Icarus and his son greek mythology story1/29/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() Before the black-sailed ship carrying the youths left for Crete, he told the sailors that when they returned, they were to hoist white sails if Theseus had survived, and to keep them black if he had been killed. Of course, King Aegeus was very afraid for his son. The son of King Aegeus of Athens, Prince Theseus, was so appalled that he volunteered to go as one of the fourteen and try to slay the monster himself. When his only son, Androgeus, was killed in a battle against Athens, he was so eaten up with grief and hatred that he demanded a terrible tribute - every nine years, fourteen young Athenians were to be sent to Crete to be fed to the Minotaur. In the meantime the Minotaur had grown into a fearsome flesh-eating monster, and Minos wisely had it imprisoned in the maze beneath his palace. However, although the genius had revealed himself to Minos once again, he still managed to evade capture. He tied the thread to an ant, which then crawled through the shell, drawing the string along behind it. He was right, of course - Daedalus rose to the challenge and solved it. This task was thought to be impossible, due to the spiral shape of the shell, but Minos knew that if anyone could do it, it was Daedalus. He issued a challenge to the Greeks, to see if any of them could pass a string through a Triton shell. The grief-stricken Daedalus made his way to the Greek mainland, where he quickly hid himself.ĭismayed that his prisoner had escaped, Minos devised a plan to recapture him. The sun's heat melted the wax which held his wings together, and he plummeted to his death in the sea. However, Icarus became too bold in his excitement, and despite his father's warning, he flew too close to the sun. They used these wings to escape the tower and fly away over the sea. Using wax, wood and feathers, Daedalus created two pairs of wings - one for himself and one for his son, Icarus. Keeping the brilliant genius captive proved impossible, however. Minos was horrified, and in fury he imprisoned Daedalus in a tower. As a result of her union with the animal, she gave birth to a monstrous creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man - the Minotaur. Mad with desire, she sought the help of Daedalus, who created a mechanical cow in which she could hide and approach the bull. The gods were angry, and decided to punish Minos by making his wife Pasiphae fall in love with the bull. The god Poseidon demanded that the bull be sacrificed to him, but Minos thought it was such a fine creature that he decided to keep it for himself and sacrifice another animal in its place. One day a magnificent white bull appeared in his kingdom. She tried to swim after him, but her father's ghost swooped down as an eagle and drowned her.Īlthough he was a great man, Minos was also flawed. In the end, Minos won the battle and killed Nisus, but he was so sickened by Scylla's treachery that he sailed away without her. She stole her father's magical hair and sneaked out of the city to give it to her beloved. However, one day his daughter Scylla saw Minos from the city walls and fell desperately in love with him. The king of Megara had a magical lock of purple hair, and as long he had it in his possession, his city could not be conquered. At first victory against Nisus seemed impossible. One of his most famous conquests was against King Nisus of Megara. As the ruler of one of the most powerful nations of the ancient world, he was greatly feared and respected by all the neighbouring kingdoms. He was a strong character, but he was also very harsh, and not well liked. His splendid labyrinthine palace at Knossos was built for him by the great genius Daedalus. He had a wife, Pasiphae, and three children: Androgeus, Ariadne and Phaedra. ![]() Many fantastical stories were woven around him, and he has come to hold an important place in classical Greek mythology.Īccording to legend, Minos was a mighty king and a great warrior, rumoured to be a son of the Greek god Zeus and the mortal woman Europa. Historians believe that 'Minos' may actually have been a title given to all Minoan kings, but to the early Greeks, Minos appears as one single, powerful figure. Back in the distant past, when the ancient Minoan Civilisation flourished on the island of Crete, there lived a great king known as Minos. ![]()
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