To each fly their own

After Bao Ta Ren mentioned about the rings of fire around Ne Zha's ankles which enabled that little chinese imp to fly, I was interested to find out more about mythical creatures that defies gravity.

It is coincidental that this subject was also brought up last weekend when various friends commented on my birthday present. They started calling me names (not in the bullying manner, we are way past that!) from greek mythological characters who are vaguely connected to FLYING, WINGS or HEEL such as Achilles and so on. But all their stories are half past six so I decided to WIKI it instead.....

And so, my research reveals that:

Achilles ......is a hero of the Trojan War, also famous for being the most handsome of all heroes in Troy. He is invulnerable on all parts of his body except for his heels. This is because when he was born, his mother tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. However she forgot to wet the heels she held him by hence leaving him vulnerable at that particular spot. Legend has it that that Achilles was killed in battle by an arrow to the heel, and so the term 'Achilles' heel' has come to mean a person's only weakness.

In summary, Achilles is a very handsome man with a weak HEEL but he DO NOT FLY- from his heels or otherwise.

Brad Pitt as Archilles, but of course!

Icarus .......is the son of a skillful artificer (Daedalus) who was imprisoned in the Labyrinth by King Minos. To escape, Daedalus fashioned a pair of wings for himself and his son, made of feathers and wax. Before they took off from the prison, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun as the wax would melt. Overcomed by the euphoria of flying however, Icarus did not heed his father's warning. He soared through the sky in exhilaration and came too close to the sun which melted his wings and he fell into the sea and drowned. The area where he fell is now known as the Icarian Sea, located near Icaria, an island southwest of Samos.

In summary, Icarus is a silly euphoric man who DO FLY from his artificially constructed WINGS tied to his back.

Daedulus pushing Icarus off to flight....

Hermes (also known as 'Mercury' in the Roman equivalent)...... is the son of Zeus and hailed as the herald of all Olympian gods. Hermes is the god of shepherds, land travel, merchants, weights and measures, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves. Most importantly, he is the messenger of the gods and it was his duty to guide the souls of the dead down to the underworld and also bring dreams to mortals. Hermes is usually depicted with a broad-brimmed hat or a winged cap, herald staff and winged sandals. The winged sandals that flew the god as swift as any bird is called a "talaria' and is said to be made of imperishable gold. Most gymnasiums in Greece today holds a statue of Hermes as a symbol of atheleticism.

In summary, Hermes is an athletic and swift God of Trickster who DO FLY from the HEELS with the help of a pair of WINGED sandals.

A "talaria"

So........

Now we know, there are no bona fide Greek characters that actually sprouted natural WINGS from the HEELS!

To each fly their own ways.