Damon and Pythias

(A Greek Mythology)

Photo credit: wrongsideoftheart.com

Long, long ago. There lived two friends. Their names were Damon and Pythias. Damon and Pythias were good friends. They loved each other like brothers. At that time, Rome was ruled by a bad man. One day, Pythias did something that made the bad ruler very angry!

“Damon, prepare to die!” The king said.“King, before I die, let me visit my wife and children!” Damon begged.“Your wife and children live far away. How can I be sure that you will return?”

Then Pythias said, “King, I will take his place when he goes home, I will stay in prison while we wait for him.”“But what if he does not return?” Asked the king.“Then I will die in his place!” Damon answered.So the King let Pythias free and put Damon in prison.Soon it was time, for Pythias to return, yet he did not come.

“Damon, prepare to die for your bad friend!” the king said.“No! Pythias is a good friend! Something must be keeping him. He must be here now!” Just then, they heard a shout! It was Pythias!

“Here I am!” he cried. “My horse was killed. I had to run, then rest of the way. Now, oh King! I am ready to die.” “No! Let me die in your place! You have a wife and children, but I am alone!”Damon said.

The king could not believe on what he heard. He could not believe that there were such good friends, who would die for each other.“Both of you shall be free!” He said. “I will give half of my kingdom, if I will have such a good friend.”

Introduce the Characters!

Character traits include physical and personality traits. Introduce the young boy in the story, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” by writing down his physical (outside) and personality (inside) traits!

Damon and Pythias

King

Check Your Understanding

  1. Who were the good friends in the story?
  2. Damon and Pythia
  3. Damon and Pythias
  4. Ramon and Pythias
  5. Damon and Mathias
  1. What did Damon do so Pythias could visit his family?
  2. He volunteered to be imprisoned while Pythias went home to visit his family.
  3. He killed the King.
  4. He offered money to the King.
  5. He begged for King’s mercy.
  1. Why did Pythias arrive late?
  2. His cow died.
  3. His daughter got sick.
  4. His wife didn’t allow him to go back.
  5. His horse got killed.
  1. Why did Damon want to die for Pythias?
  2. Because he Pythias has wife and children and he was alone.
  3. His life was meaningless.
  4. He never owned a land.
  5. He was afraid of the king.
  6. What did the King do when he heard that the good friends were willing to die for each other?
  7. He set them free.
  8. He gave them his wealth.
  9. He wanted to befriend them.
  10. He killed both of them.
  1. What is the lesson of the story?
  2. love your friend
  3. have a word of honour
  4. be kind
  5. all of the above