Icarus: Heights, Humanity and Hubris
An Exploration of the True Tragedy
Hello, Mentatrix readers!
I’m thrilled to continue a series of guest posts written by fellow Substack writers, here on Mentatrix, on our themes: reflection, inner journeys, nature, human relations.
One theme we’ve never had on Mentatrix, but which oozes with significance about how our human mind and soul work, is that of ancient myths.
Today I’m bringing you SJ Cheesebrough. SJ writes The Dropout Classicist and is passionate about the Classical World, from Greek mythology to Roman poetry, philosophy or Bronze Age pottery.
We never had these themes on Mentatrix, so I hope a brief infusion of Greek mythology might expand our reflection practice to include the ancient stories of human feats. SJ’s article below examines the myth of Icarus, its versions, and its interpretations.
Enjoy SJ’s myth of ascension to the sun!
The myth of Icarus is well known, well renowned and possibly one of the most drawn upon classical tales. Widely spread by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, we see influence in poets, songwriters and painters. Icarus can stand for many things: A wild teen, a metaphor for a doomed lover, a free spirit, or the grief of a father. I want to explore his appearances in classical mythology and find out why exactly he captures the human spirit so well to remain such a strong influence on artists today.
Without a doubt, the version of Icarus you know is this same one from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the 15 book Roman epic covering themes of transformation and hubris in mythology. Though not always giving credit to this master of Latin poetry, almost every modern poet, author and writer inspired by Icarus owes Ovid some thanks. His interpretations of mythology often emphasise tragic elements, and draw upon themes we still explore today.
So what of his Icarus then? Reading the Penguin Classics translation, you can see this figure start to emerge. Daedalus weeps as he warns Icarus of the dangers of flying. Icarus, giddy with excitement, nods along. The two soar free of their captivity, passersby comparing them to gods. Icarus ‘falls in love with the sky’ and forgets his father’s warnings, soaring higher and higher before his inevitable fall. Daedalus grieves, ‘a father no longer’ as his greatest creation falls into the sea with the failed wings he created.
Moving and powerful, Ovid does not seem to draw narrative attention to the areas of the poem we expect. His focuses seem to be less on Icarus, and more on Daedalus and his failures. This emphasis on fatherhood is not what we expect as the modern reader, with most attention being on Daedalus’ ‘fatherly fear’, and his grief at losing his son.
Icarus is rare in other classical depictions. Though brief, Apollodorus mentions his tale. Emphasis is again brought more on Daedalus than Icarus himself, mentioning Heracles finding and burying the body of Icarus, much to the gratitude of his father. The summary he provides of the tale of Icarus draws up the same themes we see in Ovid, a father suffering at the fall of a son.
Icarus in classical art seems to fall under two categories: before and after Ovid. Pottery depictions before Ovid seem to show a fascination with the construction of the wings, a fascination that we can see permeate history. I find it easy to forget how recent planes are in human history, but even we can still imagine the dreams of soaring free in the sky. Just take a look at the likes of DaVinci. The sky was often seen as the domain of gods. Nonetheless, a domain we wished to conquer.
Images of Icarus after Ovid often depict his fall. It is clear that Ovid left us with an image of tragedy, one that is often tied to hubris. This recurring theme, humans brave enough to challenge gods, is oddly presented here. While watchers in Ovid’s poem compare the two to gods, Icarus is not explicitly struck down for this reason. In fact, his hubris is one of the rare examples of one entirely self caused - he is the sole cause for his downfall. Or is he?
“Daedalus flies out of Minos' control [and] Icarus
flies out of Daedalus' control.”
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The theme of fatherhood keeps occurring throughout classical depictions of Icarus, yet seems to have fallen out of our modern view. This is a bit of a shame, as I feel this is where the true power of the tragedy lies. Both Ovid and Apollodorus draw our attention to Daedalus over Icarus, and Daedalus’ fate is worse than Icarus’. While Icarus does die, Daedalus is the one who must live with the grief of losing his son. We see him scorn himself and his craft, after all it was his craft which got them into this situation.
It is easy to dismiss Daedalus’ part in the story and focus on Icarus’ faults at first. However, the arguments of Mary Davidson reveal the true tragedy. She discusses in an article the recurring theme not only in the Icarus excerpt but Ovid’s literary corpus, showing how the recurring bird imagery adds a beautiful and tragic depth. Daedalus appears in earlier poems, showing his jealous murder attempt of his nephew who is saved by turning into a bird and his failure to create perfect inventions. Akin to this are the wings he makes for him and his son. He inadvertently tries and fails to act like a mother bird, creating wings for his son but failing to control the impulses of youth or teach him to use them, Mary Davidson argues.
Icarus’ death thus falls into a few broader poetic themes that Ovid masters. First of these is the hubris of Daedalus, but more widely is the theme of intrusion on a divine domain. Another favourite of poets and songwriters is Orpheus, and Ovid covers his story within his Metamorphoses too. The same theme is repeated, a talented mortal enters a divine domain to save a loved one. The underworld and the sky both were out of reach to the Greeks and Romans, thus should be held in the same reverence. Both ultimately fail, showing us the strength of human will yet also reminding us not to follow in their footsteps. Neither could have succeeded, after all it is human nature that foils them both.
Icarus falls due to his youthful tendencies. Orpheus looks back from his love. Thus, the true hubris and tragedy of the story is not of Icarus, but of Daedalus. He reaches too high, building things his son could not reasonably control. Thus, when Icarus falls, Ovid tells us to be wary of our limits. We could each be Icarus, and his resonance within culture shows that. However, we could each be Daedalus too. We must maintain our balance between the sky and the sea, knowing both not to fly too high nor drop too low.
Sources:
Ovid, Metamorphoses, tr. David Raeburn
Apollodorus, Library of Greek Mythology, tr. Robin Hard
Stay close, Mentatrix readers, for the next post in two weeks’ time!
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thank you so much, i hope your readers love it :)
This is why I came to sub stack. Excellent writing, excellent subject. The ancients never fail to inspire me. Thank you.