WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.030
Daedalus and Icarus
00:00:05.030 --> 00:00:07.530
Imagine a tyrant.
00:00:07.530 --> 00:00:10.020
Imagine a king so powerful,
00:00:10.020 --> 00:00:19.730
so vicious that other kings from all over the world sent him ships laden with treasures and tributes each month to appease his anger.
00:00:19.730 --> 00:00:23.520
Imagine King Minos of Crete.
00:00:23.520 --> 00:00:28.120
One of the kings who sent him treasure was the king of a city far away to the north,
00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:31.840
King Aegeus of Athens.
00:00:31.840 --> 00:00:35.970
Owl-eyed Athene, the goddess of war and wisdom,
00:00:35.970 --> 00:00:38.770
loved the city of Athens.
00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:41.600
She loved the people of Athens.
00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:45.740
Most of all she loved those people who are like herself:
00:00:45.740 --> 00:00:49.770
quick, clever, crafty and cunning.
00:00:49.770 --> 00:00:54.700
She was very, very fond of an inventor called Daedalus.
00:00:54.700 --> 00:01:01.140
He had made a sword so sharp that it never struck in battle without slaying its victim.
00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:07.960
He had made a room in the root of a volcano that was warm even in the coldest of winters.
00:01:07.960 --> 00:01:17.790
He had made a golden honeycomb that was so lifelike that even the bees would crawl across it searching for sweetness.
00:01:17.790 --> 00:01:23.510
But the one she loved the most of all was Daedalus' nephew,
00:01:23.510 --> 00:01:26.240
a boy called Talos.
00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:31.510
He was only twelve years old but he was the cleverest of them all.
00:01:31.510 --> 00:01:35.330
When he was eight he had invented the first maze,
00:01:35.330 --> 00:01:37.980
a labyrinth for his pet rat.
00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:41.360
When he was ten he had invented the first kite,
00:01:41.360 --> 00:01:43.910
made from the feathers of a bird.
00:01:43.910 --> 00:01:50.180
And now the boy was twelve and he was sitting with his uncle eating fish stew.
00:01:50.180 --> 00:01:55.720
He was spooning the meat into his mouth and spitting out the bones.
00:01:55.720 --> 00:01:57.530
When the stew was finished,
00:01:57.530 --> 00:02:02.340
he reached into his bowl and pulled out a fish's jaw bone.
00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:06.990
He felt the row of sharp teeth with the tip of his finger.
00:02:06.990 --> 00:02:12.660
And suddenly the boy smiled to himself and dropped the bone.
00:02:12.660 --> 00:02:14.730
Daedalus watched him.
00:02:14.730 --> 00:02:19.470
He wondered what was running through the boy's mind.
00:02:19.470 --> 00:02:24.470
And the next morning Daedalus was walking past the Acropolis,
00:02:24.470 --> 00:02:30.470
the great temple to Athene that stands on a cliff top high above the city of Athens.
00:02:30.470 --> 00:02:33.770
And suddenly he heard a strange sound,
00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:36.140
a strange rasping sound,
00:02:36.140 --> 00:02:38.720
coming from the other side of the wall.
00:02:38.720 --> 00:02:43.280
He peered round a corner and he saw his nephew.
00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:51.390
Talos had fashioned the very first saw with a row of bronze teeth like the teeth of a fish,
00:02:51.390 --> 00:02:55.140
and he was cutting through a piece of wood.
00:02:55.140 --> 00:02:58.510
Daedalus was filled with jealous rage,
00:02:58.510 --> 00:03:05.420
a bitter yellow bubbling seething rage in the pit of his belly that he couldn't control.
00:03:05.420 --> 00:03:07.610
'Why didn't I think of it myself?
00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:09.860
Why didn't I think of it myself?'
00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:14.950
He grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck and hurled him over the edge of the cliff.
00:03:14.950 --> 00:03:21.650
And Talos fell, flailing, plunging, tumbling through the air.
00:03:21.650 --> 00:03:26.680
But nothing was hidden from the eyes of the mighty gods and goddesses.
00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:31.550
Owl-eyed Athene saw her favourite falling to his death.
00:03:31.550 --> 00:03:36.690
And straightaway Talos felt feathers pushing out of his arms.
00:03:36.690 --> 00:03:39.460
He felt feathers pushing out of his body.
00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:42.290
He felt his mouth hardening into a beak.
00:03:42.290 --> 00:03:46.550
He felt a plume of feathers bursting out of the top of his head.
00:03:46.550 --> 00:03:53.620
The goddess had turned him into a bird, a lapwing, the very first lapwing.
00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:57.450
Talos beat his feathered arms against the air,
00:03:57.450 --> 00:04:02.440
and he flew, a strange, lifting, tumbling flight,
00:04:02.440 --> 00:04:04.900
never very far from the ground.
00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:09.200
For the lapwing is the only bird afraid of heights.
00:04:09.200 --> 00:04:14.210
Talos has never forgotten his awful fall.
00:04:14.210 --> 00:04:16.720
When King Aegeus, the king of Athens,
00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:24.480
heard that Daedalus had tried to murder his nephew he sent soldiers to seize him so that he could be punished for his crime.
00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.550
But Daedalus was quick and crafty and clever.
00:04:28.550 --> 00:04:37.580
He'd climbed on to a boat that was sailing southwards and southwards again to the island of Crete.
