Icarus was imprisoned on the island of Crete along with his father Daedalus by King Minos. To escape, Daedalus crafted wings out of wax for himself and Icarus. He warned Icarus not to fly too low over the sea or too high near the sun. However, overcome with joy at flying, Icarus ignored his father's instructions and flew too close to the sun, melting the wax in his wings and causing him to fall into the sea where he drowned.