If you ever need a reminder about the term “know your role”, the story of Icarus fits the bill. The idea of achieving is a great notion but sometimes people take it too far or are over-ambitious. There are problems with this way of thinking and sometimes we need a reminder. The story of Icarus is a very famous tale and well known. Therefore, it’s no surprise that there are so many Icarus tattoos in the world.

We have all heard the story of Icarus at some point in our lives. If not, we have most likely seen the image of Icarus flying high and maybe a little too close to the sun. There is a great deal of meaning behind this tattoo and in this post, we will try to address what the Icarus tattoo means to the people donning this image on their body. We hope that by the end of this post you will have a better understanding of the story of Icarus and the meaning behind the Icarus tattoo.

The Story of Icarus

The story of Icarus is a well-known tale. The story goes as follows:

Icarus had a father named Daedalus. Daedalus was an extraordinary and talented Athenian craftsman. He created the Labyrinth for King Minos to imprison the Minotaur who was the half-bull, half-man creature born of the Cretan bull and his wife.

However, Daedalus was then imprisoned in the Labyrinth he had created for Minos because he gave Minos’ daughter a ball of string which she used to help Theseus find his way out of the Labyrinth. Theseus was the enemy of Minos so in his eyes, his daughter had committed an atrocious crime and Daedalus helped her.

To escape, Daedalus created a pair of wings out of wax and feathers and gave one to Icarus and he used one himself. He warned Icarus to follow his flight path and to not go too close to the sun or too close to the water. However, Icarus was overcome with joy and excitement over his new ability to fly and soared in the sky and happened to go to close to the sun. In doing so, the wax in his wings melted and he fell to the ocean which holds his name, the Icarian Sea.