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.