Islands off Ionia, Ikaria/Oinoe
4th century BCE
Æ 19mm, 5.06g
Wreathed head of Dionysos right /
Grape bunch
SNG Copenhagen 1671-2; HGC 6, 1160
Ikaria received its name from Ikaros, the son of Daedalos, who was the architect of the Labyrinth on Crete. When Theseus defeated the minotaur, King Minos suspected Daedalos of betrayal and he thus came up with a plan to fly away.
Daedalos crafted wings of feathers and he and his son Ikaros then flew up from the island. Unfortunately, Ikaros got too close to the sun, which melted the glue bonding his feathers to him, and he fell into the sea near the present-day island.
In ancient times, the sea around Ikaria was greatly feared. Homer said:
“And the gathering was stirred like the long sea-waves of the Icarian main”
Horace wrote:
“The merchant afraid of the African winds as
they fight the Icarian waves, loves the peace
and the soil near his town, but quickly rebuilds
his shattered ships, unsuited to poverty.”
Settlers from Miletos colonize Ikaria.