The myth of Icarus and Daedalus - Amy Adkins

In mythological ancient Greece, Icarus flew above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, defying the laws of man and nature. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and he felt like one too. But, in his society, the line that separated god from man was absolute, and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cross it was severe. Amy Adkins explains the myth of Icarus and Daedalus.

Lesson by Amy Adkins, animation by TED-Ed.

[eddie]

"She gave birth to the minotaur"

Me: *eye twitch*

[adamstockley]

This takes “Red bull gives you wings” to a whole new level

[leroyjenkins]

Daedalus: *genius inventor*
Also Daedalus: *doesn’t think to fly at night*

[blu]

This takes "the sun is a deadly laser" to a whole new level

[lilywei]

feel pretty bad for the minotaur... its not like he asked to be born

[pv]

Fun Fact: There is another version of the myth where Daedalus didn't kill his nephew. In this version, his nephew was actually his apprentice and they were both praised in Athens. However, Daedalus' nephew died falling off Acropolis, where he had gone with his uncle to work, by accident and Daedalus was devastated. The Athenians without knowing what actually happened blamed Daedalus for his nephew's death and thus they exiled him to Crete. So in this version, Daedalus is not only not malicious, but even more of a tragic figure since he experiences the death of his beloved apprentices twice in exchange of his skill and freedom. The more you know!

[KC-xggs]

I think my favorite part of this entire myth is how Daedalus just agreed to help the king's wife seduce the bull. No trying to talk her out of it or trying to convince the king to finally sacrifice the darn thing to appease the God he insulted: he just up and created a hollow wooden cow-puppet for her climb into to.

[ryebread]

The Greek gods really seemed to have a problem with human progress. They even punished that one guy for giving people fire.

[Someguy]

The myth of Icarus and Daedaulus.
Me: Yeah, yeah. We all know this story.
Narrator: "So then Daedaulus helped fulfill the Queen's kink to f*ck a bull."
Me: ... *hold up*

[itchyeyelids_]

No one:



Hercales: *punches statue thinking its real*

[AGrayPhantom]

I knew most of this story, except for the part about the bull. Wow. Did NOT know that's where the minotaur came from.

[shantanuroy]

Birds in Ancient Greece: “maybe I am a god”

[bliz]

"She gave birth to a minotaur"
*puts down phone and rethinks life decisions that led me here

[charleswong]

That's why parachute is important son

[sodiumhydroxide]

Icarus died with his eyes open, forever cursed to look at the sun.

[CephandriusTopaz]

In the original telling of the myth by Ovid, the Latin actually refers to the fact that Daedalus wasn't really watching his son fly and wasn't even worried about him. He was watching the wings that Icarus was wearing and marveling at his own genius. (Also sidenote: In the Latin, it's hard to judge how old Icarus is. It's possible that he was as young as 7 or 8 when his dad entrusted him with this immense responsibility.)

[namiswoon]

the way pasiphae even named her son with the bull "minotaur" like his husband "minos" is insane 😭

[Roll]

Wait...the woman tricked the bull to have sex with her by hiding inside a hollow wooden cow?

[myfunny]

Daedalus warned icarus not to fly too high... but thats not all...


He also warned him not to fly too low...

[leolor]

"Cursed to fall in love with the king bull"
Me: Hmmm...?
"She's gets into the bull costume"
Me: Where is this going?...
"She conceives a minotaur"
Me: OH DEAR GOD GO BACK