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Saturday, February 2, 2008

Classic Love Stories



Love they say is one of the most beautiful feelings. It is an essential part of life, whether ancient or modern- it is never out of season. Here in this section we revisit the notion of love through these immortal love stories from Greek and Hindu mythology and folklore of India that are passionate in content, and never fail to appeal to the romantic in us! They are popular all over the world. Read the stories to realize the importance of romance in the spirit of love!




Anthony and Cleopatra





The last Pharaoh of Egypt and the dashing Roman general

One of the most famous love stories by William Shakespeare, the love story of Antony and Cleopatra is a true test of love. Read on to know about the famous Anthony & Cleopatra love affair.


Some love stories are immortal. And the true love story of Antony and Cleopatra is one of the most memorable, intriguing and moving of all times. The true story of these two historical characters had later been dramatized by the maestro William Shakespeare and is still staged all over the world. The relationship of Antony and Cleopatra is a true test of love.

One of the most famous women in history, Cleopatra VII was the brilliant and beautiful last Pharaoh of Egypt. The woman was legendary, not only for her breathtaking beauty but also for her great intellect. She was proficient in nine languages and was also a skilled mathematician. She is often considered to be a stunning seductress though she was studying to be a nun. She became the mistress of the famous emperor Julius Caesar. After he was slain, she was accused of having been a party to Ceaser's assassination, for there was a rumor in Rome that Cleopatra had given help to Cassius, one of the assassins of Caesar.

Matters came to such a head that Caesar's successor and best friend Mark Anthony, the present emperor of Rome, summoned Cleopatra to explain herself at his headquarters in Anatolia. In the spring of the year 41 BC. she crossed the Mediterranean to see him.

But as she saw Marc Antony, she fell in love with him, and he with her, almost instantly. Sometime later the emperor accepted her invitation to visit her in Egypt and arrived in Alexandria in time to spend a winter of pleasure.

The relationship between these two powerful people put the country of Egypt in a powerful position. But their love affair outraged the Romans who were wary of the growing powers of the Egyptians. Despite all the threats, Anthony and Cleopatra got married at Antioch(in Syria) in 36 BC.

Together, Antony and Cleopatra, formed a formidable ruling power. They were now openly together; and openly a team against Octavian, Antony's rival for power in Rome. As a Roman general, with a powerful army in the eastern provinces, Antony gave his new wife a spectacular wedding present - much of the Middle East. In 34 BC, he declared Cleopatra to be the Queen of Kings and Caesarion the King of Kings, jointly ruling over Egypt and Cyprus and joint overlords of the kingdoms of the other children.

In the tradition of many eastern monarchies, Cleopatra and Antony now began presenting themselves as divine. To Greeks they appeared as Dionysus and Aphrodite; to Egyptians as Osiris and Isis.


But Octavian, Antony's rival in power, had had enough of it. He was a blood-relative of Ceaser. how could he bear to see Antony taking his uncle's place? In 31 BC, he declared a war against Antony. The battle between the forces of Octavian and of Antony and Cleopatra took place at Actium, in Greece, on 2 September 31.


The exact course of the battle is not known, but it is said that while fighting a battle in Actium, Antony got false news of Cleopatra's death. Shattered, he fell on his sword. It is also said that Antony escaped to Egypt with Cleopatra when their fortunes in war turned against them. But the royal couple couldn't escape misfortune. The following year, when Octavian arrived in Egypt with his army, Antony had to commit suicide to escape imprisonment. When Cleopatra learned about Antony 's death, she was shocked. She was taken a prisoner of Octavian, restricted by his guards to part of her own palace. Shattered by her husband's death and her captivity, with the help of some loyal subjects, she arranged for a small poisonous snake, an asp, to be smuggled into her quarters in a basket of figs.

Then, Cleopatra ordered her chambermaids to leave her. She put on her royal robes, lied on a couch of gold, and applied the asp to her breast. A little later she was found dead.

Great love demands great sacrifices. The love of Antony and Cleopatra epitomize that love is another name for sacrifice.



Pyramus and Thisbe


A very touching love story that is sure to move anyone who reads it is that of Pyramus and Thisbe. Theirs was a selfless love and they made sure that even in death, they were together. The tale has its origins in the Roman Mythology. It is best recounted by Ovid and the passion of love that blossomed between the two young lovers enthralls readers even today.

Pyramus was the most handsome man and was a childhood friend of Thisbe, the fairest maiden in Babylonia. Pyramus and Thisbe were neighbors. They both lived in neighboring homes and fell in love with each other as they grew up together. However, their parents were dead against them marrying each other. Their parents were totally against their union, leaving the young lovers with no option but burn the light of love brightly in their hearts and meet surreptitiously if they can. Over the years, the lovers could only talk through a hole in their wall because their parents refused them to see each other.

Finally, Pyramus got fed up with his parents and so did Thisbe. One day while whispering through a crack in the wall, they decided to meet the next night under a mulberry tree near tomb of Ninus. They decided to elope then.

