The myth of Daedalus and Icarus is well-known all over the world. 
Once upon a time there was a skilful craftsman and inventor named Daedalus. He lived in Athens with his son Icarus. He was so good at his art that the king of Crete, Minos, invited him to the island to build a prison for the Minotaur.
Daedalus travelled to Crete with his son and worked hard for the project. He built a maze – the Labyrinth – which king Minos used to imprison his enemies. The king was pleased with the Labyrinth but he did not want anyone to know its secrets. He could not allow Daedalus to leave the island. So he decided to put Daedalus and Icarus in a high tower and keep them prisoners there.
They got tired and decided to escape but Daedalus knew they couldn’t escape by land or sea because there were guards everywhere. What did they do? While he was watching the birds, he had an idea. He knew they had to fly away from the island. He thought of making wings, he used feathers and connected them with wax. He taught his son how to fly but told him to keep away from the sun because the heat would make the wax melt, destroying the wings. He also warned him not to fly too close to the sea because the waves would make the feathers wet.
They climbed onto the windowsill and flew up in the sky. Icarus got so excited that he left his father and went higher and higher. He started flying close to the sun. His father was trying to make young Icarus understand that his behavior was dangerous but he didn’t listen. While he was flying, the blazing sun melted the wax and Icarus’ wings came off. He fell into the sea and drowned. His father cried and named the sea after his son, the Icarian Sea, and the small island nearby Icaria.
(adapted from http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-daedalus-and-icarus/)
You can download the Myth Daedalus Icarus worksheet
To study the main vocabulary do the matching pairs game. Then answer the questions and join the sentences (credits: Maria Stalia).
Now watch the videos with the story (credits: Σοφία Παπαγούλα).
The myth of Daedalus and Icarus has inspired a number of artists to make their works of art. Many paintings, sculptures and poems have the theme of the myth. Let’s have a look at some of them at the presentation Daedalus & Icarus
Then do a matching activity: match the paintings with their description.
Let’s listen to a song I’m flying by Nice Little penguins (thank you, Maria Dimitrakopoulou for reminding me of this song!)
Watch some videos about the Wright Brothers who invented the airplane.
