The Story of Icarus

October 13th, 2025

In Greek mythologyTraditional stories, beliefs, and rituals of a culture, often involving gods, heroes, and explanations for natural phenomena. From Greek mythos (story) and logos (word). Myths aren't just entertainment—they encode cultural values, moral lessons, and psychological truths. Greek mythology specifically refers to ancient Greek stories about gods (Zeus, Athena), heroes (Hercules, Odysseus), and mythical events (Trojan War, Odyssey). These myths were passed down orally before being written by Homer, Hesiod, and others. They shaped Western literature, art, philosophy, and language. We still use mythological references: "Achilles heel," "Pandora's box," "Oedipus complex." Myths persist because they capture universal human experiences in memorable stories., IcarusSon of Daedalus in Greek mythology. Known for flying too close to the sun despite his father's warning. Icarus represents youthful hubris, overconfidence, and the dangers of ignoring wise counsel. His story is a cautionary tale about ambition, excess, and the consequences of not knowing your limits. Psychologically, Icarus symbolises the thrill-seeking behaviour that ignores rational warnings. His name comes from Greek Ikaros, possibly related to "to follow" or "to pursue." The Icarian Sea (part of the Aegean) is named after him, supposedly where he fell. His story has been retold countless times in art, literature, and psychology as a warning about flying too high—literally and metaphorically. and his father DaedalusMaster craftsman and inventor in Greek mythology. Name means "cunningly wrought" from Greek daidalos (skilful, artistic). Father of Icarus. Daedalus was a brilliant engineer who built the Labyrinth for King Minos—a maze so complex even he barely escaped it. He also created mechanical statues, the first saw, and wings that allowed human flight. After Icarus's death, Daedalus became the archetype of the wise craftsman who uses intelligence and moderation to survive. Unlike his son, Daedalus represents careful planning, technical skill, and restraint. He's the embodiment of "genius with discipline." In psychology, Daedalus is the experienced mentor whose warnings are ignored by impulsive youth. His survival whilst Icarus died demonstrates that wisdom and restraint often outlast talent and ambition. were imprisoned in a tower by King Minos of CreteLegendary king of Crete in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Europa. Ruled from the palace of Knossos. Minos commissioned Daedalus to build the Labyrinth to contain the Minotaur (a monster with a bull's head and man's body). When Daedalus helped Theseus escape the Labyrinth, Minos imprisoned him and Icarus in a tower. Archaeological evidence suggests a real Minoan civilisation existed on Crete (c. 2700-1450 BCE), one of Europe's earliest advanced societies. The Minoans had elaborate palaces, sophisticated art, and possible writing systems. King Minos may be based on a real ruler or a title (like Pharaoh). His name gives us "Minoan civilisation." In myth, Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld, known for fairness and wisdom.. To escape, Daedalus, a master craftsman, fashioned two pairs of wings from feathers and wax.

Before they took flight, Daedalus warned his son: "Don't fly too low, or the sea's moisture will clog your wings and drag you down. Don't fly too high, or the sun's heat will melt the wax and your wings will fall apart. Stay at a moderate altitude."

They escaped the tower and began their flight across the sea. At first, Icarus obeyed. But as he grew confident, the thrill of flight intoxicated him. He forgot his father's warning. He soaredTo fly high or rise upward, especially effortlessly or gracefully. From Old French essorer (to expose to air), from Latin ex- (out) + aura (breeze, air). "Soar" implies rising without effort, like eagles or gliders using thermal currents. Metaphorically, it means achieving great heights in any domain—"profits soared," "spirits soared." In the Icarus story, "soared" captures both the literal flying and the metaphorical hubris. Icarus didn't just fly—he soared, revelling in the sensation, pushing higher than necessary. The word carries connotations of freedom, ambition, and transcendence, but also recklessness when taken too far. Soaring is beautiful until you go too high. higher and higher, revelling in the sensation, climbing towards the sun.