So, the next night, just before the crack of dawn, while everyone was asleep, they decided to slip out of their homes and meet in the nearby fields near a mulberry tree. Thisbe reached there first, covered with a cloak. As she waited under the tree, she saw a lioness coming near the spring close by to quench its thirst. Its jaws were bloody, from a previous kill that day. When Thisbe saw this horrifying sight, she panicked and ran to hide in some hollow rocks nearby. As she was running, she dropped her cloak.

The lion, on hearing the shriek, came near the tree where Thisbe was initially waiting. The creature picked up the cloak in its bloody jaws. Then it tattered the cloak with its blood-stained mouth, leaves it on the ground and goes away.

Soon after, Pyramus arrived at the appointed spot and saw Thisbe's cloak, his love gift to her, covered in blood and torn to pieces with the footprints of the lioness left behind. He immediately thought that his only love had been killed by a hungry lion. He is completely devastated. He thought that the lion had just hunted down Thisbe and blamed himself to be the cause of her death. Had he not been late, could the lion have killed Thisbe? Shattered, he prepared to kill himself. Without any haste, he unsheathed his sword (her love gift to him), letting the cold, hard steel pierce his broken heart. He pierced his chest with his own sword.

Meanwhile, unknown to what just happened, Thisbe was still hiding in the rocks due to the fear of the lion. When she came out from her hiding place after sometime and came under the mulberry tree once more, she saw the body of a man writhing in pain. Thisbe, bringing courage to her heart, ran towards the man and was shocked when he found her only love lying on the ground next to the blood-covered Mulberry bush with his own sword impaling his chest.

She gasped in horror as she asked the still breathing Pyramus what happened. Barely able to stay awake, he told her what happened and she cried out in sorrow. Pyramus died soon after leaving Thisbe totally shattered.

"What would I do in this world without my Pyramus?" thought the grief-stricken Thisbe. She resolves to finish herself too.

She brought out from Pyramus' chest his blood-stained sword. Then she said to the dead Pyramus:

"Wait for me my love. I'm coming to you."

Then she brought the blade into her own soft flesh. Thus they died together, in love and peace.

It is said that this is the reason why the berries on the Mulberry bush are red, instead of their original white, in commemoration of the two young lovers and their great sacrifice.

The love story of Pyramus and Thisbe continues to inspire lovers all around the world. The love between the two remain one of the purest and truest ever seen in this world.



Laila and Majnu


Love is known to be an overwhelming, all-consuming, intense passion. But just how intense can love be? No one knows the answer, and examples of such a love are rare. But whenever one talks about the depth of love, the intensity of passion, two names almost immediately come to mind- Laila and Majnu.

The love story of Laila and Majnu is a very famous one and is no less than a legend. Even today, people know them as Laila Majnu; the "and" in between is missing. They were two in flesh, but one in spirit. It is based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mullawah from the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Umayyad era during the 7th century. The love story of "Laila and Majnu" is an eternal one albeit a tragic one.

Laila was a beautiful girl born in a rich family. Being no less than a princess, she was expected to marry a wealthy boy and live in grandeur and splendor. But love is born from the heart; it knows no rules. Laila fell in love with Qays and he too loved her dearly. Qays was a poet and belonged to the same tribe as Laila. He composed splendid love poems and dedicated them to his lady-love, telling in them his love for her and mentioning her name often. Qays' friends knew about his affair with Laila and they often teased and made fun of his love. But such taunts had no effect on Qays. He was deeply in love with Laila and it was her thoughts alone that possesed his mind for all time.

It had been for quite sometime that Qays toyed with the idea of seeking Laila's hand in marriage from her parents. One day, he went up to them and put the big question before them.

But Qays was a poor lad. And when he asked for Laila's hand in marriage, her father promptly refused him as he didn't want her daughter to marry below her status. It would mean a scandal for Laila according to Arab traditions.

As fate would have it, the two lovers were banished from seeing each other. Soon after, Laila's parents married her off to a wealthy man and she went on to live in a big mansion.

When Qays heard of her marriage he was heartbroken. He fled the tribe camp and wandered in the surrounding desert. His family eventually gave up on his return and left food for him in the wilderrness. He could sometimes be seen reciting poetry to himself or writing Laila's name in the sand with a stick. Day and night, he pined for her.

Laila was no better. Seperated from Qays, she was shattered in mind, body and spirit. Not long afterwards, in 688 AD, she moved to Iraq with her husband, where she fell ill and died eventually.

When Qays' friends came to know about Laila's death, they went looking for him all over to give him the news. But they could not find him.

Not much later, , their search for him came to an end. Qays was found dead in the wilderness near Laila's grave. On a rock near the grave, he had carved three verses of poetry, which are the last three verses ascribed to him.

Qays went mad for his love; for this reason he came to be called "Majnu", or "Majnun Layla", which means "Driven mad by Layla".

Such a love is hard to find today. So if ever you love someone, try to love like these two did. Even today, lovers swear by their name. It is their love affair that has made Laila and Majnu immortal in the accounts of great love stories.






 
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