00:04:37.580 --> 00:04:43.090
King Minos and his queen Pasiphae welcomed the famous inventor.
00:04:43.090 --> 00:04:44.980
He brought them gifts.
00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:48.790
To Minos he gave a bronze map of his island kingdom.
00:04:48.790 --> 00:04:53.780
Every hill, every river was etched into the shining surface.
00:04:53.780 --> 00:05:01.600
To Queen Pasiphae he gave a jointed statue of a woman that could be bent and turned into every posture.
00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:08.430
To their daughter, to Princess Ariadne, he gave a golden crown.
00:05:08.430 --> 00:05:16.810
With a single spark from stone against stone it could be set aflame and fill even the darkest of nights with brightness.
00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:20.610
Very quickly Daedalus became the favourite of King Minos.
00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:24.710
One night Daedalus was summoned to the king's private rooms.
00:05:24.710 --> 00:05:26.590
'I'm sure' said the king
00:05:26.590 --> 00:05:29.050
'it seems to you that I want for nothing.
00:05:29.050 --> 00:05:29.940
I am rich.
00:05:29.940 --> 00:05:34.050
I have a fleet of ships that strikes terror into the hearts of countless kings.
00:05:34.050 --> 00:05:35.790
But the gods are cruel.
00:05:35.790 --> 00:05:38.760
What is the point of an empire without a son?
00:05:38.760 --> 00:05:40.830
You, above all other mortals,
00:05:40.830 --> 00:05:42.450
are the maker of solutions.
00:05:42.450 --> 00:05:44.150
Make me a solution.
00:05:44.150 --> 00:05:48.750
Make me a son, and in return I will make you rich.'
00:05:48.750 --> 00:05:51.630
Daedalus bowed his head and set to work.
00:05:51.630 --> 00:05:53.190
He made a solution,
00:05:53.190 --> 00:06:00.910
a potion that Queen Pasiphae had to drink on a night when the moon was in the constellation of the Bull.
00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:03.340
Queen Pasiphae became pregnant.
00:06:03.340 --> 00:06:05.130
Minos was overjoyed.
00:06:05.130 --> 00:06:07.100
He showered gifts on Daedalus.
00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:11.920
A nursery was prepared, the walls painted with pictures and patterns.
00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:14.490
Queen Pasiphae's belly grew and grew.
00:06:14.490 --> 00:06:16.050
'It's a son!' said the king.
00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:18.200
'I know it is a son that is growing inside you.
00:06:18.200 --> 00:06:20.130
What name shall we give him?'
00:06:20.130 --> 00:06:24.160
'It is thanks to the stars that he came to us' said the queen,
00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:26.940
'We should thanks the stars for him.'
00:06:26.940 --> 00:06:35.900
So they agreed the child would be called 'Asterius' which means 'of the stars'.
00:06:35.900 --> 00:06:39.520
The days turned to weeks, the weeks into months.
00:06:39.520 --> 00:06:41.720
After five months she was enormous.
00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:43.930
Six... Seven... Eight...
00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:45.670
She could no longer walk;
00:06:45.670 --> 00:06:47.100
she took to her bed.
00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:49.990
After another month she went into labour.
00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:51.210
Minos was fetched.
00:06:51.210 --> 00:06:52.840
He sent away the nurses.
00:06:52.840 --> 00:06:56.340
He wanted to be the first to lay eyes on his son.
00:06:56.340 --> 00:07:02.050
But when the child was born King Minos' face fell.
00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:07.080
The boy had the head, the horns, of a bull.
00:07:07.080 --> 00:07:08.550
'Fetch Daedalus!'
00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:10.190
The inventor was brought.
00:07:10.190 --> 00:07:11.350
'Look at it! Look what you've done!
00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:12.330
Get rid of it!'
00:07:12.330 --> 00:07:13.830
'No!' said Pasiphae.
00:07:13.830 --> 00:07:16.330
'You cannot kill my only child.'
00:07:16.330 --> 00:07:20.440
Daedalus looked from raving king to sobbing queen.
00:07:20.440 --> 00:07:24.270
Somehow he had to please them both.
00:07:24.270 --> 00:07:27.830
'Great king, I'll make a prison for you,
00:07:27.830 --> 00:07:30.650
a prison from which he will never escape.'
00:07:30.650 --> 00:07:32.230
He turned to the queen.
00:07:32.230 --> 00:07:36.680
'Always he will be near you and he will want for nothing.'
00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:40.130
'At once! You will begin at once!'
00:07:40.130 --> 00:07:46.390
Daedalus remembered the maze his nephew Talos had made for his pet rat.
00:07:46.390 --> 00:07:54.780
In the caves beneath the palace Daedalus made a marvellous matrix of corridors and chambers,
00:07:54.780 --> 00:07:59.070
a labyrinth of such complexity that if any human being –
00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:00.270
apart from its maker –
00:08:00.270 --> 00:08:05.770
took three steps into the dark they'd be utterly lost.
00:08:05.770 --> 00:08:09.450
In the centre of the maze he hollowed out a chamber.
00:08:09.450 --> 00:08:11.810
A chute was dug from the palace above,
00:08:11.810 --> 00:08:14.970
a chute down which food and drink could be lowered.
00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:22.900
Everything from the child's bedroom, the cot, the clothes, the toys, were placed in the chamber below.
