Going down, he put wings on his son and taught him to fly.
Calmly and evenly wave your arms, do not descend too low to the waves so as not to wet your wings, and do not rise high so that the rays of the sun do not scorch you. Fly after me. - That's what he said to Icarus.
And early in the morning they flew away from the island of Crete.
Only the fishermen in the sea and the shepherds in the meadow saw how they flew away, but they also thought that these were winged gods flying over the earth. And now the rocky island was far behind, and the sea stretched wide under them.
The day flared up, the sun rose high, and its rays burned more and more.
Daedalus flew cautiously, keeping closer to the surface of the sea and timidly looking back at his son.
And Icarus liked free flight. He cut the air faster and faster with his wings, and he wanted to rise high, high, higher than the swallows, higher than the lark itself, which sings, looking straight into the face of the sun. And at that moment, when his father did not look at him, Icarus rose high up, to the very sun.
Under the hot rays, the wax that held the wings together melted, the feathers disintegrated and scattered around. In vain Icarus waved his arms, - nothing else kept him high. He fell rapidly, fell and disappeared into the depths of the sea.
Daedalus looked around - and did not see a flying son in the blue sky. He looked at the sea - only white feathers floated on the waves.
In despair, Daedalus landed on the first island he met, broke his wings and cursed his art, which killed his son.
But people remembered this first flight, and since then the dream of conquering the air, of spacious heavenly roads has lived in their souls.
Literature:
Smirnova V. Daedalus and Icarus // Heroes of Hellas, - M .: "Children's Literature", 1971 - c.86-89
Daedalus, a descendant of King Erechtheus, lived in Athens, he was a great architect, artist and sculptor of ancient Hellas. He built many beautiful buildings and temples, created many wonderful statues, which were of such great skill that they were said to be moving and seeing. Daedalus invented many tools useful for people.
Daedalus had a nephew, his disciple Taloe. He was distinguished by even greater talent and skill than Daedalus. As a boy, he invented the saw without the help of his teacher - this idea prompted him to look at a fish bone. He invented compasses, potter's wheel, chisel and many other useful items.
And so Daedalus, jealous of his gifted student Talos, decided to kill him. Once he threw him from the high Athenian Acropolis. They learned about this, and in order to avoid the punishment that threatened him, Daedalus left native city Athens and fled to the island of Crete, to the power-hungry king Minos, who happily accepted the skilled craftsman.
Minos instructed him to build a huge building for the terrible bull Minotaur with many winding, intricate passages.
And there was a Minotaur half-bull-half-man, he had a body of a bull. And so the inventive Daedalus built a huge labyrinth for the monster, consisting of many long underground corridors, from where it was impossible for anyone who did not know them to get back. This is where King Minos settled his Minotaur. 
But Daedalus soon realized that the king was looking at him as his prisoner, that they were watching him and did not want to let him go, but he wanted to leave Crete and return to his homeland.
Once Daedalus presented a gift to Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, without telling the king about it. For this, the cruel Minos decided to take revenge on the artist.
He ordered to conclude Daedalus, along with his son Icarus, in a terrible labyrinth, but they managed to escape from there. And so Daedalus firmly decided to leave the island of Crete, but it was almost impossible to do this. And then Daedalus thought: “If the sea routes are closed to me, only the free sky remains for me. The evil and greedy Minos can take over everything, but not the sky! And he began to think about how he could rise into the air and master the free element.
Daedalus thought for a long time, and, carefully watching the flight of birds, he began to skillfully fit the bird feathers one to one, starting from the smallest to the longest, and tied them in the middle with linen threads, and fastened them with wax at the bottom. So he made them look like real big wings, then he gave them a slight bend, which happens with the wingspan of birds.
