Myths & Legends

Since young, I have enjoyed reading Greek myths & legends. I remembered that the first time I read a Greek tale was when I explored the children’s section. I think it was ‘Pandora’s Box’. As you know, it ended with all the negative things escaping from the box and polluting the world. I wasn’t happy with the ending. But I found the story interesting and so from then on, I started reading Greek myths & legends.

Once, I borrowed a huge read-aloud book of legends from different countries like Greece and Rome. There were a lot of tales in the book, but I liked the Greek ones the most. By reading that book, I discovered stories likes ‘The Twelve Labours of Hercules’, ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ and ‘Demeter and Persephone’.

Personally, I like reading Greek legends because I feel that they have a gentle mix of good values and lessons in them. For example, The Twelve Labours of Hercules tells about the 12 seemingly impossible tasks that the Greek hero Hercules had to complete as punishment. Although almost all of the tasks require the great strength of Hercules, some of them required him to think of a way to accomplish them. For example, Hercules devised a way to clean the filthy Augean stables – by breaking the dam of a nearby river so that the water flows into the stables and wash them out. The tale taught me that practically everything can be done if we use our brains and think hard enough. We must also put in effort in our work in order to achieve the best results.

One of my favourite Greek tales is ‘The Trojan Horse’. It is basically about the Greeks who built a giant horse storing their soldiers in order to get into their enemy, the Trojans’, city. The greeks sent a representative to pretend that he has been abandoned by them and that the horse is a peace offering to the war goddess Athena. The Trojans were naïve enough to believe their enemy and allowed the horse to be brought in. But they were fooled and as soon as the soldiers inside the horse knew they were in the city, they jumped out of the horse and started attacking the Trojans.

The tale taught me not to believe my enemies easily. The whole of Trojan was too gullible. They also did not heed the advice of two respected people, who discouraged them from bringing the horse in. The downfall of the Trojans could have been prevented. On the other hand, I learnt that even the smartest of people can be deceived if the trick is done properly. Odysseus, who first came up with the plan of the Trojan horse, was smart and crafty. He knew that no way could the Greeks enter the Trojan city easily. That is why I also like to read other tales of Odysseus.

In my opinion, everyone should try reading Greek or even other myths& legends. They have good moral-of-the-stories. I am sure many will enjoy reading the many tales of wisdom, wit and strength. Although some of the tales may seem rather exaggerated, they always have bombastic endings. For once, history is exciting.