00:08:22.900 --> 00:08:28.500
One night, while horn-headed Asterius was fast asleep,
00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:33.130
Daedalus took the child in his arms and carried him into the maze.
00:08:33.130 --> 00:08:39.490
He placed him in the cot in the central chamber and then he slipped away.
00:08:39.490 --> 00:08:44.190
Up above Queen Pasiphae stood at the top of the chute.
00:08:44.190 --> 00:08:48.730
She heard her son wake and cry for his mother.
00:08:48.730 --> 00:08:52.640
He cried and cried but he didn't die.
00:08:52.640 --> 00:08:55.900
He found the food and drink that had been left for him.
00:08:55.900 --> 00:08:59.460
He grew bigger and stronger.
00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:02.880
In a way, what Daedalus had said was true:
00:09:02.880 --> 00:09:04.740
the child wanted for nothing.
00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:08.800
He had food, clothes, toys.
00:09:08.800 --> 00:09:12.410
But he never knew the touch of the sun on his skin.
00:09:12.410 --> 00:09:20.570
His only company were the bats and rats and birds who made the maze their home.
00:09:20.570 --> 00:09:22.590
The days turned to weeks.
00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:24.400
The weeks turned to months.
00:09:24.400 --> 00:09:26.540
The months became years.
00:09:26.540 --> 00:09:29.050
Fifteen years went by.
00:09:29.050 --> 00:09:31.880
Queen Pasiphae went to her husband.
00:09:31.880 --> 00:09:37.120
'It is so long since we've heard any sound from ...
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.380
I'm afraid. I think he is dead.'
00:09:40.380 --> 00:09:43.420
Minos sent a human chain into the labyrinth,
00:09:43.420 --> 00:09:45.620
a chain of servants holding hands.
00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:48.860
King and queen stood at the top of the chute.
00:09:48.860 --> 00:10:05.980
They heard sniffing, shouts of alarm, bellowing, shouting, ripping, screaming, tearing, chewing, and then snoring.
00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:08.350
Daedalus crept into the maze.
00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:10.480
When returned he said,
00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:12.150
'He ate them.
00:10:12.150 --> 00:10:13.240
Why shouldn't he?
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.220
He's been given the flesh of cows to eat.
00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:18.990
No one has told him it is wrong to eat the flesh of men and women.’
00:10:18.990 --> 00:10:22.610
From then on Asterius refused all other food.
00:10:22.610 --> 00:10:24.940
He threw himself against the walls of his prison.
00:10:24.940 --> 00:10:26.530
He snorted and bellowed.
00:10:26.530 --> 00:10:28.260
There was no peace in the palace.
00:10:28.260 --> 00:10:30.270
Daedalus was sent for.
00:10:30.270 --> 00:10:32.580
'What should we do?' said Minos.
00:10:32.580 --> 00:10:34.630
'You have a choice,' said Daedalus.
00:10:34.630 --> 00:10:38.410
'Give him what he wants or let him starve to death.'
00:10:38.410 --> 00:10:44.540
Not even King Minos could listen to the sound of his own son wasting away.
00:10:44.540 --> 00:10:48.410
So he sent seven young men into the maze,
00:10:48.410 --> 00:10:49.920
and then another seven,
00:10:49.920 --> 00:10:50.850
and then another.
00:10:50.850 --> 00:10:54.760
Only young men, because Minos hated the sight of them.
00:10:54.760 --> 00:11:00.420
Whenever he saw a young man of princely and noble bearing he was reminded of his own son,
00:11:00.420 --> 00:11:05.230
that thing of shame skulking in the shadows.
00:11:05.230 --> 00:11:07.310
Daedalus shuddered.
00:11:07.310 --> 00:11:09.130
He had a secret son,
00:11:09.130 --> 00:11:12.060
whom he'd had by a slave woman.
00:11:12.060 --> 00:11:17.250
He was a beautiful, golden-haired boy called Icarus.
00:11:17.250 --> 00:11:21.590
Daedalus knew that, if Minos heard of the boy's existence,
00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:23.620
he would be filled with jealousy,
00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:27.680
and Minos would send the boy to a terrible death.
00:11:27.680 --> 00:11:34.730
So Daedalus had hidden Icarus in a secret chamber in his private palace.
00:11:34.730 --> 00:11:37.970
Daedalus went to Minos and said,
00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:40.430
'Many nations fear you.
00:11:40.430 --> 00:11:48.630
What if you were to demand that each nation send seven young men a year to join your army?'
00:11:48.630 --> 00:11:50.490
And so it was.
00:11:50.490 --> 00:11:53.920
Each nation sent seven young men,
00:11:53.920 --> 00:11:58.230
seven young men who would never be heard of again.
00:11:58.230 --> 00:12:01.380
Rumours travelled from Crete with trading ships,
00:12:01.380 --> 00:12:06.710
rumours of a flesh-eating beast beneath Minos' palace.
00:12:06.710 --> 00:12:17.810
The turn of Athens came around and King Aegeus could not bring himself to send seven young Athenians to such a horrible death.
00:12:17.810 --> 00:12:20.890
Across the sea Minos waited.
00:12:20.890 --> 00:12:27.380
Eventually, furious, he sent a fleet of ships towards Athens.