The heat melted the wax. The feathers came loose. The wings disintegrated. Icarus plummeted into the sea and drowned. His father, who had flown at a moderate altitude, reached safety and survived.

Everyone remembers the lesson about flying too high. Almost no one remembers the warning about flying too low. But there's a third lesson that's rarely discussed: the best altitude isn't at either extreme. It's somewhere in the middle. High enough to make progress, low enough to avoid disaster.

The danger of doing too well:

Success attracts attention. Attention can attract problems.

This isn't absolute. Plenty of people do extraordinarily well and stay on top. But the higher you fly, the more you're exposed to forces you can't control. When you're doing exceptionally well, you become visible. And visibility creates vulnerability, whether that's competitors wanting to take you down, regulators wanting to investigate you, or customers wanting to exploit you.

Take a restaurant owner. If you're running one successful location, making good money, keeping customers happy, you can operate profitably for decades. Modest success, modest attention. But open 50 locations and everything changes. You're competing with chains. Investors want growth. Franchisees sue you. Health inspectors scrutinise every location. One food poisoning incident becomes a national story. Your success made you visible, and visibility made you vulnerable.

Same thing on Wall StreetThe financial district in Lower Manhattan, New York City, and by extension, the entire American financial industry. Named after an actual wall built by Dutch colonists in 1653 to defend against British attack. The wall is gone, but the name stuck. Wall Street became synonymous with banking, stock trading, and finance because the New York Stock Exchange (founded 1792) is located there. "Wall Street" now means high finance generally: investment banks, hedge funds, traders, capital markets. The term carries connotations of wealth, power, risk-taking, and sometimes greed. "Wall Street vs Main Street" contrasts financial elites with ordinary workers. The 2008 financial crisis cemented Wall Street's reputation for excess and systemic risk.. A trader making steady, reasonable returns can compound wealth for decades. Modest success gets modest attention. But the trader posting extraordinary returns, making headlines, being called the best? They attract regulators, lawsuits, jealous colleagues, impossible expectations. One bad quarter and the fall is brutal because everyone's watching.

Bernie MadoffAmerican financier (1938-2021) who ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history. From the 1960s to 2008, he defrauded investors of approximately $65 billion. Madoff promised consistent returns (10-12% annually) that seemed legitimate because he was a respected Wall Street figure—former NASDAQ chairman, well-connected, trusted. The scheme worked by paying early investors with money from new investors, not from actual profits. It collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis when too many clients wanted withdrawals simultaneously. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison and died there in 2021. Madoff's downfall illustrates the Icarus principle: if he'd stayed small, he might never have been caught. But managing billions for celebrities and institutions made him too visible. When the market crashed, scrutiny increased, and the house of cards fell. ran his schemeA Ponzi scheme, named after Charles Ponzi (1920s). A fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to earlier investors using money from new investors, not from actual profit. The scheme requires a constant influx of new money to sustain itself. When recruitment slows or withdrawals spike, it collapses. Madoff's Ponzi scheme was uniquely sophisticated: he fabricated trade confirmations, account statements, and regulatory filings. He targeted wealthy individuals, charities, and institutions who trusted his reputation. The "investment strategy" was supposedly "split-strike conversion"—buying stocks and options—but he wasn't actually trading. He just moved money between accounts. The scheme worked for decades because consistent (but not spectacular) returns didn't raise suspicion, and most clients reinvested rather than withdrew. for nearly two decades. He could've kept going if he'd stayed small. But he got too successful, too prestigious, too visible. ChairmanThe person who presides over meetings of a board, committee, or organisation. From "chair" + "man" (historically gender-specific, now often "chairperson" or just "chair"). The chairman leads board meetings, represents the organisation publicly, and often has significant decision-making power. In corporate governance, the chairman of the board oversees directors, whilst the CEO manages day-to-day operations. Being NASDAQ chairman meant Madoff was at the pinnacle of financial credibility—he literally helped set rules for the stock exchange. This position gave him legitimacy that made the fraud easier (people trusted him) and made his eventual fall more devastating (betrayal of that trust). His chairmanship was the wax wings flying too close to the sun. of NASDAQNational Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. The second-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation (after NYSE). Founded in 1971, NASDAQ was the first electronic stock market, allowing trades via computer rather than a physical trading floor. It's known for listing technology companies: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Tesla. NASDAQ uses market makers (dealers who buy and sell from their own inventory) rather than specialists. The name is now just "Nasdaq" officially. Being NASDAQ chairman meant Madoff was a leader in the financial industry, responsible for market integrity and regulation. The irony: the man who helped write the rules was running the biggest fraud in history. His position gave him unparalleled credibility, which he exploited.. Managing billions. He flew too high. When 2008 hit and clients wanted their money back, the whole thing collapsed. His success killed him.

