The Astyage's Revenge

Literal Comprehension
An Astyages, the king of media dreamed that his daughter's urine flooded the whole Asia. Then she was married to a Persian. Again the king dreamed that our of his daughter's private part, there grew a covering all Asia. After consulting the dream interpreter, he called back his daughter from Persia. She was imprisoned because the majai had told the king that his grandchild would become a king in his palace. When she gave birth to a son, the king called his most faithful officer, Harpagus, and asked his to expose the child. He also warned him not to give this task to anyone. But Harpagus did not like to kill the royal child. He sent for the king's shaphard mitradutes and instructed him this task. Mitradutes expose his own dead child as a royal child. And he brought up the royal child as his own. Once in a play in their village this child was made king and he punished the boy of Astyger's officer. Then this child and the sharphert were taken to the court. The king came to know that it was his own grandchild, and harpagus was asked to send his son to the palace. In first the king gave harguse his son's place to eat. And thus the king took revenge on harpagus for disobeying the royal order, later the king sent his grandson, syrus to his parent's house in Persia because the majai had told him that the would no longer became the king in his place

INTERPRETATION
This story might be tying to tell us that the rulers do anything to sustain their power and that politics regards neither blood nor relation. This story tell us that that suffering of the people where there is no freedom. This story may also be interpreted to mean that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

CRITICAL THINKING
The modern readers discharge with many things in this story. Is the king so merciless to expose his own child? Could not he impression the child? Is a man so coward (8/5]?jf) as harpagus, who accept the anything the king does? if we think that this story gives a real picture of a past life, we may find if acceptable.

ASSIMILATION
By reading this story I came to know that man is basically a savage. He is so selfish that he does anything for his advantages. I also understood that politics is a dirty game. In politics anything the powerful person does is excusable the politician does not hesitate to use unfair means.