:: Icarus and Daedalus ::

Ica    Mykeon    Mekoneon    Glaukion    Baetyl    Palaikastro    Psychro    Glaucos Dream    epiphanion

:: 2011 :: 90cm x 30cm :: Acrylics, Inks & Markers on Canvas ::

A literal but playful rendering of Icarus' and Daedalus' flight from Crete. From mentions of da-da-re-jo in Linear B tablets at Knossos, it is clear that the Daedalion was an important ritual place in Minoan life - whether it was an alternative name for the Labyrinth dance or indeed the venue for the dance I cannot say at this stage. However, it is notable that the character of Daedalus is a curious one: the name is pre-Greek (δαιδαλλω 'work artfully, embellish') and appears all over Greece. His uncertain parentage and the many stories about his sons (of which Icarus is the most famous), all of whom appear to be 'only children' but all of whom die young, suggest a pre-Hellenic deity that, like Glaukos, was honoured all over the Southern Aegean.

Interestingly, Pausanias recordsa festival in honour of the goddess Rhea (who gave birth to Zeus on Crete) in Boeotia called the Daedala which honoured her as Nympheuomene 'the Bride' - such a festival recalls the sacred marriage between the Young Hunter deity and the Goddess of the Mountains in Crete for which an essay is currently in preparation. I am indebted to Ionas Theodoros for this information.

Icarus and Daedalus

 

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