00:12:27.380 --> 00:12:33.260
The people of Athens saw the ships of King Minos slicing through the waves.
00:12:33.260 --> 00:12:37.150
Every man and woman and child shuddered.
00:12:37.150 --> 00:12:45.750
They'd heard stories about Minos' monstrous son and the word 'Minotaur' had been whispered from mouth to ear.
00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:51.820
As soon as the ships reached the quayside King Minos and his soldiers leapt ashore.
00:12:51.820 --> 00:13:00.570
They marched through the streets of Athens and wherever they saw a young man of noble or princely bearing Minos would shout 'Seize him!'
00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:06.410
Six young men had been taken when they reached the palace of King Aegeus.
00:13:06.410 --> 00:13:09.920
They climbed the steps and entered the throne room.
00:13:09.920 --> 00:13:15.980
And standing behind the king's throne there was a beautiful young man.
00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:20.920
With a crown of laurel leaves on his head he looked like a god.
00:13:20.920 --> 00:13:25.340
He could almost have been Ares, the beautiful god of war.
00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:28.620
King Minos lifted his arm and pointed.
00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:31.020
'He will be the seventh!'
00:13:31.020 --> 00:13:35.790
King Aegeus threw himself on to the ground at Minos' feet.
00:13:35.790 --> 00:13:40.900
'Please! He is my own son, my only son, Theseus.
00:13:40.900 --> 00:13:43.750
I beg you, spare his life!'
00:13:43.750 --> 00:13:46.420
Minos kicked the king aside.
00:13:46.420 --> 00:13:47.960
'Seize him!'
00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:54.350
But before the soldiers could grab him Theseus walked forwards of his own free will,
00:13:54.350 --> 00:13:56.570
with a strange half-smile,
00:13:56.570 --> 00:14:01.040
half-sneer flickering between his nose and his chin.
00:14:01.040 --> 00:14:03.840
'No need to bind my arms.
00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.050
I come happily of my own free will.
00:14:06.050 --> 00:14:07.300
You know what they say:
00:14:07.300 --> 00:14:08.900
like father, like son.
00:14:08.900 --> 00:14:12.570
I look forward to meeting your Minotaur.'
00:14:12.570 --> 00:14:17.750
The seven Athenian youths were put in an Athenian ship,
00:14:17.750 --> 00:14:25.540
a ship with black sails because everybody knew that they were sailing to their deaths.
00:14:25.540 --> 00:14:32.770
The next morning, King Aegeus and a beautiful Athenian woman called Aigle went down to the quayside.
00:14:32.770 --> 00:14:39.860
Aigle saw Theseus leaning over the rail of the ship and she threw her arms around his neck.
00:14:39.860 --> 00:14:43.060
'Theseus, you will not forget me, will you?'
00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:47.650
'Aigle, I will never forget you and when I return,
00:14:47.650 --> 00:14:50.720
my sword sticky with the monster's blood,
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.880
I will make you a queen of Athens.'
00:14:53.880 --> 00:14:57.000
And then King Aegeus spoke to his son,
00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.910
'Theseus, if you die it will break my heart.
00:15:00.910 --> 00:15:06.290
But if by the grace of the mighty gods you return safely home to Athens,
00:15:06.290 --> 00:15:08.250
then please, I beg you,
00:15:08.250 --> 00:15:11.510
swap these black sails for white sails,
00:15:11.510 --> 00:15:17.230
so that I may know the best or the worst before any word is spoken.'
00:15:17.230 --> 00:15:19.300
Theseus bowed his head.
00:15:19.300 --> 00:15:22.130
'Father, I promise.'
00:15:22.130 --> 00:15:27.410
And then the ropes were untied and the black-sailed ship left the harbour,
00:15:27.410 --> 00:15:32.820
surrounded by the white-sailed ships of King Minos of Crete.
00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:35.830
For three days and nights they sailed.
00:15:35.830 --> 00:15:38.900
And when at last they reached the island of Crete,
00:15:38.900 --> 00:15:41.990
there was a blaring of horns and trumpets.
00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:47.220
The seven Athenian youths were led to the palace by a glittering procession.
00:15:47.220 --> 00:15:50.600
They were invited to sit down to a feast.
00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:56.550
But as they tasted the savoury meats and sipped the sweet wines
00:15:56.550 --> 00:16:03.920
they could hear the sound of keys turning in locks and they knew that they were trapped.
00:16:03.920 --> 00:16:09.590
That night they slept on silken sheets under purple blankets,
00:16:09.590 --> 00:16:14.980
but the next morning there were only six of them at the breakfast table.
00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:23.550
As they ate they heard the distant sound of terrible screaming from somewhere far, far below.
00:16:23.550 --> 00:16:26.430
Five pushed their plates away.
00:16:26.430 --> 00:16:30.190
But Theseus chewed his food and listened,
00:16:30.190 --> 00:16:36.390
that strange half-smile, half-sneer playing across his face,
00:16:36.390 --> 00:16:40.550
while King Minos entertained his guests.
00:16:40.550 --> 00:16:48.000
The finest Cretan runners and leapers and wrestlers and archers were invited to compete with them,
00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.710
and Theseus defeated every one of them.
00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:56.770
And in the evenings Princess Ariadne would dance for them,
00:16:56.770 --> 00:17:02.800
her blazing crown on her head making the shadows of the hall dance with her.
