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Daedalus and Icarus  Frieze showing Icarus and Dedalus Daedalus was a famous Athenian architect/engineer that king Minos invited to Crete to build him a labyrinth. When Daedalus finished building the Labyrinth, Minos jailed Daedalus and his son Icarus in the labyrinth. Daedalus tried to make his escape from his prison, but could not leave the island by sea, as king Minos kept strict watch on all the ships, and did not allow anyone to sail without being carefully searched. "Minos may control the land and sea," said Daedalus, "but not the regions of the air. I will try that way." So, Daedalus made two pairs of wings using wax and feathers, one for himself and one for his son Icarus, and they both flew away from Crete. During the flight to Athens, Icarus ignored his father's warnings and flew so high the sun melted the wax that kept his wings together. Icarus fell in the Aegean and died. The island Icaria is named after him. One can say that the history of space flight began almost from the dawn of mankind. From the moment that first person looked up upon the heavens, we have dreamed of exploring. From mythological figures such as Daedalus and Icarus, to Archimides, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, DaVinci and Jules Verne , all have served, through science or fiction, to inspire modern day scientists and pioneers such as the Wright brothers , Yuri Gagarin, and Neil Armstrong to reach for the stars. |