Examination of Life Teachings in the Legends: Being Apollo and Phaeton, Icarus and Daedalus, and Echo and Narcissus
The ancient Greek myths explain a lot about what the Greek people understood about the world. It is a collection of stories which are used to teach. These myths hold valuable moral lessons which the modern reader can learn and apply it to one’s life. The myths that will be focused on, being Apollo and Phaeton, Icarus and Daedalus, and Echo and Narcissus. These myths have valuable moral lessons that the modern reader can learn, such as, listen to one’s elders, knowledge is power, and the arrogance is not very well received by others.
Firstly, a valuable moral lesson taught by this Greek myth, Apollo and Phaethon, is to listen to one’s elders. The experience and wisdom elders gain during their lifetime is very valuable. When given advice by an elder, it is highly suggested to take it. The advice they give is an asset. For instance, Apollo warned Phaeton not to use the whip on the horses. However Phaeton did not listen to his father’s wise instructions so he lost control and freaked out. So he used the last resort, the whip. Then the horses were instantly startled and went down crashing towards the mortal world. As, before the chariot could crash on impact Zeus struck lightning bolts on the chariot and poor Phaeton was turned into ashes. This incident could have been avoided if he took the advice of his elder, Apollo. For instance, Apollo told him you would put the mortal world in danger, including your mother and sisters if you ride the chariot. Apollo knew his son wasn’t ready to ride the chariot without anything horrible happening. But Phaeton did not listen, he desired the proof that his father was truly the god of the sun. If he had listened to Apollo then he would have survived. Consequently, even though Phaeton was warned by an elder his father Apollo, he did not take his advice. As Phaeton was not wise enough to listen to his father. He would have known what the devastating outcome would be.
Furthermore, knowledge is power, is a valuable moral lesson taught by this Greek myth, Icarus and Daedalus. Everyone needs knowledge to survive and it shows one’s power. For instance, Daedalus built wings to escape when he and Icarus were trapped in the labyrinth on the island.The wings were built fairly securely from wax and feathers. Which are very strong and durable, so that the materials wouldn’t just easily fall apart upon lift off. The ancient Greek people knew knowledge was power. Another example of knowledge is power is shown when the myth revealed that Daedalus built the labyrinth with an escape plan.The labyrinth held a Minotaur and a prisoner Theseus. The Minotaur was defeated and Theseus escaped with the help of Daedalus but Theseus took King Minos’s daughter. As a result, King Minos was angry, so he just locked the creator, Daedalus in his own labyrinth. So Daedalus and Icarus easily escaped using a trail of string to get out. In short, the reason how Daedalus got out of the labyrinth and island safety was he was using his knowledge and skill.
Finally, arrogance is not well received by others is a valuable moral lesson taught by this Greek myth, Echo and Narcissus. In life, do not exaggerate one’s own aspects, keep it honest. If one’s self does not keep it honest, it will lead to really horrible consequences. For instance, Narcissus rejects Echo since he thought he was much higher than Echo. Narcissus thinks highly of himself, looking down at Echo.She felt very heartbroken, Echo then prayed that karma would come for Narcissus that he would suffer the pain he had force upon her. So then Narcissus goes to a foundation and falls in love but when he realized that it was just an reflection, he committed suicide. As, those who over exaggerate one’s self image are very imperious. For example, Echo was so heartbroken and prayed for horrible things to happen to Narcissus. Echo felt so bad for herself thinking of course he would never get rejected but she did. So then Nemesis, the goddess of revenge heard about this story and drawn Narcissus to a foundation. Then he looked in it and fell in love with the image. But then Narcissus kills himself and Echo gets the closure she wanted. Thus, this is very important as people should know that arrogance is not well received by others, or they will have to deal with horrible consequences.
In summary, the myths Apollo and Phaeton, Icarus and Daedalus, and Echo, and Narcissus have valuable moral lessons. The moral lessons that the modern reader can be learned from the myths includes Apollo and Phaeton is to listen to one’s elders, Icarus and Daedalus teach us about knowledge is power, and Echo and Narcissus show us an example why arrogance is not very well received by others. These lessons can be applied in the modern reader’s life.It shows that the ancient Greek people valued moral lessons and wanted people to be informed. This represents the knowledge about the world from the ancient Greek people.
