Myths and Legends

Otto Lilienthal
Wright Brothers

World War I
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    Most ancient civilizations valued the power to fly.  None of them accomplished this, of course, because the airplane was not invented until much later.  But even though they had no way of flying themselves, many ancient peoples told stories of winged gods and miraculous mythical creatures.
    One of the most well known myths about flying is the Greek tale of Daedalus and Icarus.

    There once was a handy and clever Greek man by the name of Daedalus the Craftsman.  His work was so delicate and creative that people came from all over Greece just to watch him make a simple clay pot.  But then Talos came along.  Talos was Daedalusís nephew.  He was a smart, sweet boy, and very talented at craftsmanship.  He even invented the saw, the compass, and the pottery wheel at a very young age.  It would have all been perfect if Daedalus wasn't as jealous as he was. 
He had to get rid of Talos somehow, so Daedalus lured him to the tippey top of a temple and simply pushed him off!  Luckily, the goddess Athena saw all this fuss and turned Talosís soul into a partridge in midair.  ìWhat have I done?!î Daedalus cried.  He feared punishment from the gods, so he and his son Icarus, fled to the island of Crete, where his friend, King Minos, lived.  Daedalus made many fancy pieces of art for King Minos for letting he and Icarus stay on the island.  He even made Minos a huge, life sized, 3-D, hands-on maze called a Labyrinth.  But King Minos was afraid that Daedalus or Icarus would reveal the secret of the Labyrinth to others, so he held them captive on the island.
Then Daedalus had a bright idea.  He and his son would fly to freedom.  They made wings of wax, feathers, and twine.  Everything was going smoothly, until it came to boundaries.  Daedalus said, ìStay away from the water or your wings will get wet.  Stay away from the sun or the wax on your wings will melt.î  But Icarus just wanted to go a little farther and a little farther.  Closer to the sun he went until he could feel the wax melting.  Down he plunged into the water. 
His father flew as fast as he could after him, but he was too late.  His son, Icarus, had already drowned.  As Daedalus buried Icarus, a partridge flew down beside him. ìDaedalus believed it to the spirit of his nephew, Talos, and he knew that the gods had at last punished him by allowing Icarus to fall to his death, just as Talos had done.î MarciaWilliams