00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:08.460
And then one morning there were five of them at the breakfast table.
00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:12.340
And then there were four.
00:17:12.340 --> 00:17:16.940
And Ariadne couldn't take her eyes off Theseus.
00:17:16.940 --> 00:17:20.780
When he was running or wrestling she would be watching him.
00:17:20.780 --> 00:17:24.400
When she was dancing her eyes were fixed on him.
00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:30.170
And Theseus felt the weight of her gaze and he smiled to himself.
00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:35.100
And then there were three of them at the breakfast table.
00:17:35.100 --> 00:17:39.080
And then one morning, two.
00:17:39.080 --> 00:17:42.840
When no one was watching Theseus seized Ariadne's hand.
00:17:42.840 --> 00:17:47.210
'Ariadne, from the moment I first saw you I have loved you.
00:17:47.210 --> 00:17:49.770
I could have made you so happy.
00:17:49.770 --> 00:17:52.180
I could have taken you to Athens.
00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:54.610
I could have made you a queen.'
00:17:54.610 --> 00:17:59.190
She looked at him and tears trickled down her cheeks.
00:17:59.190 --> 00:18:00.700
Then she shook her head,
00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:04.760
pulled her hand away and ran out of the hall.
00:18:04.760 --> 00:18:10.590
And then one morning Theseus found that he was alone at the breakfast table.
00:18:10.590 --> 00:18:14.480
He waited for his chance and then approached Ariadne again.
00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:18.450
He whispered, 'Ariadne, is there nobody who could help me?
00:18:18.450 --> 00:18:21.400
If I could escape, I would take you with me.'
00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:24.120
And Ariadne couldn't help herself.
00:18:24.120 --> 00:18:26.870
She melted into his arms.
00:18:26.870 --> 00:18:29.260
She pressed her lips to his lips.
00:18:29.260 --> 00:18:32.790
And she said, 'Yes, yes, there is someone.'
00:18:32.790 --> 00:18:36.810
She broke from his embrace and she ran out of the hall,
00:18:36.810 --> 00:18:39.370
straight to the chambers of Daedalus.
00:18:39.370 --> 00:18:44.990
'I want you to help this Theseus defeat my brother.'
00:18:44.990 --> 00:18:48.730
'I cannot, your father would be furious with me.’
00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:50.060
'You must.
00:18:50.060 --> 00:18:53.810
If you don't, I will tell my father about your secret son.
00:18:53.810 --> 00:18:56.490
Oh yes, I have seen what my parents have not,
00:18:56.490 --> 00:18:58.540
I've seen little Icarus.
00:18:58.540 --> 00:19:00.970
And when my father lays eyes on your boy,
00:19:00.970 --> 00:19:03.440
I know as well as you what will happen:
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.020
Icarus will be sent into the maze to be devoured.
00:19:07.020 --> 00:19:12.210
So I say again: you will help Theseus.'
00:19:12.210 --> 00:19:15.980
Daedalus bowed his head and set to work.
00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:22.360
That night he crept out of the palace and placed just inside the maze, to the left,
00:19:22.360 --> 00:19:26.160
the things Theseus would need to kill the monster.
00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.420
And that night Ariadne crept into Theseus' bed chamber.
00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:32.670
She leaned over the bed.
00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:38.530
'My love, when they take you to the labyrinth feel among the shadows to your left.
00:19:38.530 --> 00:19:41.830
You will find my crown to light your way.
00:19:41.830 --> 00:19:45.490
You will find a ball of golden thread so that you won't get lost,
00:19:45.490 --> 00:19:50.540
and you will find a bronze sword for my brother.
00:19:50.540 --> 00:19:53.600
I will be waiting for you outside.
00:19:53.600 --> 00:19:56.260
She kissed him and slipped away.
00:19:56.260 --> 00:19:58.690
Next day, King Minos was amazed:
00:19:58.690 --> 00:20:01.890
Theseus came out of his bedroom of his own free will.
00:20:01.890 --> 00:20:04.180
No need to drag him, screaming.
00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.880
Surely by now he understood his fate?
00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.920
And yet he was cracking jokes with the guards.
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:12.250
Down to the maze they went.
00:20:12.250 --> 00:20:14.500
The darkness swallowed him,
00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:16.890
and there was silence.
00:20:16.890 --> 00:20:19.720
Theseus felt among the shadows.
00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.900
His fingers closed around Ariadne's crown.
00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:25.490
He lifted it on to his head.
00:20:25.490 --> 00:20:32.660
He felt for the two stones and struck them together and the crown blazed with light.
00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:34.300
Now he could see.
00:20:34.300 --> 00:20:38.110
He tied the end of the ball of golden thread to a snag of rock.
00:20:38.110 --> 00:20:40.070
He picked up the bronze sword.
00:20:40.070 --> 00:20:42.930
He began to make his way into the labyrinth,
00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:45.480
unravelling the thread as he went.
00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:48.210
He wound to the left and the right.
00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:50.720
Above his head the shadows danced.
00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:56.800
Below his feet there were shreds of rag and splinters of bone picked clean.
00:20:56.800 --> 00:21:02.670
And then suddenly he could hear it grunting and snorting.
00:21:02.670 --> 00:21:05.570
And then he could smell it,
00:21:05.570 --> 00:21:12.040
the sour smell of stale sweat and the sickly sweet stench of rotten flesh.
