Father-son relations

This week, (week one of my study of Greece) I am studying a lot of the Greek myths. Two of them were those of Daedalus and Icarus and Theseus and the Minotaur. The assignment is to write about the father-son relationships of Daedalus and Icarus Aegeus and Theseus.

Daedalus and Icarus' relationship shows a lot of the disobedience most boys develop as they grow older. We boys are trying to prove ourselves and are trying to be more independent. Our fathers advise us and tell us what to do often. They don't do it for their health. They do it to steer us in the right direction. Daedalus tried to do this with Icarus, but Icarus' disobedience kicked in and he ended up dieing because he didn't listen to his father's advice.

The relationship between Aegeus and Theseus shows how much fathers love their sons. Aegeus loved Theseus and therefore didn't want him to go to Crete to defeat the Minotaur. Theseus, however, who was impulsive and loved danger and adventure, wouldn't listen. He promised his father that, as a sign that he had lived, he would fly white sails instead of black when he returned. However, as he returned home, he forgot to change the sails. Aegeus, believing his son was dead, killed himself by jumping off a cliff. In my opinion, he did this because he had never really known Theseus, having left before he was born, and he believed he would never be able to. I think he regretted leaving.