The young son of Daedalus, Icarus, closely followed the work of his father and began to help him. When the wings were ready, Daedalus put them on and, waving them like a bird, rose into the air. Icarus began to ask his father to make the same wings for him and take him on a flight with him. Daedalus made wings for Icarus and began to instruct him before departure:
- My son, hold on, flying, the middle. If you go too low, the waves of the sea can wet your wings and you will drown in the sea, but if you rise high, the hot sun can scorch them and the wax that holds the wings together will melt. Keep your path between the sea and the sun, fly after me.
Having made wings for Icarus, he soon taught him to rise above the ground.
On the day when it was decided to fly from the island of Crete, Daedalus, early at dawn, attached wings to Icarus, hugged him, kissed him and flew into the air. Icarus followed him.
As a bird that has flown out of its nest for the first time with its chick looks back, encourages it and points out how easier it is to fly, so Daedalus looked back timidly at his son Icarus. The fishermen looked at them in amazement, pulling a net on the seashore; the shepherds and farmers, who followed the plow, wondered if it was the gods flying over the fields. 
And there was already an open sea under Daedalus and Icarus, the islands of Samos, Patmos and Delos, Lebint and Kalymna remained behind them, and the shores of Hellas were already visible in the distance. Many people marveled at the brave aeronauts. Icarus began to fly bolder and, forgetting his father's advice, rose high to the sky to refresh his chest in the cold ether. But the hot sun melted the wax that fastened the feathers on the wings, they fell apart and hung on the shoulders of Icarus.
In vain, the unfortunate young man stretched out his hands to his father, the air no longer held him, and now Icarus is rapidly falling into the sea. In fright, he only managed to shout the name of his father and drowned in the raging waves. Daedalus looked around, hearing the cry of his son, but he looked for him in vain. - Icarus, where are you? Daedalus shouted for a long time. But only feathers floated on the waves of the sea. Delal landed on the nearest island, and for a long time he wandered, sad, along the seashore. Soon the body of Icarus was washed ashore by the waves.
Daedalus buried his beloved son, and from that time on the island that Ikaria began to be called, and the sea in which Icarus drowned was named Ikarian in memory of him.
Directed his way Delal from Ikaria to Sicily and was there cordially received by King Kokal. He did many wonderful works for him and his daughters: he built a beautiful palace on a high rock, built a deep cave in which he arranged underground heating, erected a temple to Aphrodite and made golden honeycombs for him so skillfully that it seemed they were filled with real transparent honey .
Minos, trying to find Daedalus, came up with a trick. He announced that he would give a big reward to whoever could thread a thread through a winding shell. Kokal, seduced by the reward, instructed Daedalus to complete this task. A skilled craftsman tied a thread to the ant's leg, and the ant pulled it through the shell. Kokal reported this to Minos, and he then guessed that Daedalus was at Kokal. Then Minos arrived in warships in Sicily to bring Daedalus back to him. But the daughters of the Sicilian king, who loved Delalus, decided to destroy the evil Minos: they prepared a warm bath for him and, while he was sitting in it, poured boiling water over him.
Having lost his son, Daedalus from that time on was no longer happy. Having done a lot of wonderful things for people, he lived to a very sad old age and died, according to some legends, in Sicily, and according to others - in Athens, where after him there was a glorious family of Daedalides, that is, the descendants of Daedalus.
Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid
The greatest artist, sculptor and architect of Athens was Daedalus, a descendant of Erechtheus. It was said that he carved such marvelous statues from snow-white marble that they seemed alive; the statues of Daedalus seemed to be watching and moving. Many tools were invented by Daedalus for his work; he invented the ax and the drill. The glory of Daedalus went far.
This artist had a nephew Tal, the son of his sister Perdika. Tal was a student of his uncle. Already in his early youth, he amazed everyone with his talent and ingenuity. It could be foreseen that Tal would far surpass his teacher. Daedalus was jealous of his nephew and decided to kill him. Once Daedalus stood with his nephew on the high Athenian acropolis at the very edge of the cliff. Nobody was around. Seeing that they were alone, Daedalus pushed his nephew off the cliff. The artist was sure that his crime would go unpunished. Falling from a cliff, Tal crashed to death. Daedalus hastily descended from the acropolis, picked up the body of Tal and already wanted to secretly bury it in the ground, but the Athenians caught Daedalus when he was digging a grave. The crime of Daedalus was revealed. The Areopagus sentenced him to death.