00:21:12.040 --> 00:21:16.370
And then, as he rounded a bend, he saw it,
00:21:16.370 --> 00:21:21.870
the human body, the great bull head, the Minotaur.
00:21:21.870 --> 00:21:23.750
Asterius was filled with terror.
00:21:23.750 --> 00:21:26.890
His night sight had never endured such brightness before.
00:21:26.890 --> 00:21:29.910
It was as though pins were being thrust into his eyes.
00:21:29.910 --> 00:21:30.780
He lurched.
00:21:30.780 --> 00:21:32.840
He lost his balance, blinded.
00:21:32.840 --> 00:21:34.400
Theseus laughed.
00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:35.540
This was easy.
00:21:35.540 --> 00:21:38.860
He plunged his sword into the beast's belly.
00:21:38.860 --> 00:21:41.050
Asterius, on his hands and knees,
00:21:41.050 --> 00:21:44.100
felt something pierce his skin over and over.
00:21:44.100 --> 00:21:51.240
He wanted to beg for mercy but no one had taught him the words with which to speak, so he screamed.
00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:53.850
Up above King Minos heard the screaming.
00:21:53.850 --> 00:21:55.310
That was a human sound.
00:21:55.310 --> 00:21:58.140
A human was dying, not a monster.
00:21:58.140 --> 00:22:00.050
Theseus was dead.
00:22:00.050 --> 00:22:04.010
Again and again Theseus stabbed the Minotaur.
00:22:04.010 --> 00:22:09.030
He stabbed its neck, its arms, its knees, its chest.
00:22:09.030 --> 00:22:12.480
He opened up a constellation of wounds.
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:20.230
It sank down, and Theseus seized one of the monster's horns and hacked off its head.
00:22:20.230 --> 00:22:25.830
He wound in the golden thread and followed the tunnels to the right and the left,
00:22:25.830 --> 00:22:29.270
dragging the great head behind him.
00:22:29.270 --> 00:22:31.670
At last he saw the entrance.
00:22:31.670 --> 00:22:36.010
He crouched and waited until the night came.
00:22:36.010 --> 00:22:38.910
Ariadne was waiting outside.
00:22:38.910 --> 00:22:47.000
When the stars were shining Theseus came out and he lifted the great bull head, the head of her brother.
00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:53.670
He thrust it on to a stake and then he seized Ariadne's hand and they ran to the harbour.
00:22:53.670 --> 00:22:56.320
They jumped on to the deck of the Athenian ship,
00:22:56.320 --> 00:22:59.360
they cut the ropes and sailed away.
00:22:59.360 --> 00:23:09.720
But before they left the harbour they set fire to all the Cretan ships so that a black pall of smoke rose into the sky,
00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:12.840
extinguishing the light of the stars.
00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:14.680
'Your highnesses must come at once!'
00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:17.740
King Minos and Queen Pasiphae were woken by a servant.
00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:19.640
Minos and Pasiphae dressed themselves.
00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:23.810
They passed a window and saw smoke rising from the harbour.
00:23:23.810 --> 00:23:25.140
They went to their daughter's bedroom.
00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.370
Her bed had not been slept in.
00:23:27.370 --> 00:23:32.770
They rushed to the maze to find the dripping head of Asterius on a spike.
00:23:32.770 --> 00:23:36.030
Minos ground his teeth with fury.
00:23:36.030 --> 00:23:42.030
Queen Pasiphae cradled the head of her son and wept.
00:23:42.030 --> 00:23:44.700
Soldiers were sent to the chambers of Daedalus.
00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:46.330
They found him with a young man.
00:23:46.330 --> 00:23:50.140
So alike were they that the boy had to be Daedalus' son.
00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:52.270
Both of them were dragged to the king.
00:23:52.270 --> 00:23:55.270
'Look where all your cleverness has brought us.
00:23:55.270 --> 00:24:00.170
My fleet is at the bottom of the harbour and my daughter has fled with Theseus.'
00:24:00.170 --> 00:24:02.760
'Your highness,' said Daedalus
00:24:02.760 --> 00:24:07.550
'I beg you, please don't put us in that dreadful place below.'
00:24:07.550 --> 00:24:09.540
King Minos grinned.
00:24:09.540 --> 00:24:15.520
'So, you will rot in a maze of your own making.'
00:24:15.520 --> 00:24:20.260
Daedalus and Icarus were slung into the labyrinth.
00:24:20.260 --> 00:24:22.850
Daedalus reached up to a secret ledge.
00:24:22.850 --> 00:24:24.720
He'd hidden candles there.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:27.290
He lit one and set to work.
00:24:27.290 --> 00:24:30.710
Nearby a pigeon was nesting in a crevice.
00:24:30.710 --> 00:24:31.630
He took it.
00:24:31.630 --> 00:24:33.490
He stretched out its left wing.
00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:38.090
He took the furthermost feather between finger and thumb, and pulled.
00:24:38.090 --> 00:24:40.100
The bird shrieked and flew up.
00:24:40.100 --> 00:24:42.120
Daedalus snatched it from the air.
00:24:42.120 --> 00:24:43.830
He stretched out the right wing.
00:24:43.830 --> 00:24:48.800
He took the furthermost feather between finger and thumb, and pulled.
