Icarus: entering the world of myth

This free course, Icarus: entering the world of myth, will introduce you to one of the best-known myths from classical antiquity and its various re-tellings in later periods. You will begin by examining how the Icarus story connects with a number of other ancient myths, such as that of Theseus and the Minotaur. You will then be guided through an in-depth reading of Icarus’ story as told by the Roman poet Ovid, one of the most important and sophisticated figures in the history of ancient myth-making. After this you will study the way in which Ovid’s Icarus myth has been reworked and transformed by later poets and painters.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Ovid as mythographer and myth-maker
• 1 Ovid as mythographer and myth-maker
• 2 Icarus as symbol and signifier
• 2 Icarus as symbol and signifier
• 3 Daedalus and Icarus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses
• 3 Daedalus and Icarus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses
• 4 Brueghel and Auden
• 4 Brueghel and Auden
• 4.1 Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
• 4.2 A further angle on the painting
• 4.3 Auden’s Musée des Beaux Arts
• 4.4 Auden’s Stop All the Clocks
• 4.5 A further angle on the poems
• Conclusion
• References
• Further reading
• Acknowledgements