Fleeing from death, Daedalus fled to Crete to the mighty king Minos, the son of Zeus and Europe. Minos willingly took him under his protection. Many marvelous works of art were made by Daedalus for the king of Crete. He also built for him the famous palace of the Labyrinth, with such intricate passages that, once entering it, it was impossible to find a way out. In this palace, Minos imprisoned the son of his wife Pasiphae, the terrible Minotaur, a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull.
Daedalus lived with Minos for many years. The king from Crete did not want to let him go; only he wanted to use the art of the great artist. Like a prisoner, held Minos Daedalus in Crete. Daedalus thought for a long time how to escape him, and finally found a way to free himself from Cretan bondage.
“If I cannot,” Daedalus exclaimed, “be saved from the power of Minos either by land or by sea, then the sky is open for flight!” Here is my way! Minos owns everything, only he does not own the air!
Daedalus set to work. He collected feathers, fastened them with linen thread and wax, and began to make four large wings from them. While Daedalus worked, his son Icarus played near his father: either he caught fluff, which flew up from the breath of the breeze, or crumpled wax in his hands. Finally Daedalus finished his work: the wings were ready. Daedalus tied the wings behind his back, put his hands into the loops attached to the wings, waved them and smoothly rose into the air. Icarus looked in amazement at his father, who soared in the air like a huge bird. Daedalus descended to earth and said to his son:
— Listen, Icarus, now we will fly away from Crete. Be careful while flying. Do not go too low to the sea, so that the salt spray of the waves does not wet your wings. Do not rise even close to the sun: the heat can melt the wax, and the feathers will scatter. Follow me, keep up with me.
The father and son put wings on their hands and easily rose into the air. Those who saw them flying high above the earth thought that these were two gods rushing through the azure sky. Daedalus often turned around to see how his son was flying. They have already passed the islands of Delos, Paros, and are flying farther and farther.
A quick flight amuses Icarus, he flaps his wings more and more boldly. Icarus forgot his father's instructions; it doesn't follow him anymore. Strongly flapping his wings, Icarus flew high into the sky, closer to the radiant sun. The scorching rays melted the wax that held the feathers together, they fell out and scattered far through the air, driven by the wind. Icarus waved his hands, but there are no more wings on them. Headlong he fell from a terrible height into the sea and died in its waves.
Daedalus turned around, looking around. No Icarus. Loudly he began to call his son:
— Icarus! Icarus! Where are you? Respond!
No answer. Daedalus saw on the sea waves the feathers from the wings of Icarus and understood what had happened. How Daedalus hated his art, how he hated the day when he planned to escape from Crete by air!
And the body of Icarus for a long time rushed along the waves of the sea, which became known by the name of the deceased Ikarian. Finally, the waves washed the body of Icarus to the shore of the island; Hercules found him there and buried him. Daedalus continued his flight and finally flew to Sicily. There he settled with King Kokal. Minos found out where the artist had hidden, went with a large army to Sicily and demanded that Kokal give him Daedalus.
The daughters of Kokal did not want to lose such an artist as Daedalus. They persuaded their father to agree to the demands of Minos and accept him as a guest in the palace. When Minos was taking a bath, the daughters of Kokal poured a cauldron of boiling water over his head; Minos died in terrible agony.
We all know beautiful the story of Icarus, which flew high to the sun and, falling from a great height, crashed near the coastal rocks. Many writers and artists have betrayed this image for centuries. symbolic meaning, consisting in courage, in a person's desire for freedom and a dream. but ancient greek myth, on the basis of which a beautiful legend was invented, speaks of a completely different story.
Ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus.
