The ancient Greeks told a story that some people today find troubling. It’s the story of Kleobis and Biton, sons of the priestess of Hera at Argos.
Their mother was distressed when the oxen that were supposed to draw the sacred chariot to the temple didn’t show up. The two brothers got into the traces and pulled.
Their mother, deeply moved, suggested to the goddess that her sons deserved a reward. She added that it should be the best gift the goddess could give.
The boys, tired from the 5-mile trip, went to sleep in the temple and never woke up.
There are two ways to read the story.
We could read it with irony. We could blame the mother — we often do anyway — for asking for the wrong gift.
Or we could reject the complicated interpretation and accept the simple, but coherent, one staring you in the face. It’s a straightforward story if you take it at face value. Two brothers, after a heroic feat, went to sleep and didn’t’ wake up. Is there are better way to die?
The ancient Greeks had their share of fresh and original thinkers. We’re tempted, sometimes, to think we are just like them. We are not.
Many people in ancient Greece had views about the value of work that most Americans would find appalling. Most of us would find their thinking about gender roles, sexuality and slavery troubling.
They, in turn, would be unable to comprehend our reluctance to talk about death. All of us will die. That’s what being mortals, as opposed to gods, means.
Given that reality, it made sense to some thinkers to consider the options. While we don’t have a choice about whether we are going to die, we sometimes do have options about the manner in which we going to die.
Some are better than others.
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