Or consider Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes. A small blood-testing startup attracting modest investment? That's sustainable. But claiming to revolutionise healthcare, getting a $9 billion valuation, landing on magazine covers, partnering with Walgreens? That level of visibility invited journalists to investigate, scientists to scrutinise, and regulators to audit. They found the technology didn't work. Holmes went to prison. If she'd stayed a small biotech company making incremental improvements, she'd still be operating today.

Or look at Enron. An energy company making reasonable profits could've lasted forever. But when they became the seventh-largest company in America, claiming revolutionary trading strategies, their success demanded scrutiny. Journalists dug deeper. Analysts questioned the numbers. Regulators investigated. The fraud was exposed. The company collapsed. Executives went to prison. Flying too high meant everyone was watching when the wings failed.

You can fly high and stay there. But you need to be aware that the higher you go, the more attention you attract, and the more careful you need to be about managing that attention. Some people can handle it. Most can't.

The danger of doing too poorly:

Flying too low is just as dangerous, just in different ways. If you're barely surviving, you've got no margin for error. One unexpected expense, one bad month, one bit of bad luck and you're done. You're so close to the water that any turbulence drags you under.

The drug dealer who can barely afford supplies can't expand, can't save, can't weather a dry spell. The trader with no capital buffer gets wiped out on the first downturn. The business barely breaking even has nothing to invest in growth or survive a slow season. Flying too low means you never build momentum. You're surviving, not thriving. And just surviving is exhausting and fragile.

The optimal altitude:

The answer is buoyancyThe ability to float or stay afloat. From Spanish boyar or Italian buoyare (to float), ultimately from Latin boia (collar, buoy). Literally, buoyancy is the upward force exerted by a fluid (like water or air) on an object, allowing it to float. Archimedes' principle: an object floats when the weight of displaced fluid equals the object's weight. Metaphorically, buoyancy means staying above water—having enough resources, resilience, or success to keep going without sinking. In the Icarus context, buoyancy is the optimal altitude: high enough that you're not drowning, low enough that you're not burning. It's sustainable success—floating, not flying. Buoyancy requires balance. Too heavy (flying too low) and you sink. Too light (flying too high) and you lose stability. The goal is equilibrium where you can stay afloat indefinitely.. Doing well, but not necessarily being the absolute best. You want enough success to have options, security, room for error. But ideally not so much success that managing attention becomes your primary concern.

The restaurant owner who runs one profitable location? Can operate for decades. The trader who consistently makes 15 to 20% annually instead of chasing 100% returns? Compounds wealth without becoming a target. The entrepreneur who builds a profitable business but doesn't try to become a billionaire or dominate the market? Avoids regulators, lawsuits, ruthless competition.

Think of the thousands of family-owned restaurants that have operated profitably for 30, 40, 50 years. They never became chains. Never franchised. Never tried to dominate their city. Just stayed in their neighbourhood, served good food, made a decent living. No lawsuits. No competitors trying to crush them. No private equity firms trying to acquire them. Just sustainable success.

