In Greek mythology, Icarus (the Latin spelling, conventionally adopted in English; Greek: Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, Etruscan: Vikare[1]) is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall to his death. The myth shares thematic similarities with that of Phaëton — both are usually taken as examples of hubris or failed ambition — and is often depicted in art.

In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Jatayu (Sanskrit: जटायू Jatāyū, Tamil: Chatayu, Thai: Sadayu, Malay: Jentayu or Chentayu) is the son of Aruṇa and nephew of Garuda. A demi-god who has the form of a vulture, he was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama's father). He tries to rescue Sita from Ravana when Ravana is on his way to Lanka after kidnapping Sita. Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, but as Jatayu was very old Ravana soon got the better of him. As Rama and Lakshmana chanced upon the stricken and dying Jatayu in their search for Sita, he informs them of the fight between him and Ravana and the direction in which Ravana had gone (i.e., south).

Jatayu and his brother Sampati, when young, used to compete as to who could fly higher. On one such instance Jatayu flew so high that he was about to get seared by the sun's flames. Sampati saved his brother by spreading his own wings and thus shielding Jatayu from the hot flames. In the process, Sampati himself got injured and lost his wings. As a result, Sampati lived wingless for the rest of his life.

The place where Lord Rama found the dying Jatayu was named JatayuMangalam (now known as Chadayamangalam) and is in the Kollam district of Kerala. A huge rock in this place is named after Jatayu, JatayuPara, and is a tourist attraction. Another claim to this spot where a wounded Jatayu was found by Lord Rama is on the outskirts of the Taaked village [19°42'1.86"N, 73°46'33.93"E] in Nashik District in the state of Maharashtra. While Jataayu was wounded and laying on the ground when Lord Rama arrived, Lord Rama sensed the end result and decided that Jatayu get moksha. Lord Rama hit an arrow in the ground so as to call all seven sacred rivers, called teertha. Six rivers' waters arrived, one river water failing to obey Lord Rama's call. Since Lord Rama was himself an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, He forced the Gaya teertha to arrive at the spot. Finally Jatayu was given the waters of seven rivers and He attained moksha. Today, the six river waters are seen together in one pond, whilst the seventh is a few feet away as a punishment. It mixes with the remaining six waters in an invisible manner. Taaked village remains a tourist and religious attraction today. A fair is organized on the Mahashivratri festival near the sacred water pond.

Poor Sampati. No wonder I love that song so well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzSayxVM_E0

Hubris causes the downfall of people in many Greek tragedies. Shakespeare also used hubris as the fatal flaw in many of his works, Lear for one.

Even in modern times hubris has been the cause of many lost battles and failed businesses, Enron, and Dien Ben Phu being a couple of good ones.

Rainbowtrout, just wanted to say I always appreciate your threads even when I do not post!

for anyone who's as lazy as I am...