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In mythological ancient Greece,

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soaring above Crete on wings made[br]from wax and feathers,

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Icarus, the son of Daedalus,[br]defied the laws of both man and nature.

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Ignoring the warnings of his father,[br]he rose higher and higher.

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To witnesses on the ground,[br]he looked like a god,

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and as he peered down from above,[br]he felt like one, too.

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But, in mythological ancient Greece,

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the line that separated god from man[br]was absolute

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and the punishment for mortals[br]who attempted to cross it was severe.

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Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus.

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Years before Icarus was born,

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his father Daedalus was highly regarded[br]as a genius inventor,

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craftsman,

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and sculptor in his homeland of Athens.

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He invented carpentry[br]and all the tools used for it.

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He designed the first bathhouse

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and the first dance floor.

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He made sculptures so lifelike[br]that Hercules mistook them for actual men.

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Though skilled and celebrated,[br]Daedalus was egotistical and jealous.

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Worried that his nephew[br]was a more skillful craftsman,

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Daedalus murdered him.

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As punishment, Daedalus was banished[br]from Athens and made his way to Crete.

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Preceded by his storied reputation,

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Daedalus was welcomed [br]with open arms by Crete's King Minos.

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There, acting as the palace [br]technical advisor,

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Daedalus continued to push the boundaries.

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For the king's children,

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he made mechanically animated toys[br]that seemed alive.

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He invented the ship's sail and mast,[br]which gave humans control over the wind.

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With every creation, Daedalus challenged[br]human limitations

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that had so far kept mortals[br]separate from gods,

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until finally, he broke right through.

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King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë,[br]had been cursed by the god Poseidon

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to fall in love[br]with the king's prized bull.

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Under this spell, she asked Daedalus[br]to help her seduce it.

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With characteristic audacity, he agreed.

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Daedalus constructed a hollow[br]wooden cow

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so realistic that it fooled the bull.

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With Pasiphaë hiding inside[br]Daedalus's creation,

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she conceived and gave birth[br]to the half-human half-bull minotaur.

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This, of course, enraged the king

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who blamed Daedalus for enabling[br]such a horrible perversion of natural law.

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As punishment, Daedalus was forced[br]to construct an inescapable labyrinth

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beneath the palace for the minotaur.

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When it was finished, Minos then[br]imprisoned Daedalus

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and his only son Icarus

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within the top of the tallest tower[br]on the island

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where they were to remain [br]for the rest of their lives.

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But Daedalus was still a genius inventor.

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While observing the birds[br]that circled his prison,

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the means for escape became clear.

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He and Icarus would fly away[br]from their prison

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as only birds or gods could do.

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Using feathers from the flocks[br]that perched on the tower,

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and the wax from candles,

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Daedalus constructed two pairs[br]of giant wings.

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As he strapped the wings[br]to his son Icarus,

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he gave a warning:

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flying too near the ocean [br]would dampen the wings

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and make them too heavy to use.

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Flying too near the sun,

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the heat would melt the wax[br]and the wings would disintegrate.

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In either case, they surely would die.

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Therefore, the key to their escape[br]would be in keeping to the middle.

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With the instructions clear,[br]both mean leapt from the tower.

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They were the first mortals ever to fly.

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While Daedalus stayed carefully[br]to the midway course,

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Icarus was overwhelmed[br]with the ecstasy of flight

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and overcome with the feeling of[br]divine power that came with it.

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Daedalus could only watch in horror[br]as Icarus ascended higher and higher,

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powerless to change his son's dire fate.

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When the heat from the sun melted[br]the wax on his wings,

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Icarus fell from the sky.

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Just as Daedalus had many times ignored

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the consequences of defying [br]the natural laws of mortal men

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in the service of his ego,

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Icarus was also carried away[br]by his own hubris.

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In the end,

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both men paid for their departure [br]from the path of moderation dearly,

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Icarus with his life

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and Daedalus with his regret.