Or consider the software developer who freelances, makes £150k a year, works from home, has no employees, no office, no scaling ambitions. Comfortable life. Complete freedom. No stress. Compare that to the founder who raised venture capital, scaled to 100 employees, got featured in TechCrunch, and now spends 60 hours a week managing people, dealing with investors, fending off competitors, unable to sell because the company isn't big enough yet.

This is the zone of buoyancy. High enough that you're building wealth and security. Low enough that you're not constantly managing threats. It's not glamorous. You won't make headlines. No one writes case studies about you. But you'll survive and thrive whilst others soar and crash.

Why this is hard:

The problem is that moderation is boring. And humans aren't wired for boring. We're wired for status, competition, pushing limits. Once you taste success, the temptation is always to go higher. Just a bit more. Just a bit further.

Icarus knew the risks. His father warned him. But the thrill of flight, the proximity to the sun, the feeling of transcendenceGoing beyond normal limits or boundaries, surpassing ordinary experience. From Latin trans- (across, beyond) + scandere (to climb). Transcendence means rising above the material, everyday, or mundane to reach something higher—spiritually, intellectually, or experientially. In philosophy, transcendence is moving beyond physical reality to abstract truth. In psychology, transcendent experiences (peak moments, flow states) dissolve the sense of self and time. In the Icarus story, transcendence is what made flying intoxicating. He wasn't just escaping—he was experiencing something godlike, beyond human limitations. That feeling of transcendence made him forget the risks. It's why people chase extreme experiences even when dangerous: the feeling of going beyond normal limits is addictive. Transcendence is beautiful, but pursuing it recklessly leads to disaster.? Intoxicating. Rational warnings can't compete with that. This is why most people who achieve extraordinary success eventually lose it. They can't stop. The hedge fund manager who made billions keeps taking bigger risks. The athlete who dominated keeps competing past their prime. The company that conquered one market tries to conquer them all. Mike Tyson kept fighting well past his prime. Michael Jordan came back twice. NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), French military leader and emperor. Rose from obscure Corsican origins to conquer most of Europe. Brilliant strategist who won decisive battles through speed, artillery, and psychological warfare. Crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804. Reformed law (Napoleonic Code), administration, and education across Europe. At his peak (1812), he controlled most of continental Europe. But he couldn't stop. He invaded Russia with 600,000 troops; only 100,000 returned. This overreach led to his defeat, exile to Elba, brief return (the Hundred Days), final defeat at Waterloo (1815), and exile to Saint Helena where he died. Napoleon embodies the Icarus principle: if he'd consolidated his empire after defeating Austria and Prussia, he might have ruled for decades. Instead, he flew too high, invaded Russia, and fell. could've retired after conquering most of EuropeBy 1812, Napoleon controlled France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, parts of Germany, Poland, and had alliances with Austria and Prussia. The French Empire stretched from the Atlantic to the borders of Russia. Only Britain and Russia remained outside his control. This was an unprecedented level of power—no one since the Roman Empire had controlled so much of Europe. Napoleon could've stopped there, consolidated his empire, and ruled peacefully. His enemies were defeated or neutralised. But he wanted total dominance. He invaded Russia to force them into his Continental System (economic blockade against Britain). The invasion was a disaster: harsh winter, scorched earth tactics, and guerrilla warfare destroyed his army. This catastrophic overreach broke his invincibility and led to his downfall. Conquering most of Europe wasn't enough. He needed all of it.. He invaded Russia instead.

Flying at moderate altitude requires discipline. You have to resist the impulse to push for more when you already have enough. You have to accept that "enough" is a radicalFavouring extreme or fundamental change, going to the root of something. From Latin radix (root). Originally meant "relating to roots"—radical thinking gets to the root of an issue. Over time, "radical" came to mean extreme, revolutionary, or challenging the status quo. Politically, radicals advocate fundamental change to systems. Culturally, radical ideas reject conventional wisdom. In the Icarus context, "enough is a radical concept" means that accepting sufficiency (rather than maximising) is subversive in a capitalist, growth-obsessed culture. Society teaches "more is always better." Saying "I have enough" and stopping is radical because it rejects that premise. It's countercultural to choose moderation when you could have more. Radical doesn't mean extreme here—it means fundamentally challenging the norm. concept in a world that worships more.

