The Sword of Damocles

 "The sword of Damocles" dates back to ancient moral parable popularized by the Roman philosopher Cicero in his 45 B.C. book "Tusculan Disputations".Nowadays, it is a phrase used to depict life's unpredictability and possible existence of danger.

Dinoysis was the mighty and cruel king of Sicily.He was always unnecessarily flattered by his courtiers. They sought to gain favour from him by the means of extreme admiration of his undoubted talents; and the most celebrated of these foolish folks was Damocles.He used to tell Dinoysius how lucky he should consider himself for all the luxuries he had and the privilege of holding the most powerful and superior authority of all.To teach him a lesson,the king invited a feast and declared him the new king.Damocles could not believe his luck.He was put on the formal attire of king and when he sat on the throne he was feeling so powerful.While he was enjoying the vast varieties of food served by the servant he saw a sword hanging above his head. He then realized that the sword was hung from the roof by a single hair and it could slay him at any time.When addressed to Dionysius he said that the sword always stayed like that above the throne.According to the king, the responsibility of king is so high that he had to find a way to never forget it.Therefore , he had decided to have this sword hung over his head,as an indicator of the danger threatening him in case he made a wrong decision.Dinoysius wanted to teach Damocles that authority comes with responsibility and threat to life and it is not as easy as it seems.

This story teaches us the lesson that boundless wealth doesn't necessarily bring happiness and satisfaction.Though the high position has its own glory and honor,it also has its own dangers and those who would gain mighty power and greatness must be strong and of good courage,not fall for the foolish flatters.

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