Myths Retold- By Sameeha Salman and Hiba Chaudhry

Daedalus and his son Icarus were imprisoned by King Minos. Daedalus created wings for them to escape, but warned Icarus not to fly too high or too low. Icarus ignored the warning and flew too high, causing his wings to melt and him to fall to his death. The moral of the story is to be cautious of pride and its consequences. Not too big, not too small, not too short, not too tall, not too hot, not too cold, not too high, not too low. Welcome, podcast listeners, to another episode of Miss Retold. My name is Samina. And my name is Hiba. In today's episode, Goldilocks Not Approved, we will be delving into the story of the genius Daedalus and his son, Icarus. This episode is brought to you by the Amazon Warriors. Before we start, I ask to introduce you to the Albert Einstein of ancient Greece, Daedalus himself. Daedalus was known as the greatest engineer during his age, the father of the Labyrinth, and the pusher of Nesquik. But Goldilocks' story I will get into another time. For now, let's complete this father-son duo, introducing Icarus, the son of the one and only genius. Now, let's set the scene. Following a certain bold incident, don't ask, King Minos of Crete imprisoned Daedalus in his very own creation, the Labyrinth. Imprisoned, the genius Daedalus was growing restless with each day. I mean, who wouldn't? Just imagine some grumpy old king trapping you in the prison that you created, forced to make inventions for said king for who knows how long. Days passed and passed, it all seemed like a repeating cycle. But then, Daedalus had an idea. An idea to escape. Behind his bars, it seemed as if he was creating a new invention to please King Minos, the king who imprisoned him and his son. Whereas in reality, Daedalus was working hard each and every day to create an invention that would allow him and his son to finally be free. Something that could free them from their cage. They couldn't escape by water or land, so air was the only option. But they didn't exactly have Crete Airlines back then. Days passed, months even, but the invention was finally completed. Daedalus had created two pairs of mechanical wings that would be attached to the shoulders by wax. Sounds painful, I know, but they didn't really have that many options at the time. One pair of wings for him and a smaller pair for his beloved son. The long-awaited prison escape had come at last. One night, when King Minos and his guards were deep asleep, the two of them used the wind from the vents underground and jumped out to see if they could fly. In truth, they were not very good at this, likely looking like headless chickens in the air, but they believed that with time they would get better. One early morning, when the king was still asleep, the two of them jumped out into the air and soared west to an island far out of Minos' control. So good plan, right? Well, this story wouldn't be interesting if it was, so I think you can predict that something is going to go wrong. As they were flying, Daedalus warned Icarus to not fly too high in the sky, else the wax would melt and the feathers would fall off. He also warned him not to fly too low, or the spray from the water below would dampen the feathers and cause him to fall. Not too high, not too low. You see the Goldilocks reference now? However, Icarus was still a kid, and kids have dreams. His dream was to fly. And so, what he finally did, too high on the euphoria flight, too proud of himself that he had made it this far, he decided not to tell his father. And instead, he flew higher and higher, getting closer and closer to his son, who he might as well have seen a mighty failure of himself. However, just as his father had warned Icarus, the heat of his arms slowly started melting the wax that was keeping Icarus and his wings connected. Whenever he went higher and higher, the wax started melting quicker and quicker. As a result of this, Icarus' wings became detached from his shoulders, meaning he had no wings anymore. With no wings, he started falling at a rate so fast that even his father could no longer save him. Now, imagine if you were falling to your death. You would be screaming, crying, and praying, right? Well, instead, Icarus threw his head back and started laughing, his teeth baring the world. He had done it. He had flown. He had landed in the deep depths of the sea, where no one could save him. And during all of this, the dead earth squashed and roared, knowing another one, his beloved, was dying right in front of him. That escalated quickly. After this tragic event, Daedalus continued traveling west into Therian city, but once he arrived, he never, ever, drove a machine as great as the labyrinth ever again. Well, dear listeners, that is it, the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus. However, before we end this episode, Tamiha, do you mind telling me what the moral of this tragic tale is? Of course. Behind all stories, there is always a moral. From this myth, the moral is to be cautious of hubris and how pride is able to blind anybody from their own limitations. Quite an important moral, I'd say. And that's a wrap on today's episode of Myths Retold. Agreed. Well then, dear podcast listeners, thank you all for listening to today's episode of Goldilocks Monarchus, another installment of Myths Retold. Today's episode is brought to you and sponsored by the Amazon Warriors. We hope you all have a wonderful day, and stay tuned for further episodes. Bye!