Knowing when you've flown too high:

How do you know if you've crossed the line? When people you don't know start talking about you. When regulators start asking questions. When competitors target you specifically. When your success requires constant management of threats instead of opportunities. When you can't disappear even if you wanted to. These are the warning signs that the wax is melting.

The rational move here is to descend. Take profits. Reduce exposure. Lower your profile. But this is almost impossible because by the time you're too high, you're surrounded by people who depend on you staying high. Employees, investors, partners, your own identity. Descending feels like failure. So most people don't. They stay at altitude until the wings fail.

The wisdom of the middle path:

Daedalus understood this. He didn't try to fly as high as possible. He didn't try to make the most impressive escape. He flew at moderate altitude, reached safety, and lived. No one tells stories about Daedalus. His escape wasn't dramatic. He didn't push boundaries. He just succeeded quietly and survived. That's the point.

The goal isn't to be remembered. The goal is to win. And winning, in almost every domain, means finding the sustainable altitude where you can operate indefinitely without catastrophic risk. In trading: make consistent returns, not spectacular ones. In business: build a profitable company, not a unicorn. In life: accumulate enough wealth for freedom and security, not so much that you become a target or lose yourself chasing more.

Fly high enough to avoid the waves. Low enough to avoid the sun. And stay there.

Final thoughts:

The Icarus principle applies everywhere. Every domain where success creates visibility and visibility can create vulnerability. The artist who gets too famous loses creative freedom. The politician who rises too high becomes everyone's target. The intellectual who gets too prominent becomes a caricatureAn exaggerated or distorted representation of someone, emphasising specific features for comic or satirical effect. From Italian caricare (to load, exaggerate). Originally an art form: portrait drawings that amplified distinctive traits (large nose, small eyes). Politically, caricatures mock public figures by simplifying them into symbols. Culturally, someone becomes a caricature when they're reduced to their most recognisable trait, losing complexity. Einstein = wild hair and genius. Freud = everything is sexual. Marx = angry communist. When intellectuals become too prominent, the public reduces their nuanced ideas into catchphrases or stereotypes. Nietzsche's "God is dead" becomes nihilism meme. Jordan Peterson becomes "clean your room." The caricature overshadows the person. This is dangerous because it removes depth, invites mockery, and makes serious discourse impossible. Visibility turns humans into symbols.. The company that dominates too thoroughly invites regulation and antitrustLaws preventing monopolies and promoting competition. From "anti-" (against) + "trust" (a monopolistic business arrangement). In the late 1800s, "trusts" were legal structures where companies in an industry pooled control to eliminate competition and fix prices (e.g., Standard Oil, controlled 90% of US oil). Antitrust laws (Sherman Act 1890, Clayton Act 1914) were created to break up monopolies and prevent anti-competitive behaviour. Today, antitrust regulators scrutinise mergers, price-fixing, and market dominance. Examples: Microsoft (1990s browser war), Google (search dominance), Amazon (marketplace power). In the Icarus context, companies that fly too high by dominating their market attract antitrust attention. If you control too much, governments force you to split up or face penalties. Microsoft's antitrust case in the 2000s slowed its dominance. Being too successful invites regulatory scrutiny.. The YouTuber who gets too big deals with constant drama, lawsuits, cancel culture. The athlete who becomes too dominant gets drug tested constantly, faces media scrutiny for every mistake, can't have a private life.

There's a level of success that's optimal. It's not maximum possible success. It's maximum sustainable success. Most people never learn this because the stories we tell celebrate extremes. We glorify the people who fly highest, even when they crash. We don't tell stories about people who fly at boring, sustainable altitude for decades. But those are the people who actually win.

Icarus is remembered. Daedalus is forgotten. But Daedalus is the one who survived.

Related:

↩ Back to Blog