| “ | Don't worry, Father! You're a genius! I trust your handiwork- | ” |
–Icarus to Daedalus, in The Battle of the Labyrinth | ||
Icarus was the son of Daedalus, cousin of Perdix, and a grandson of Athena, which would make him a legacy. He is most commonly known for his attempt to escape the island, Crete, by flight, which ended in a fall to his death because he did not listen to his father.
History
Icarus (left) and Daedalus.
Icarus and his father were held captive by King Minos, after Minos' daughter, Ariadne, helped Theseus, Greek demigod son of Poseidon, defeat the Minotaur. Icarus managed to escape using one of his father's inventions: wings made of metal feathers and wax, but he ignored Daedalus' advice and flew too high. The sun melted the wax holding the feathers together and the wings fell apart, causing Icarus to plummet to his death over the ocean. Daedalus then found the boy's body and buried it in a land he found called Icaria, which he named after his dead son.
Post-Mortem
In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, after Icarus' death, Daedalus was full of despair and became jealous of his nephew, Perdix's intelligence and skill. After Perdix showed Daedalus some plans for an automaton that could host a human soul, he killed Perdix by causing him to fall out a window (by making him stretch too far). He was then punished by Icarus' grandmother, Athena, who watched the entire event unfold. Athena marked him as a murderer by burning a partridge onto his skin. This mark appears even when he changes bodies that were made from Perdix's designs.
Percy Jackson dreamt of both Icarus' and Perdix's fall in his dreams before finally meeting Daedalus himself.
Nico di Angelo later tells Percy that after Daedalus' death, he is allowed to visit Icarus and Perdix in the Underworld on the weekends.