Sunday, February 25, 2007

Story for a class

Okay, so I had to write a myth for my Greek and Roman mythology class. I just got finished with it, and just for fun, here it is! Pardon the formatting.

The young man paused in the middle of the small strip of land between the woods and the city and glanced in at the busy people hurrying their way through the streets. Some days, he missed that part of life, just doing every day tasks for other normal people. When Zeus had picked him up and taken him aside to enlist his assistance, he felt very privileged. However, as the days went on, he began to feel less privileged and began feeling unrewarded for his tasks. One day, he brought his thoughts to the great God Zeus himself.

“It burdens me,” the young man said as he stared down at his feet, “I talk to Zeus, the ruler of the Gods, yet no man knows but I. I should be a famous man. Countless stories have been written about men such as I.”

“But you have been given my grace to help me in important tasks,” Zeus replied. “Is that not reward enough? Mortal fame is fleeting. You service with me will endure through all time.” The young man said nothing; just stared down at his feet.

Days passed, and every day the young man would pause and stare into the town. He would often wonder how many people would scurry about their day, each thinking how important they must be doing what they were doing. They had no idea, he would think to himself. They are not important at all, no matter how they think. On the last day of the week, the young man walked into the forest to meet Zeus, but carried this weight with him to his meeting.

Zeus looked down at the young man. The young man was obviously too distracted by his own thoughts to help Zeus as he wanted the young man to. Finally, Zeus spoke to him. “If it is popularity and fame you are looking for, I can give it to you. Beware, though. Popularity is not always what you think it is, or more importantly, what you want it to be.”

The boy looked up gleefully at Zeus. “Yes, please, almighty Zeus. Please, make me known throughout the entire world! I want men in the furthest reaches of Greece to talk about me!” Zeus just looked down for a moment, and then opened his arms wide above the trees in the forest.

Suddenly, the boy began to grow, stretching in every direction until he was exactly three times his original size. He looked back up at Zeus with a smile and threw his arms up towards the sky to give praise for this new gift. “Now,” Zeus spoke with his booming voice, “you will have your eternal fame.”

The people of the city awoke the next morning to the sight of their new gift. People emerged from their houses and congregated in the middle of town, all gathered around the giant man. The residents of their town reached out their hands and laid them on him, instantly realizing he was a gift from the Gods.

Many people from far-away lands all came to worship the gift that Zeus had given the small town and the rest of the world, the great statue. Soon, word of the statue had spread throughout the entire land. There was not a man or woman who did not know about it. The young man was the most famous man in the world; the unknown face, forever looking up towards the heavens with a smile and outreached arms.

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