sansIcarus
So why sansIcarus?
I grew up reading an illustrated book called Myths and Legends, which was my introduction to the imaginative tradition of Europe. It collected stories like Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Perseus and the Gorgon. I still have the book. The pictures on this page, by Ron McCaig, are from it.
Over the course of years I’ve developed a particular interest in myths, Greek ones in particular, helped along by books like Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces. And of these Greek Myths, there are a few which really resonate with me.
They’re part of a cycle loosely centering around the island of Crete and its King, Minos. He’s best known for jailing his stepson, the Minotaur, in a labyrinth. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the hero Theseus with the help of Minos’s daughter, Ariadne and a ball of string.
My favourite part of this cycle involves the guy who built the labyrinth, Daedalus. He helped Ariadne out with the strong trick and, as punishment for that, Minos locked up Daedalus and his son, Icarus.
But Daedalus, the great inventor of his time, the DaVinci or MacGuyver, was not a man to be jailed. With the only materials available to him, bird feathers and wax, he fashioned two sets of wings with which to make their escape. Deadalus warned his not to fly too close to the sun, because the heat would melt the wax in the wings, or too close to the sea, because the spray would make the wings too heavy.
So they flew out of their prison and over the Mediterranean Sea. Icarus, young and excitable, thought flying was awesome. Daedulas warned him again, but Icarus wouldn’t be told. He swooped and zoomed and chased flocks of birds. He flew too close to the sun, the wax in his wings melted and Icarus fell to his death.
Sad ending. Great story.
SansIcarus – Without Icarus. I thought of the name and it felt right. Like all the myths there are a number of interpretations of exactly what it means, and each time I meditate on it I think of something new. I could tell you my interpretation, but that would take the fun out of it, wouldn’t it?
