WEBVTT

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In mythological ancient Greece,

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soaring above Crete on wings made
from wax and feathers,

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Icarus, the son of Daedalus,
defied the laws of both man and nature.

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Ignoring the warnings of his father,
he rose higher and higher.

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To witnesses on the ground,
he looked like a god,

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and as he peered down from above,
he felt like one, too.

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But, in mythological ancient Greece,

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the line that separated god from man
was absolute

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and the punishment for mortals
who attempted to cross it was severe.

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Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus.

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Years before Icarus was born,

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his father Daedalus was highly regarded
as a genius inventor,

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craftsman,

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and sculptor in his homeland of Athens.

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He invented carpentry
and all the tools used for it.

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He designed the first bathhouse

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and the first dance floor.

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He made sculptures so lifelike
that Hercules mistook them for actual men.

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Though skilled and celebrated,
Daedalus was egotistical and jealous.

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Worried that his nephew
was a more skillful craftsman,

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Daedalus murdered him.

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As punishment, Daedalus was banished
from Athens and made his way to Crete.

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Preceded by his storied reputation,

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Daedalus was welcomed 
with open arms by Crete's King Minos.

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There, acting as the palace 
technical advisor,

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Daedalus continued to push the boundaries.

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For the king's children,

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he made mechanically animated toys
that seemed alive.

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He invented the ship's sail and mast,
which gave humans control over the wind.

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With every creation, Daedalus challenged
human limitations

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that had so far kept mortals
separate from gods,

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until finally, he broke right through.

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King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë,
had been cursed by the god Poseidon

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to fall in love
with the king's prized bull.

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Under this spell, she asked Daedalus
to help her seduce it.

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With characteristic audacity, he agreed.

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Daedalus constructed a hollow
wooden cow

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so realistic that it fooled the bull.

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With Pasiphaë hiding inside
Daedalus's creation,

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she conceived and gave birth
to the half-human half-bull minotaur.

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This, of course, enraged the king

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who blamed Daedalus for enabling
such a horrible perversion of natural law.

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As punishment, Daedalus was forced
to construct an inescapable labyrinth

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beneath the palace for the minotaur.

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When it was finished, Minos then
imprisoned Daedalus

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and his only son Icarus

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within the top of the tallest tower
on the island

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where they were to remain 
for the rest of their lives.

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But Daedalus was still a genius inventor.

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While observing the birds
that circled his prison,

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the means for escape became clear.

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He and Icarus would fly away
from their prison

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as only birds or gods could do.

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Using feathers from the flocks
that perched on the tower,

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and the wax from candles,

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Daedalus constructed two pairs
of giant wings.

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As he strapped the wings
to his son Icarus,

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he gave a warning:

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flying too near the ocean 
would dampen the wings

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and make them too heavy to use.

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Flying too near the sun,

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the heat would melt the wax
and the wings would disintegrate.

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In either case, they surely would die.

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Therefore, the key to their escape
would be in keeping to the middle.

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With the instructions clear,
both men leapt from the tower.

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They were the first mortals ever to fly.

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While Daedalus stayed carefully
to the midway course,

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Icarus was overwhelmed
with the ecstasy of flight

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and overcome with the feeling of
divine power that came with it.

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Daedalus could only watch in horror
as Icarus ascended higher and higher,

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powerless to change his son's dire fate.

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When the heat from the sun melted
the wax on his wings,

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Icarus fell from the sky.

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Just as Daedalus had many times ignored

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the consequences of defying 
the natural laws of mortal men

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in the service of his ego,

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Icarus was also carried away
by his own hubris.

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In the end,

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both men paid for their departure 
from the path of moderation dearly,

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Icarus with his life

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and Daedalus with his regret.