The Fall of Icarus

by Ovid

'Drawn on by his eagerness for the open sky, he left his guide and soared upwards...'Ovid tells the tales of Theseus and the Minotaur, Daedalus and Icarus, the Calydonian Boar-Hunt, and many other famous myths.Introducing Little Black 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.Ovid (c.43 BCE-17 CE). Ovid's other works available in Penguin Classics are The Erotic Poems, Fasti, Heroides and Metamorphoses .

Genres: Classics, Mythology, Poetry, Fiction, Greek Mythology, Short Stories, Fantasy

ebook

First published January 1, 8

About the author

Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horatius, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists. Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis, the capital of the newly-organised province of Moesia, on the Black Sea, where he remained for the last nine or ten years of his life. Ovid himself attributed his banishment to a "poem and a mistake", but his reluctance to disclose specifics has resulted in much speculation among scholars.
Ovid is most famous for the Metamorphoses, a continuous mythological narrative in fifteen books written in dactylic hexameters. He is also known for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") and Fasti. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology today.

Reviews

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting myths of great Roman heroes and their Gods and Goddesses, but the layout was problematic in that the stories came one after another without any breaks, lending us to believe that the entire book is the tale of Icarus' fall, but it isn't. You need to pay attention, not only as your wade through the lists of names, and who is who's son, but also at who is speaking. Assuming this is how Ovid wanted it to be, it is something you need to get used to. I'd suggest other myths instead for your first outing.

[Sean Barrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fall of Icarus has long been an allegory for what happens if man overextends his reach; it has been a message that tells us that we all have our limits. It is a motif that resonates across the ages and has influenced other works of literature (Doctor Faustus) and even modern day television (Breaking Bad). The fall of Icarus is a message that everybody knows, and for good reason.

"The wax melted. Icarus moved his bare arms up and down, but without their feathers they had no purchase in the air."



In spite of this, only three pages of this edition actually concern Icarus’s demise. I’m not entirely sure if that is the same as the full work but, I have my doubts. This would more aptly be named something like: “Tales from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.” This is because it reads like a series of Tales that only just seem to fit together.

However, I did really enjoy reading the rest of the Greek myths. Even enough to order a full copy of Metamorphoses, a lovely penguin clothbound I may add, which I look forward to reading in its full form.

Penguin Little Black Classic- 73



The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The king may block my way by land or across the ocean, but the sky, surely, is open, and that is how we shall go. Minos may possess all the rest, but he does not possess the air.”
― Ovid, "The Fall of Icarus"



Vol N° 73 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. This selection of Ovid's Metamorphoses contains Mary Innes's translations of books XIII and IX.

I love Ovid's myth-telling magic. In many ways he is very modern. His myths are layered, heroic, but also funny, while at the same time overflowing with pathos and pride. In short, Ovid, is human. He loves. He soars. He falls with every character. His stories certainly contain the Gods, but Ovid, to me, seems more interested in the frailties of mankind. The story of Daedalus and Icarus seems to capture a very universal story. It is the story of the Tower of Babel. It is the story of Eve and Adam. It is the story of Oppenheimer. It is the story of Dr. Frankenstein. We are driven to scale unclimbed heights. We are tempted to explore. We are tragically bound, however, to the gravity of the Earth and the weight of our own hubris. Every time I read this story it kills me.

For my review of Rolfe Humphries' translation of Ovid's full Metamorphosis, go here.

[JK · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do wonder what Penguin are smoking sometimes when I read these. The Fall of Icarus is a collection of mythologies completely crammed together without logical breaks, and no clear indication of how they link.

To name this instalment in the way they have, and for then to allow the story of Icarus to span a mere two pages, is travesty. Surely to god there must be someone in Penguin with the creativity to think of a title which better fits the collection.

I didn’t enjoy this one. It was too illogical in its structure, stories were tacked on one after another and it all felt jumbled and rushed. It’s definitely a taster, but not tasty enough. You need to be wide awake here; the voice will change, a name will be dropped, or you may miss the entire paragraph about the minotaur in the labyrinth.

[nat ୨ৎ]

I paid 4 euros for this, this better be the path to enlightenment 😡

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda misleading title considering Icarus only appears for 3-4 pages 😂

Mythology is definitely where my love of over the top dramatics in books comes from though, and some of the insane antics in this book had me rolling my eyes so hard!!

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HRCYED2: All The Adaptations

[Saranya ⋆☕︎ ˖ [hibernating] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Icarus, the original overachiever with a flair for altitude, ignores his father Daedalus’s very reasonable advice: “Don’t fly too high, son.” Naturally, Icarus interprets this as “YOLO!!!”

Daedalus builds wings but forgets to install common sense. The wax holding his wings melts, and down he goes—Greek drama meets gravitational realism.