00:24:48.800 --> 00:24:58.550
Each time he removed a feather he studied the bird's attempts at flight and he learned much.
00:24:58.550 --> 00:25:02.990
Little Icarus watched, fascinated.
00:25:02.990 --> 00:25:05.680
He saw a fluffy feather at his feet.
00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.990
He picked it up and blew.
00:25:07.990 --> 00:25:16.630
It lifted at the command of his breath, then fell.
00:25:16.630 --> 00:25:21.430
Meanwhile Ariadne and Theseus sailed from Crete.
00:25:21.430 --> 00:25:24.270
Ariadne had never been so happy.
00:25:24.270 --> 00:25:28.710
Every night Theseus would whisper promises into her ears:
00:25:28.710 --> 00:25:34.680
'Such wealth, such happiness will be ours when you become a queen of Athens.'
00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:38.010
After two days they came to the island of Naxos.
00:25:38.010 --> 00:25:42.180
Theseus suggested they go ashore for fresh meat and fruit.
00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:45.320
And that night they lit a fire on the beach.
00:25:45.320 --> 00:25:49.760
They ate, they talked, they laughed, they danced in the firelight,
00:25:49.760 --> 00:25:53.770
and then they slept in the warmth of the embers.
00:25:53.770 --> 00:25:56.780
But in the middle of the night Ariadne woke.
00:25:56.780 --> 00:25:58.530
She was alone.
00:25:58.530 --> 00:26:01.110
She sat up and looked about herself.
00:26:01.110 --> 00:26:04.610
By the light of the moon she could see the Athenian ship,
00:26:04.610 --> 00:26:07.830
she could see the anchor chain was being lifted,
00:26:07.830 --> 00:26:10.800
she could see the sails were being unfurled.
00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:12.920
She ran down to the water's edge.
00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:14.430
'Theseus!'
00:26:14.430 --> 00:26:20.810
From the deck of the ship came the sound of laughter, cold, hard laughter.
00:26:20.810 --> 00:26:22.730
'Sister of a bull,
00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:25.880
these were all you gave me that were worth anything.
00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:27.760
Take them back!'
00:26:27.760 --> 00:26:31.420
There was a thud behind her, then another, then a third.
00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:34.080
She turned and saw her crown,
00:26:34.080 --> 00:26:38.820
the ball of golden thread and the bronze sword lying on the sand.
00:26:38.820 --> 00:26:40.670
'Sister of a bull,
00:26:40.670 --> 00:26:45.480
ponder this as you wander the coast of Naxos bellowing and blaring.
00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:47.060
I never loved you.
00:26:47.060 --> 00:26:48.940
I never, ever loved you.
00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:54.530
The only one I ever loved was Aigle and soon she will be in my arms,
00:26:54.530 --> 00:26:56.950
a queen of Athens.'
00:26:56.950 --> 00:26:59.150
The wind filled the sails,
00:26:59.150 --> 00:27:05.230
the prow of the ship sliced through the waves and Theseus was gone.
00:27:05.230 --> 00:27:07.480
Ariadne dropped to her knees.
00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:12.730
She buried her face in her hands and trembled with sobs.
00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:16.840
But nothing is hidden from the mighty gods.
00:27:16.840 --> 00:27:23.200
Dionysus, the god of drinking and drunkenness, wild music and wild dancing,
00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:27.760
looked down from the high slopes of Mount Olympus and he saw her.
00:27:27.760 --> 00:27:31.930
And he felt pity stirring in his heart.
00:27:31.930 --> 00:27:34.710
He strode down from the heavens,
00:27:34.710 --> 00:27:37.310
and he lifted her to her feet.
00:27:37.310 --> 00:27:39.540
'Ariadne,' he said
00:27:39.540 --> 00:27:43.010
'Theseus might have made you a queen of Athens,
00:27:43.010 --> 00:27:47.420
but I will make you a queen of the heavens.’
00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:53.500
He picked up her crown and set it in the sky as a constellation,
00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:57.380
a constellation we can still see to this day.
00:27:57.380 --> 00:28:07.240
And then he led her up to the high slopes of Mount Olympus where she became his consort, his queen.
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:11.200
Meanwhile Theseus sailed homewards.
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:19.780
All day he sailed and as the sun was sinking at last he saw the city of Athens ahead of him.
00:28:19.780 --> 00:28:21.810
He could see the cliffs,
00:28:21.810 --> 00:28:25.260
he could see there were people standing on the cliff tops.
00:28:25.260 --> 00:28:28.370
He sheltered his eyes from the setting sun.
00:28:28.370 --> 00:28:29.810
Was Aigle there?
00:28:29.810 --> 00:28:32.110
Was she waiting for him?
00:28:32.110 --> 00:28:40.650
And then suddenly he saw a figure falling, flailing, plunging from cliff to sea.
00:28:40.650 --> 00:28:42.790
Who could it be?
00:28:42.790 --> 00:28:48.530
He looked up above his head and suddenly his heart sank.
00:28:48.530 --> 00:28:54.270
He had forgotten to swap black sails for white sails.
00:28:54.270 --> 00:28:58.180
His father, King Aegeus, thinking his son was dead,
00:28:58.180 --> 00:29:02.160
had hurled himself down to his death.
00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:08.750
And soon Theseus could see his father's broken body bobbing in the waves.
00:29:08.750 --> 00:29:13.300
With a boathook he lifted him on to the deck of the ship.
