Week 3 Essay: Some Lessons are Learned the Hard Way

A common theme that I have noticed in mythology is the idea that lessons are almost always learned the hard way. Advice is rarely heeded and the consequences are quite drastic! One example of this is when Phaethon learned that the Sun was his father so he went to visit him in his temple. Upon arriving, Phaethon asked the Sun to prove that he was indeed his father, so the Sun said that he would grant Phaethon any wish. Of course, Phaethon's wish was greedy, reckless, and dangerous - not too different from modern day teens, ha ha! When the Sun tried to warn his son that his wish would only bring harm, Phaethon would not budge from his demand. Well, Phaethon did indeed learn his lesson the hard way when he lost control of the chariot of fire and then was struck by a lightening bolt sent by Jupiter, which led to his death. Another example is in the story of Narcissus. Narcissus learned his lesson the hard way when he foolishly fell in love with his own reflection. He learned the perils of eternally seeking something that he will never have. As a consequence, he lost out on real love with Echo and was transformed into a flower hanging over the water in an eternal gaze upon it's own beauty. A final example that I will give regards Mars and Venus. This couple chose to commit an act of unfaithfulness and in return, they were caught in the act and put on display by Venus's husband to be mocked by all of the other gods. It is very interesting to read these stories and know that something bad is going to happen to the characters even though the characters themselves are ignorant of their impending doom. It makes you almost want to jump into the story and warn them that what they are doing will only lead to their ridicule or death. In life we all make mistakes and learn from hard lessons, but it's important to also recognize that not all lessons need to be learned from personal experience. Sometimes it works out much better to just listen to you friends or elders who generally know a thing or two about what they are talking about!

(Echo and Narcissus: Web Source: Wikipedia)