King Icarius of Sparta Character Analysis in The Penelopiad

Icarius is Penelope’s father and a King of Sparta. According to stories that Penelope heard growing up, Icarius tried to kill Penelope when she was a baby by throwing her into the sea. After the incident, Icarius was overly affectionate towards Penelope, but Penelope never felt at ease with him. Icarius had wanted Penelope and Odysseus to stay in the Spartan court, but they instead broke with tradition and sailed to Ithaca.

King Icarius of Sparta Character Timeline in The Penelopiad

The timeline below shows where the character King Icarius of Sparta appears in The Penelopiad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Penelope tells the reader that her father was King Icarius of Sparta and her mother was a Naiad (a river spirit). Penelope goes on to... (full context)

Penelope returns to the story of Icarius throwing her into the sea, saying that she may only have invented the shroud prophecy... (full context)

...water and its creatures caused a flock of ducks to rescue her. As a result, Icarius took her back and gave her the nickname “duck.” She imagines that he felt guilty,... (full context)

Antiquity, Modernity, and Progress for Women Theme Icon

Penelope, however, could not reciprocate Icarius’s affections. She remembers walking with her father along a cliff or riverbank and wondering if... (full context)

At Icarius’s court, they maintained the custom of having physical contests to determine who would marry Penelope.... (full context)

...to stay in the bride’s family’s palace. Penelope thinks that this custom is why, after Icarius tried to throw her into the sea, he became so attached to her. Penelope then... (full context)

...what happened. She thinks that Tyndareous, who had to share the throne of Sparta with Icarius, wanted the throne for himself. Odysseus, rather than moving to Sparta, would take Penelope away... (full context)

...Penelope puts it, it was like “they’d failed to win an auction for a horse.” Icarius, suspecting that Odysseus had tricked him, got drunk and angry. Odysseus, though, did not get... (full context)

Penelope’s mother attended her wedding, sitting on the throne next to Icarius with a pool of water from her recent swim collecting at her feet. Penelope’s mother... (full context)

...announced that he would be taking Penelope and her treasures back to Ithaca. This annoyed Icarius, but Tyndareous supported the move. Penelope states that the reader has probably heard that Icarius... (full context)