00:29:13.300 --> 00:29:22.620
He knelt beside the dripping corpse of Aegeus and for the first time Theseus knew sorrow.
00:29:22.620 --> 00:29:31.840
And from that day to this that body of water has been known as the 'Aegean Sea'.
00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:36.210
Once again Daedalus had bent nature to his will.
00:29:36.210 --> 00:29:46.420
With the bones of the dead and wax and feathers and linen thread Daedalus had made two pairs of wonderful wings.
00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:48.630
'Listen to me, my son.
00:29:48.630 --> 00:29:50.960
Minos controls both land and sea,
00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:53.340
but he cannot control the air.
00:29:53.340 --> 00:29:56.440
You and I will fly to freedom.
00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:58.020
Day has not yet come.
00:29:58.020 --> 00:29:58.830
Follow me.
00:29:58.830 --> 00:30:02.980
If you fly too high, the heat of the sun will melt the wax that binds feather to bone.
00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:08.410
If you fly too low, the waves will splash against your wings and their sodden weight will drag you down.
00:30:08.410 --> 00:30:11.740
Ride the gusts I ride.'
00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:13.120
They went outside.
00:30:13.120 --> 00:30:15.200
No soldiers guarded the entrance;
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:16.370
there was no need.
00:30:16.370 --> 00:30:19.520
Minos controlled both land and sea.
00:30:19.520 --> 00:30:22.010
The sky above was bright with stars.
00:30:22.010 --> 00:30:23.650
They made their way to a cliff.
00:30:23.650 --> 00:30:25.410
They strapped on the wings.
00:30:25.410 --> 00:30:26.590
They embraced.
00:30:26.590 --> 00:30:29.090
They ran to the cliff edge and jumped.
00:30:29.090 --> 00:30:32.420
They beat their feathered arms against the air.
00:30:32.420 --> 00:30:33.930
They rose.
00:30:33.930 --> 00:30:37.230
They rose into the cool sky.
00:30:37.230 --> 00:30:42.570
Every surging gust of wind made Icarus cry out with joy.
00:30:42.570 --> 00:30:48.210
All through his life he'd hidden in dusty corners for fear of the anger of King Minos.
00:30:48.210 --> 00:30:53.510
Now, the broad sky above him and the dark sea beneath,
00:30:53.510 --> 00:30:55.480
he saw a band of red ahead:
00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:56.870
day was coming.
00:30:56.870 --> 00:31:00.420
Island after island passed by beneath,
00:31:00.420 --> 00:31:03.790
some no more than rocks jutting out of the sea,
00:31:03.790 --> 00:31:07.010
some peopled with farms and fields.
00:31:07.010 --> 00:31:10.310
Farmers and shepherds gazed and gaped.
00:31:10.320 --> 00:31:16.430
One man on his roof looked up, glimpsed Icarus, gasped and toppled from his perch.
00:31:16.430 --> 00:31:21.900
Icarus laughed at the little figures shouting, pointing far below.
00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:24.450
A wave of wind lifted him higher.
00:31:24.450 --> 00:31:27.160
He lurched and a feather fell.
00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:29.770
He looked up to see the bird that had shed it,
00:31:29.770 --> 00:31:34.130
but above he saw only the fierce eye of the sun.
00:31:34.130 --> 00:31:39.470
A shower of feathers was falling now.
00:31:39.470 --> 00:31:45.320
Ahead Daedalus looked back to check on the progress of Icarus,
00:31:45.320 --> 00:31:55.970
to see his son tumbling, flailing, screaming and breaking against the surface of the sea.
00:31:55.970 --> 00:32:01.070
Daedalus flew to the nearest island and found a fisherman's boat.
00:32:01.070 --> 00:32:06.430
He rowed out across the water and retrieved the corpse of his son.
00:32:06.430 --> 00:32:15.690
Daedalus' hot tears splashed against the boy's face and for the first time Daedalus knew sorrow.
00:32:15.690 --> 00:32:23.990
And ever since then that body of water has been known as the 'Icarian Sea'.
00:32:23.990 --> 00:32:28.320
And so it was that a son buried his father.
00:32:28.320 --> 00:32:38.370
And as Theseus walked away from the grave of old Aegeus he was aware of a strange light blazing high overhead.
00:32:38.370 --> 00:32:44.160
He looked up and there was a new constellation in the sky,
00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:47.480
a circlet of mocking stars:
00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:51.180
Ariadne's shining crown.
00:32:51.180 --> 00:32:55.530
And far away a father buried his son.
00:32:55.530 --> 00:32:57.640
As Daedalus dug the grave,
00:32:57.640 --> 00:33:01.340
from the corner of his eye he glimpsed something in the sky.
00:33:01.340 --> 00:33:06.620
He looked up to see a black and white bird rising and plunging.
00:33:06.620 --> 00:33:12.630
Every time the bird plummeted Daedalus thought of his son and sobbed.
00:33:12.630 --> 00:33:15.970
Then he remembered another falling boy.
00:33:15.970 --> 00:33:21.010
He remembered Talos whom he'd pushed off a cliff in Athens,
00:33:21.010 --> 00:33:26.340
Talos who had been transformed into a bird.
00:33:26.340 --> 00:33:33.850
Daedalus watched the lapwing mocking him, and he wept.