Icarus

Merry Joseph Blondel, The Sun, or the Fall of Icarus, 1819, 271 x 210 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Icarus was the son of Daedalus, who created the Labyrinth for King Minos to hold the Minotaur.  After Ariadne helped Theseus excape the Labyrinth, Daedalus and Icarus were imprisoned on the island.  To escape, Daedalus built wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son.  They were successful, but Icarus ignored his father's advice and flew too close to the sun, which melted the wax on his wings and caused him to fall into the sea and drown.