The greatest artist, sculptor and architect of Athens was Daedalus, a descendant of Erechtheus. It was said about him that he carved such marvelous statues from snow-white marble that they seemed alive; the statues of Daedalus seemed to be looking and moving. Daedalus invented many tools for his work; he invented the ax and the drill. The fame of Daedalus spread far and wide.
This great artist had a nephew Tal, the son of his sister Perdika. Tal was his uncle's student. Already in his early youth he amazed everyone with his talent and ingenuity. It was foreseeable that Tal would far surpass his teacher. Daedalus was jealous of his nephew and decided to kill him. One day Daedalus stood with his nephew on the high Acropolis of Athens at the very edge of the cliff. There was no one visible around. Seeing that they were alone, Daedalus pushed his nephew off the cliff. The artist was sure that his crime would go unpunished. Tal fell to his death from a cliff. Daedalus hastily descended from the Acropolis, picked up Tal's body and 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 powerful king Minos, the son of Zeus and Europa. Minos willingly accepted the great artist of Greece under his protection. Daedalus made many wonderful works of art for the king of Crete. He also built for him the famous Labyrinth Palace, 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 did not want to let him go from Crete; only he wanted to use the art of the great artist. Minos held Daedalus as a prisoner in Crete. Daedalus thought for a long time about how to escape, and finally found a way to free himself from Cretan captivity.
“If I cannot,” exclaimed Daedalus, “escape from the power of Minos either by land or by sea, then the sky is open for escape!” This is my way! Minos owns everything, only he does not own the air!
Daedalus set to work. He collected feathers, fastened them with linen threads and wax, and began to make four large wings from them. While Daedalus was working, his son Icarus played near his father: he either caught fluff that flew up from the breeze, or crumpled wax in his hands. The boy frolicked carelessly, amused by his father’s work. Finally, Daedalus finished his work; the wings were ready. Daedalus tied the wings behind his back, threaded 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 was soaring 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. Don't go too low to the sea so that the salty spray of the waves doesn't wet your wings. Don't get too close to the sun: the heat can melt the wax and the feathers will fly away. Fly with me, don't lag behind me.
Father and son put wings on their hands and easily flew away. Those who saw their flight high above the earth thought that these were two gods rushing across the azure sky. Daedalus often turned around to watch his son fly. They have already passed the islands of Delos and Paros and are flying further and further.
The fast flight amuses Icarus; he flaps his wings more and more boldly. Icarus forgot his father's instructions; he no longer flies after him. Flapping his wings forcefully, he flew high into the sky, closer to the radiant sun. The scorching rays melted the wax that held the feathers of the wings together, the feathers fell out and scattered far through the air, driven by the wind. Icarus waved his hands, but there were no more wings on them. He fell headlong from a terrible height into the sea and died in its waves.
Daedalus turned around and looked around. No Icarus. He began to call his son loudly:
- Icarus! Icarus! Where are you? Respond!
No answer. Daedalus saw feathers from the wings of Icarus on the sea waves and understood what had happened. How Daedalus hated his art, how he hated the day when he decided to escape from Crete by air!
And the body of Icarus floated for a long time on the waves of the sea, which began to be called after the name of the deceased Ikarian[1]. Finally the waves washed him to the shore of the island; Hercules found him there and buried him.
Daedalus continued his flight and finally arrived in 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.
Kokal's daughters did not want to lose an artist like Daedalus. They came up with a trick. They persuaded the father to agree to Minos’ demands and accept him as a guest in the palace. While Minos was taking a bath, the daughters of Cocalus poured a cauldron of boiling water on his head; Minos died in terrible agony. Daedalus lived in Sicily for a long time. He spent the last years of his life at home, in Athens; there he became the ancestor of the Daedalids, a glorious family of Athenian artists.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru