The story of Icarus is an ancient Greek myth, in which Icarus and his father Daedalus tried to escape imprisonment on the island of Crete. Daedalus built himself and his son wings of wax and feathers, and then they both took off for freedom, over the waters of the Mediterranean. Daedalus warned Icarus to take a middle course, flying above the waves but not too close to the sun, as that would melt the artificial wings. But Icarus was just enraptured by the sheer joy of flying, and flew too high, until the sun melted his wings and he fell to his death.