--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at…" description: "\"Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.\" — Jeremy Robert Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg" --- # Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew. ![“Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.” quote by Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg) > “Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.” [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a failed attempt like Icarus is valuable for daring to try. **In simple terms:** Icarus’s failure is still a triumph of daring. Key Takeaway Dare to aim high despite risk. Themes ambition risk learning Mood inspirational cautionary Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts hubris human limits mythology Questions to Reflect On - What does “flying” mean to you? - How do you balance risk and safety? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to unnecessary danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flew/) [Flew Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flew-close-637106/) [Icarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icarus/) [Icarus Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icarus-flew-1844581/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Sun Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun-flew-2346676/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone forgets Icarus also flew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/everyone-forgets-icarus-also-flew/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Icarus! It’s not as if I have forgotten all names. I remember Icarus. He flew too close to the sun. In the stories, though,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/icarus-it-s-not-as-if-i-have-forgotten-all-names-i-remember-icarus-he/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“There once was a hero who flew too close to the sun. His wings of wax fell apart and he plummeted to the earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromu-arakawa/there-once-was-a-hero-who-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-his-wings-of-wax/) [Hiromu Arakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromu-arakawa/) > [“Get closer," I told Blackjack. "I need to talk to the statue." Now I'm sure you've lost it, boss, he muttered, but he flew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/get-closer-i-told-blackjack-i-need-to-talk-to-the-statue-now-i-m-sure/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Failing and Flying" Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew. It's the same when love comes to an end, or the marriage fails and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/failing-and-flying-everyone-forgets-that-icarus-also-flew-it-s-the/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Greek myths are heroic, noble and tragic; but the American Dream is heroic, comical, and uplifting. Americans are a people in whom overweening ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/greek-myths-are-heroic-noble-and-tragic-but-the-american-dream-is/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [“I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess, and he a mortal, and both of us were imprisoned. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-had-not-fooled-myself-with-false-hope-i-was-a-goddess-and-he-a/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“But who names a starship the Icarus? 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Or just disappointed by the design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/then-there-were-those-famous-wings-was-daedalus-really-stricken-with/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-failure-is-just-life-trying-to-move/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Man has been thrown into the world. It had always made him think of Icarus and those other great tumblers, Ixion, Phaeton, Tantalus -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cees-nooteboom/man-has-been-thrown-into-the-world-it-had-always-made-him-think-of/) [Cees Nooteboom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cees-nooteboom/) > [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## More by Jeremy Robert Johnson > [With this blistering salvo of poetic gutshots Lawson has proven himself Bizarro’s true bard, its mad laureate. Switching from dark whimsy to retina-blast shock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/with-this-blistering-salvo-of-poetic-gutshots-lawson-has-proven/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [Exposed! shines a harsh light on the myriad horrors of modern society and reports back from the fearful frontlines with wicked wit and paranoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/exposed-shines-a-harsh-light-on-the-myriad-horrors-of-modern-society/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [This is a jury of your peers. They watch the same TV movies. They belong to Oprah’s Book Club. You can take any monster,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/this-is-a-jury-of-your-peers-they-watch-the-same-tv-movies-they/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [Man, Books & Booze is cool, right?. That's the most fun I've had in an interview this year. Definitely the most singing I've done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/man-books-booze-is-cool-right-that-s-the-most-fun-i-ve-had-in-an/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [Loneliness is a hell of a drug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/loneliness-is-a-hell-of-a-drug/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [“By the time I twenty, I was just like everyone else. 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Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-nesbit/) [Browse all 456 Flew quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flew/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremy Robert Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at-least-he-flew/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flew" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at-least-he-flew/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/jeremy-robert-johnson-50716_flew_icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at_232144.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.” — Jeremy Robert Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeremy Robert Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Icarus flew too close to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at-least-he-flew/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at-least-he-flew/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```