A timeless tale that reminds us: just because you can fly, doesn’t mean you should. The Fall of Icarus is a poetic PSA against overconfidence and a myth that still resonates—especially with anyone who’s ever tried to microwave metal or DIY a jetpack.

[Άννα Morta ⛧⛧⛧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Drawn on by his eagerness for the open sky, he left his guide and soared upwards...' 🖤

[spillingthematcha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muszę w przyszłości koniecznie przeczytać „Metamorfozy”.

Mała ciekawostka: mit o Dedalu i Ikarze to jeden z moich ulubionych.

[Salem ☥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Death must atone for death, wickedness be piled on wickedness, slaughter upon slaughter, till this accursed household perish under its accumulation of woe."

oh, wow. i haven't read a piece of writing that's made me feel this way in awhile. my heart aches. the prose was beautiful and the storytelling was stellar. so many memorable quotes. absolutely phenomenal.

[Roos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adore Ovid's writing and the way he so vividly describes all the myths. He is just very special to me and I can't wait to (re)read the Metamorphoses (I have read large parts in Latin already) after reading this lovely Little Black Classic. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the translation, which didn't feel very close to the original text to me.

"Fortune refuses her aid to those who merely pray, and take no action."

That is one motivating quote ladies and gentlemen. Remember this one.

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the myths that were included in this collection - much more than just the Fall of Icarus. The particular edition however is rather random as the stories follow each other, which made me wonder exactly who this collection was aiming for as an audience? It might confuse people who hear the stories for the first time (though being as famous as they are, this seems unlikely to happen. Or was it meant to be a short return for those who have heard the stories oft before (myself included in this one)?

~Little Black Classics #73~

[(:Alexia:) · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2 stars)

Bruuhh, all that I can say is that I truly got clickbaited into buying this one😭. First of all, the title of this tiny book with passages taken from Ovid‘s “Metamorphoses” is “The Fall of Icarus” and the main quote at the beginning focuses then again, as EXPECTED, on Icarus’ story. Naturally, I was excited and hoped I would read more about the famous story of the man that wanted too much and in the end that lead to his demise. I find it to be such an interesting metaphore with such cool imagery and I would’ve loved to read the whole story outside of what I already knew about it. Instead, I just got many little weirdly intertwined stories in greek mythology generally and SOO MUCH lore was just thrown in my face and I needed to do so much research to understand what was happening (me, a person who’s not really interested in greek mythology and has only read “The Song of Achilles” and the “Lore Olympus” comics which mostly focus on more modern fun and love lol). And even after I pretty much understood what was happening, in the end it wasn’t really sth I was interested in reading, especially in this very short format.

Moreover, I am VERY sure that the book should’ve been called “Tales from Ovid’s Metamorphoses”, not only because the part focusing on Icarus was only 3 PAGES LONG, but all of the tiny stories only had the aspect of metamorphosis in common and were very random.

Overall, I think that only people who really enjoy greek mythology would give this a high rating, but even they should know themselves to rather read the whole books, not underdeveloped excerpts like this one. Not gonna lie, I even might look into reading the whole of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” one day myself, however this is no promise. Also, from the Little Black Classics collection I’ve only really heard about 5 books that are considered genuinely really good by the wider audience, from which I read one and agree, and two outside of those which were so bad, soo maybe I should just buy the other 4 and say farewell to this collection lol✨

[kerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He urged Icarus to follow close, and instructed him in the art that was to be his ruin"

'The fall of Icarus' was a short excerpt from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which gives us a taster of a few of the myths including Icarus and Daedalus (which I assume everyone would pick this up for) and also included content on Theseus and the Minotaur which was, along with Icarus, the part I enjoyed most. But there are a couple more myths to enjoy in here that I myself definitely was not familiar with. The way the narrative is worked so that each myth seamlessly flows into the next is a joy to read.

The title myth is very short being 2 pages but these little black classics are fantastic for getting tasters of larger works of ancient text.

Until I read the entirety of Metamorphoses, I'm glad to have had this mini introduction.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much to say really having feasted on these wonderful tales has a child. However what can be said is they have not lost their charm and never will, these stories remain with anyone who devoured them when young.
Ignore the grumpybugs who have grown too big to enjoy and appreciate these.

Have fun boys and girls

[Laura Paraliov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dived into this little book thinking I'd read the story of Daedalus and Icarus, but their story only lasted for about 2 or 3 pages.

The text starts before their story and continues after their story has ended, going from myth to myth, story to story, without any separation of the texts.

I found it quite confusing when the transitions were made and I still don't understand why would they title this small book of multiple stories after the shortest of them all.

[helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Drawn on by his eagerness for the open sky, he left his guide and soared upwards…“

It is called „The Fall of Icarus“ yet I had two out of 56 pages about him?

But I learned so much more about new tales and I am left with a longing for „Atalanta“ by Jennifer Saint.

[Zeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was alright

[Daren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't get past two stars on this for a couple of reasons...
The Fall of Icarus... honestly Daedalus (Icarus' father) first appears on page 11, Icarus on page 12, and he falls on page 14. He was a bit part at best, so very strange to name this book as it is.
Secondly, confusion. I know this is an excerpt from a much larger book, but for me those Penguin 80's and the 60s which are excerpts are at there best when they are well selected so that the excerpt makes sense in isolation - where there is a story that has a beginning and a resolution, where the characters can stand alone. This book brought in character after character cold. I had no idea how they fit together, who they were, what their intent was. It read as a sequence of stories all run together.
I am sure the full Metamorphoses would read better.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read the Penguin Little Black Classic’s edition of Dante’s Circles of Hell, I didn’t have massive expectations going into The Fall of Icarus. That was my mistake, this book was absolutely wonderful. The narrative was like a thread of silk, cleverly weaving into different stories/myths and varying perspectives. Not only was it a really good representation of the classic myths (sometimes the authenticity of such myths can be lost in translation and editing), it was also really easy to read and I noticed lots of parallels with modern times too. My absolute favourite quote from this book is:
“It is a painful thing you ask of me: who would want to speak of battles in which he had been defeated?”
All in all, this was beautifully lyrical and I very much enjoyed reading it, it’s given me hope the the other Little Black Classics might not be so bad after all.

[Dan Takyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never in human history has a book been so misleadingly titled I fear. I really wanted to read the story of Icarus, as I have done for a long time and I thought I finally would and then it turns out this book is in fact not the story of Icarus but rather 2 pages briefly describing Icarus’ story before telling numerous other legends and stories. Which would be totally fine, if I was sitting down to read a book called numerous legends by Ovid, what a strange way to sell a book and then never correct…

Anyway the rest of the stories were nice I guess, just really a shame I read them under a false pretence!

[sofia · Rating 2 out of 5]

not sure if it's the translation or the original story, but this reads more like a long rambling of only mildly related myths, as opposed to any form of a coherent narrative, and it just didn't work for me.

[lydya · Rating 3 out of 5]

he fell in the first 14 pages

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading The Fall of Icarus by Ovid felt less like a surprise and more like a quiet return to a familiar shore. I have this thing with Greek mythology—this urge to trace symbols across civilizations, to see how the same stories change costumes but never lose their essence. The brevity of the excerpt made it all the more appealing, almost like stumbling on a cameo appearance in a much larger play.

After Stephen Fry’s Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, it was like meeting old friends again, each carrying their same flaws and glories. And as someone who lingers far too long in the Roman and Greek galleries of museums, I couldn’t help but imagine the characters cast in marble—frozen mid-flight, mid-fall, mid-thought.

The same old themes return, as they always do: hubris as the cardinal Greek sin, hospitality as its counterweight virtue. And yet Ovid’s rendering makes Icarus feel almost tender, less a parable and more a boy with wings stitched together by hope.

[..]cum puer audaci coepit gaudere volatu
deseruitque ducem caelique cupidine tractus
altius egit iter. Rapidi vicinia solis
mollit odoratas, pennarum vincula, ceras.
Tabuerant cerae: nudos quatit ille lacertos,
remigioque carens non ullas percipit auras,[...]

[Alex Acevedo L’Estrange · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fell in love once,
With a man named after this poet.
I fell like Icarus for him,
And he enunciated my descent.

He came from ocean and realm
While I was a forest fire
And rain.
I never told him how much I loved him
Because it didn’t make any sense.

But I loved that man like nobody can
And I will never love like that again.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hurray, some more mythology! It’s been a little while since I’ve read some
Roman mythology and Ovid really brings it to life. The quality of the
translation was good too, so what’s there to complain about?

[Joanne van der Vlies · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The wax melted. Icarus moved his bare arms up and down, but without their feathers they had no purchase on the air. Even as his lips were crying out his father's name, they were swallowed up in the deep blue waters which are called after him."

[Trustthebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

the fall of icarus was over after 16 pages

[Kadri · Rating 5 out of 5]

klassikaline filoloog minus nq 😍😍😍

[Tabea · Rating 3 out of 5]

War bisschen verwirrend weil die übergänge zwischen den verschiedenen Geschichten nicht klar war und ich nicht immer ganz genaz wusste was gerade abgeht aber ja ich mag die mythen halt und dafür war das ganz gut aber man sollte schon vorwissen haben weil sonst versteht man nicht alles