One of my favorite myths is the Sword of Damocles. I actually refer to this a lot when I feel that there is impending doom. It's kind of like knowing that something bad is going to happen but not knowing exactly when it will strike. The sword is hanging over your head by barely a thread and will fall eventually.
I remember when I first learned about this myth. It was in conjunction with reading Edgar Allen Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. I love Poe's short stories. They are always so captivating and vivid. They are usually also violent and The Pit is no exception.
But I digress.
In the actual myth, Damocles envies the life of a King. The King offers to switch places with Damocles for a day. Damocles lives it up - women, luxury, drinks, food, etc until he notices a sword hanging above his place (the king's place) at the table. It is hanging by a single frail thread. Damocles quickly realizes that being the powerful King is a precarious position to have and not really all it is cracked up to be. To live each day knowing that the sword will fall but not knowing when, is to live in hell.
I really like this myth because it teaches you:
- Envy is worthless because the grass is not always greener on the other side
- Perception is misleading because you may think that someone is happy and has it all but on the inside they feel very differently
Poe scares the crap out of me. The walling people up so they have a huge long, drawn out death is so horrendous. I love a writer who can write a good short story though.
ReplyDeleteI liked mythology, but I was a poor student in that class. My teacher was super boring. Plus, I never mastered the difference between Greek and Roman mythology. :) So, I like the stories just never wanted to HAVE to learn them for an exam.