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The main character of this ancient Greek legend is the father of Icarus - Daedalus, who made his wings. And meanwhile he was the most skillful person of his time, the greatest craftsman, the inventor of carpentry tools, the most skillful architect and sculptor, his fantastic sculptures were as if alive.
However, the legendary Greek craftsman had to flee from Athens, where, in a fit of envy and anger, he committed a crime: he threw his nephew Talos, who surpassed him in talent and skill, from the roof of the acropolis.
A 12-year-old boy, despite such a young age, invented a joiner's saw in the model and likeness of the backbone of a fish, designed a potter's wheel, invented a lathe and compasses. Daedalus was so frightened by the superiority of the young genius that he once pushed him off the roof of the Athenian Acropolis.
Having killed his nephew, Delal tried to hide the traces of the crime, but was caught in the act and condemned to death. But he managed to escape to the island of Crete, where he asked for protection from King Minos. And already living at the court of the ruler, Delal had to maneuver between two fires.
As the ancient Greek legend says: at first he helped Queen Pasiphae to instruct her husband's horns, who cheated on him with a bull, in the most literal sense of the word; then he helped Minos to hide the Minotaur born by Pasiphae - a monster with a bull's head and a human body from prying eyes, having built the famous labyrinth. And a few years later he helped the enemy of the Cretan king Theseus kill the bull-headed Minotaur. It was Daedalus who came up with how not to get lost in the labyrinth with the help of a thread and told Ariadne about this, who gave this thread to Theseus.
But this is a story from another myth, when Greek hero Theseus went to the island of Crete in order to destroy the Minotaur, to whom the Athenians every nine years were obliged to send seven young men and seven beautiful girls to tear.
The enraged King Minos, having heard about complicity, imprisoned both Daedalus himself and his son Icarus, who was already born on the island from the slave Navkarta, into the labyrinth. By the way, the master's son was a mirror image of his murdered cousin Talos and they were also the same age at that time. But in fairness, it should be noted that, unlike Talos, Icarus had absolutely no talents and hobbies.
She secretly freed Pasiphae from the labyrinth of prisoners. And in order to escape from the island, the ingenious craftsman made four huge wings for himself and his son from feathers. With tireless diligence, Daedalus bound all kinds of bird feathers, starting with the shortest and gradually ending with longer ones, fastening them with wax. And when the wings were ready, he, tying them with straps on his son's shoulders, gave instructions that he would fly without rising too high, so that the wax would not melt from the sun's rays.
The careless youth did not obey his father and approached too close to the Sun, the rays of which melted the fasteners. Icarus fell and drowned not far from the island of Samos in the sea, which in this part received the name of the Icarian Sea.
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The essence of this myth is in the idea of punishing Daedalus, mediocrity and death of Icarus - also retribution to the father for the crime committed. The goddesses of vengeance needed to arrange everything so that the young man died in exactly the same way that his father killed Talos: that is why he falls from a height. And it is not at all necessary to look for heroism and courage here, this is just the cruel revenge of the gods for the sin of the father.
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Daedalus was a great inventor and artist ancient greece. He was born and lived in Athens. According to legend, the goddess of wisdom herself appeared to him in a dream - Athena. Thanks to her extraordinary mind and the advice of Athena, pay attention to natural phenomena, he invented great things, for example, the world's first not rowing, but a sailing ship.
But Daedalus also exaggerated pride and vanity. He liked to realize himself as the most intelligent of all the inhabitants of Athens. Daedalus had a nephew - Talos, who was also an inventor and studied with Daedalus.
One day, standing on a steep peak, Talos fell off him and died. According to one version, he was pushed by Daedalus, who did not want another inventor to exist in Athens. Then Athena, knowing the course of the future, saved Talas by turning him into a bird. According to another version, Talas broke himself. But anyway Daedalus ordered to leave Athens.
Then Daedalus sails to the neighboring island - Crete. There he meets a powerful but rumored cruel king. Minos. The king grants Daedalus glory, wealth and honor, and in return demands the creation of sophisticated weapons for him and promises that he will use these weapons only for protection. Daedalus is peacefully working on his projects when Minos' wife approaches him with an unusual request - Pasiphae. She asks to create for her a structure similar to a bull.
