The Man and His Ancient Lyre

If you go to Italy, there are many different temples and tombs that have writings and drawings written on the aged stone walls of the ruins themselves. There are a lot of interesting stories from the temples of Rome. One in particular, which no longer stands, told of a man. A man and his ancient lyre.
There was once a man who lived in the city of Rome itself. He was a farmer who worked hard during the day. But he never became a husband, nor a father. Once in a while, the man would walk around the city of Rome with a large bag in his hands. Inside it was grains and crops that he gave to the poor whenever he had too much to make food out of. He was a generous man, and known to almost everyone in Rome. Even the king and queen liked this man.
The man was widely known for being kind and nice. He owned no slaves, but sometimes, his neighbors would come by to help with taking care of the crops. The man would even give some of his crops to those who helped him. 
There was something else the man was known for. The people believed he was a God.
Some believed he was the son of Apollo, the God of music and healing. The man did the very same thing every night, whenever the moon was at its brightest and the stars were at their most visible. He would climb the tallest structure in Rome and play his ancient lyre. The people in Rome believed it was the same lyre that Apollo himself wielded.
Whenever the man played, babies would stop crying, brothers and sisters would stop fighting, slaves would stop working, and families would go outside to listen to the music. Other players of diverse instruments would gather around the tallest structure where the man stood and play in tune with him. But the lyre stood out of all the instruments. 
Groups of people would be in across the streets of Rome, lighting their torches. Soon, all of Rome was orange with the color of fire, and awoken to the sound of pure music. It could be heard many miles away, but only faintly. It calmed the body, and when it stopped, you would feel the most horrible feeling. Your body would once again be tense and at work, and you would notice it.
The music from the Lyre made the old feel young again. It turned sand into grains, boulders into bread. It made the blind see and the deaf able to hear again. It kept away disease and made dead plants alive once more. He was the blessing of Rome. Many believed he was a God, Apollo himself. They believed he was immortal.
But they were wrong.
On a hot summer night, a thief broke into the house owned by the man. The thief was jealous of him; he wanted the lyre. He believed that if he successfully stole it, he would be as popular as the man himself. 
He killed the man in his sleep and took the lyre for himself, but not before dripping the man's blood onto the instrument. The thief believed it would bless it. With his bronze knife, he slowly and carefully drew a pattern onto the Lyre, made from the blood of the man. The thief then escaped from a window and ran out the doors of Rome. He was never seen again.
For five years, the citizens of Rome mourned and sobbed with grief for the man. Plagues flooded the city, women and children died, plants and crops slowly withered, and grains and fresh foods rotted and became infested. Rivers made the people sick. The citizens of Rome even committed cannibalism.
But it never happened. It was in their heads.
Over time, Rome slowly turned into desolate ruins and tombs. Even the house the man had owned crumbled away. However, the tallest structure in Rome still stood, and it still stands today.
If you ever go to Rome, go to the ruins at night, when the moon is at its brightest and the stars are at their most visible. If you listen close enough, you might hear the sound of an ancient lyre.
Category:Historical Archive
Category:Music
Category:History
Category:Gods
Category:Places