Cato's Tragic Hero

Many hundred years ago in Ancient Greece, there lived a young hoplite named Tigris. Despite only being a couple decades old, he had never lost a battle. Every man, woman, and child in Greece knew his name. They would gather in large crowds when he made his victorious return after a battle, and they would shower him with praise, food, and riches at feasts.

One summer day at the ocean before a battle with the Persians, Tigris was approached by his adviser, Cato, who was over twice his age. He asked, “Have you found something to sacrifice to Ares yet?”

Tigris shook his head. “Not yet,” he muttered.

“Tigris,” Cato cautioned. “You only have an hour before the battle. I would suggest finding something quickly. You do not want to jeopardize your chances

He had well over five thousand men ready to fight and knew that the Persians would only send a few hundred men to the battle. After realizing that sending all his men would be a waste of time and energy, Tigris stood up and began to release large groups of men until only one thousand remained.

Cato hurriedly ran up to Tigris. “Sir,”he said while trying to catch his breath. “Just what do you think you are doing? This was supposed to be an easy victory for us! Why did you release those men?”

Tigris laughed. “I don 't need them. There are a thousand of us and only a few hundred of them.”

Cato was fuming. “It would have been easier for us to win if all five thousand of us were here! Please tell me that you made that sacrifice to Ares. We need his help now more than

Swords clashed, blood was shed, and arrows flew through the air like an enormous flock of birds. One by one, Tigris’s men dropped to the ground. Tigris looked around him and was baffled by what he saw as this had never happened to him. “Get up!” he shouted at them. “Remove the arrows and keep fighting!” A Persian soldier snuck behind Tigris with a sword high above his head. Tigris pivoted instantaneously and raised his shield to deflect the weapon. He drew his sword and began to fight the soldier, but he could not compete with his exceptional sword wielding abilities and the other Persian soldiers who rushed to aid their friend. Tigris yelled for help, but he quickly realized that there was no help as all of his men were injured or dead. A minute later he made the fatal mistake of tripping over himself. He landed face first into the dirt and was struck in the side by a sword. Tigris screamed in pain. He had been struck by swords in the past, but this strike was significantly more painful. He began to lose feeling in his hands and feet and eventually his whole body. He understood why none of his men came to help him; he realized that the arrows and swords were covered in poison with the power to paralyze. In the moments before he died, Tigris mustered all the strength he could to turn himself as he witnessed the Persian soldiers run toward and conquer the