Poseidon provided Minos with a divine white bull as a sacrifice to him. But Minos was so struck by the beauty of the bull that he hid it and instead sacrificed the usual one. For this misconduct, Poseidon cursed his wife, Pasiphae, inspiring her with a passion for this bull.
Daedalus creates a wooden structure lined with skin and places this structure in a meadow so that Pasiphae can secretly satisfy her passion for a bull. So Pasiphae gives birth to a half-man, half-bull, who will be called Minotaur.
Soon, Daedalus from the slave Navkrata has a son - Icarus. Gradually, Minos ceases to be so hospitable and begins to use the invented weapon to attack Athens, and then asks to create a "monster" for the newborn - a minotaur, a prison from which it is impossible to escape.
Daedalus is forced to agree, and creates a minotaur labyrinth from which it is almost impossible to escape. Upon completion of construction, Minos informs him that the labyrinth was needed not only in order to hide this “monster” in it, but also in order to avenge the Athenians for the death of his son Androgyne who died in the war against the Athenians.
Now every year, Aegeus, the king of Athens, must provide him with 7 young girls and 7 young men, who should be placed in a labyrinth to be eaten by a minotaur.
Daedalus could no longer endure this, but he could not escape either. By land - he and his son will be caught, by sea - too. Then he remembers the advice of Athena and looks closely at the clues of nature. Looking at the birds in the sky, he comes up with a plan. He decides to build wings and fly to neighboring countries by air.
Soon he builds two pairs of wings for himself and his son, Icarus. And now, standing in front of a steep cliff, Daedalus warns his son: "Do not fly too close to the sea, otherwise the water will wet the wings, and they will become heavy, but also do not fly too close to the sun, otherwise the wax will melt and the wings will fall apart"
But young Icarus did not obey, flying up and wanting to be higher than the birds, higher than all, he played so much that he did not notice how he flew too close to the sun. The wax melted and Icarus disappeared from Daedalus' sight.
For a long time, the heart-rending cries of the father who had lost his child - IKAR - could be heard from the sky!
Daedalus was forced to go west alone. According to one version, he arrived in the city of Kimy, where he was received by the king Kokal.
King Minos did not want to give away Daedalus just like that and came up with a trick. He sent messengers all over the world with the news that whoever threads a thread through the shell and all its convolutions will be richly rewarded.
King Kokal asks Daedalus to help him with this riddle. Then Daedalus ties the thread to the ant and launches it into the shell, soon the thread is threaded through the shell and all its convolutions.
Kokal reports his clue to Minos and is waiting for a reward, but Minos demands that Daedalus be returned to him, otherwise the war with Crete cannot be avoided!
Kokal doesn't want to give Daedalus away and comes up with a plan. He invites Minos to his place. Upon arrival, his daughters seduce Minos and invite him to rest in the baths. There he is doused with boiling water, and he dies from burns.
A story like this deserves a picture:
Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder depicted the death of Icarus in his painting. However, it is not so easy to immediately see the main character, the viewer sees only the last act, when the main events - the fall of Icarus have already occurred and his legs only stick out of the water.
Nearby you can see a partridge, which is watching the death of Icarus. So the artist depicted Talos, whom Athena turned into a bird. Irony, the son of Daedalus could not fly, and the one whom Daedalus wanted to kill became a bird.
Neither the plowman, nor the shepherd, nor the fisherman, nor the people on the ship pay attention to Icarus, so the artist wanted to show what is in front of us stupid and absurd death. The death of a man who thinks too much of himself.
The main idea of the Daedalus and Icarus myth is that that vanity and pride do not lead to anything good. If Daedalus had not pushed Talos, then he would not have had to flee the city and work for the villain. If Icarus had not strived to surpass his father at all costs and rise above, then he would not have died a stupid death.
