The Myth of Icarus

The Myth of Icarus 伊卡洛斯的神话

作者：Lucia

来源：《新高考·高一英语》2012年第07期

古希腊能工巧匠代达罗斯被困高塔中时，用蜡将鸟的羽毛粘在一起为自己和儿子伊卡洛斯各做了一对翅膀，飞出高塔。伊卡洛斯忘记老父的嘱咐，飞向太阳，导致羽毛上的蜡被融化而坠海身亡。

Daedalus was a famous architect， inventor， and master craftsman. He once built a wonderful labyrinth（迷宫） for King Minos of Crete. But one day， the king had him and his son Icarus imprisoned in a tower. Some accounts say that Daedalus and his son Icarus were imprisoned in the tower of the Labyrinth to ensure that the inventor would not reveal the secret of the maze（迷宫）. Others say that the king became aware of the role of Daedalus in the escape of Theseus with his daughter Ariadne， so he imprisoned Daedalus and Icarus in the tower as punishment.

Daedalus did not accept this and began to plan his escape from the island of Crete. Daedalus knew that the king controlled all the escape routes by land or sea，“but not the regions of the air. I will try that way.” Icarus helped his father gather up feathers which the wind has blown their way and Daedalus fastened them together with wax. They practiced flying with their new wings before actually leaving the tower. On the day of the escape， the father fitted the wings on the boy and cautioned，“Icarus， my son， I charge you to keep at a moderate（适度的） height， for if you fly too low the damp will weigh you down， and if too high the heat will melt them. Keep near me and you will be safe.”

They successfully flew from Crete， but Icarus grew excited by the thrill of flying and began getting careless. Flying too close to the sun， the wax holding together his wings melted from the heat and he fell to his death， drowned in the sea. The Icarian Sea， where he fell， was named after him. Daedalus arrived safe in Sicily， where he built a temple to Apollo， and hung up his wings， an offering to the god.

16世纪尼德兰著名画家彼得·勃鲁盖尔据此而作名画——《有伊卡洛斯坠落的风景》。不同于其他相同主题的画作的是：勃鲁盖尔的这幅传世之作乍看之下纯粹是一幅漂亮的风景画：农夫、牧羊人、海面上静静漂泊着的船只，而伊卡洛斯的身影呢？细细一看，才见一人坠入海水中，只露出了一双脚，可是他的坠落并未引起任何人的注意，甚至连鸟儿也不曾惊起。伊卡洛斯的几近隐身正是勃鲁盖尔匠心独运之处，赋予了画作无尽的深意。

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is a famous landscape by Pieter Bruegel， a sixteenth century painter. It was referred to the myth of Daedalus and Icarus.

Compared with other paintings on the theme，the most distinctive feature of Bruegel’s painting is that it is hard to find Icarus in the painting. It is truly a landscape that happens to contain the fall of Icarus.

20世纪，英国伟大诗人W.H.奥登见到此画，不由心生感慨，作了《美术馆》一诗。

Musee des Beaux Arts

□ by W. H. Auden

About suffering they were never wrong，

The Old Masters； how well， they understood

Its human position； how it takes place

While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along；

How， when the aged are reverently， passionately waiting

For the miraculous birth， there always must be

Children who did not specially want it to happen， skating

On a pond at the edge of the wood：

They never forgot

That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course

Anyhow in a corner， some untidy spot

Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse

Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.

In Breughel’s Icarus， for instance： how everything turns away

Quite leisurely from the disaster； the ploughman may

Have heard the splash， the forsaken cry，

But for him it was not an important failure； the sun shone