Blog
Wings of Wax: The Greek Tragedy of Icarus in Art
June 01, 2025
The Ancient Greeks were enlightened and philosophical thinkers. They created stories and myths that were passed along for millennia to teach valuable life lessons of human nature, moral choices, and the consequences of certain actions. These stories include characters like Heracles, Zeus, Perseus, Pandora, Orpheus, and Eurydice that teach the reader about courage, perseverance, fate, love, and the dangers of hubris. Unfortunately, for the main characters of Greek tragedies, things don’t always end well for them.
One such story is that of Icarus, a Greek myth about the death of a boy who flew too close to the sun, despite his father’s warnings. Daedalus was a skilled craftsman in Athens who worked for King Minos. The King ordered Daedalus to design a prison that could contain the feared Minotaur, a half-human and half-bull monster. For the prison, Daedalus designed a labyrinth maze that the Minotaur could never escape, but neither could anyone else who set foot in the maze. Although pleased with the design, King Minos locked Daedalus and his son, Icarus, in a tower to protect the secret of the Labyrinth’s design.
Determined to save himself and his son, Daedalus glued bird feathers together with wax to form wings that could fly them out of the tower. When the time came to use the wings, he warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax used to glue them together would melt, or too close to the sea, as the splashing water could weigh down the wings.
With wings on their backs, the pair took off and escaped the tower. Icarus, overjoyed by the whole ordeal of flying, forgot his father’s warnings. He flew too high and too close to the sun. The wax began to melt, and the wings fell apart, causing him to plummet to the sea and drown. Daedalus later named the location of his son’s death the Icarian Sea.
While a great lesson in morals, the tragic death of Icarus has also been a popular story to portray among artists and authors since classical times. Some artists choose to focus on the positive of the story, the joyful moment Icarus had, full of hope, as he flew to safety with his father. Others have chosen to illustrate the tragic moment of Icarus’ arrogance, flying too close to the sun, and plummeting back to earth.
The story of Icarus can teach us the dangers of extreme ambition and hubris and the failure to listen to sound advice. But artists’ renditions of the story can also remind the viewer to fly high and enjoy success- but just not too high.
Check out these visual renditions of the story of Icarus
from the GVSU Collection:
Jeff Colby, Icarus Ascending #12, mixed media, 1992, 2002.29.1.
Cathy Pilling Marashi, States/Icarus, lithograph, 1982, 2003.441.1.
David J. Kotker II, Icarus, cast bronze, ca 2006, 2006.084.1.
Jeff Colby, Icarus Ascending #14, mixed media, 1992, 2002.28.1.
Curious about some famous renditions of Icarus? Check out
these artworks:
Jacob Peeter Gowy, The
Fall of Icarus
, oil on canvas, 1636-1638.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (after),
Landscape
with the Fall of Icarus
, oil on canvas, ca 1560.
Peter Paul Rubens, The
Fall of Icarus
, oil on wood, 1636.
Herbert James Draper, The
Lament for Icarus
, oil on canvas 1898.
Charles Paul Landon, Icarus
and Daedalus
, oil on canvas, 1799.
Artist Unknown, Relief
of Daedalus and Icarus
, carved marble, date unknown.