Main Characters
Daedalus, Icarus
Plot
Daedalus, an architect, builds the Labyrinth that housed the Minotaur in Crete, requests to the King Minos of Crete that he and his son travel back to Sicily. The king, however, locks him up in a the Labyrinth due to his dispeling of information that assisted in the escape of several sacrificial Athenians, including Theseus. From there, Daedalus studies birds and their flight and decides to create wings for his son, Icarus, and himself. He captures birds and use their feathers to create two pairs of wings. He warns his son not to fly too close to the Sun, as the wax holding the wings together will melt. But if he flies too close to the surf, the water will weigh the wings and doom the user. Icarus, however, is foolish and flies up to the Sun due to pride in his own power. He dies.
Back in Sicily, he is well-accepted. But King Minos hatches a clever plan to capture Daedalus. He presents a challenge of passing a string through a shell. Daedalus easily solves this with the aid of the humble ant, and Minos finds him out. The Sicilian King steps up in protection, and Minos is killed in the scuffle.
Moral/Purpose
Pride of the youth and power of the mind.
Relevance to Society
Again, the pride of youth can be fatal, such as in competitions and schools. But the story also presents the power of the mind, how we can achieve great things by thinking outside the box. Nearly all inventions and technology come from this.