TRUST IN FRIENDSHIP.

Morning world, today am going to share with you a story that I had read a while back & which changed my perception of life as well as those whom we call our friends. I pray that it will be a blessing to you as well as to others & that you shall at least gain some knowledge from it. You have the right to make your personal choice as to whether to accept the moral of the story in accordance to your own interpretation of it.

"During the fourth century B.C. Dionysious a tyrant was ruling Syracuse, a Greek city of Sicily. There was a man by the name Damon who had the courage to speak against the cruelty of the tyrant. When Dionysious heard of it, Damon was seized, thrown into prison & sentenced to death

Damon was courageous & was ready to die because of his belief. But he made one request. He begged for leave to visit his family & bid them farewell before he died. Dionysious laughed at the request saying, "if I allow you to go, you may escape to another country". Damon replied, "I have a friend who is willing to stay here as a captive in my place until I return" & he called his friend Pythias towards him. 

Pythias agreed to stand surety for Damon & to die instead of him in case he did not return. Dionysious was astounded & granted the prisoner six hours of freedom. Meanwhile Pythias was kept in custody by the soldiers. Hours passed, minute after minute. Even after the fifth hour, Damon had not returned & Pythias was led to the execution place. 

Dionysious meanwhile mocked Pythias for his foolishness. But Pythias had complete trust that his friend would return. He said probably his friend must have met with an accident on the way. The ruler sneered & ordered the execution. The hands of Pythias were tied & he knelt down waiting for the executioner to strike his neck with his sword

At that moment Damon breathless & mud stained dashed into the place. His horse had fallen down on the way & he had to struggle hard to get there in time. However he was glad because he had bid goodbye to his family & had reached in time to save his friend.

Pythias pleaded with the tyrant to kill him instead of Damon because he was unmarried while his friend had a family to look after. The tyrant was amazed at this gesture. Never before had he heard of such loyalty, sincerity & trust. His anger subsided & he embraced both of them & asked them to take him a friend". 

I hope you enjoyed reading through the story & that at least you tried picturing yourself in either Damon's or Pythias's shoes or even Dionsyiuos shoes. Just contemplate what this story touches in your life as well your relation with those whom you call your friends, will they risk their lives for you or as commonly put take a bullet for you. Think about it.