Have you ever heard about the punishment of Sisyphus in Greek mythology? What does this have to do with hunger and flavor?
Sisyphus Greek Mythology
According to the Greek mythology Sisyphus is the founder and first king of Ephyra. He was a cunning and evil character. He used to kill visitors to his kingdom for entertainment and glory. His evil and cunning plans doesn't end there. He had rivalry with his brother Salmoneous where they hated each other. He put a grand Plot by seducing Tyro the daughter of Salmoneous to later try and kill him to take his throne. He even once made Zeus a fool by making Thantos who was sent By Zeus to chain him in Tartarus (a place where evil men are punished) Sisyphus slyly asked Thanatos to demonstrate how the chains worked. As Thanatos was granting him his wish, Sisyphus seized the opportunity and trapped Thanatos in the chains instead.
Accordingly, he deceived his death several occasions until he was punished by the Gods. You can read about this Greek mythology here in Wiki.
More famously he is known for his punishment. As the story goes, he was asked to roll a big boulder uphill by the Gods. However, before he is on the top the stone will roll back the mountain and he will have to do it again and again. Endless futile task. A devious punishment by Gods. Sometime similar futile tasks are called 'Sisyphean'.
About Hunger compared to Sisyphus's punishment
There couldn't be any beautiful explanation to the hunger. Ever since a man was born there won't be a day, he wouldn't be hungry. First it was mothers' milk he craved for. Then sweets, sour, salt, in different flavors in different consistency food is a fundamental need of a man. However there seems to be no end to it. Eating something in the morning is not going to stop it coming in the afternoon. Even if he sleeps over it, it wouldn't stop coming back next day. If the man refuses to eat, he will risk death. What guarantee that you would have the death would stop hunger. (read about afterlife here) Is hunger really Sisyphean?
Arguments against.
One would argue that it is not. You eat because you like flavor. There is a conscious choice made by you. Hunger is a choice made by you. Can it really be our choice?
If you think deeply about it, hunger is not a choice, but inherent weakness of a human being. Like all other weaknesses we possess, hunger is one of the major weaknesses, that we cannot overcome by willpower or by any other rational means. It is a weakness for the rich and poor, weak and powerful, dictators and slaves alike. Even animals.
Flavor keeps us blind to the evil punishment of hunger.
Imagine in his original punishment, Sisyphus did not feel that he is being punished. Instead, he has enjoyment when he rolled the boulder uphill and only when he rolls back downhill that he feels sad. In this scenario, the task that he does is still the same, however punishment looks eviler as the Sisyphus do not understand that he is being punished.
Now, compare this to getting flavor, or satisfaction by eating food. Is it and evil punishment of God for us? To explore more, we will imagine a world without hunger and compare what it would look like.
Imagine a world without hunger.
A world without hunger, where we all generate our energy within ourselves from photosynthesis and still function as humans. Imagine this mechanism is so efficient that we do not even have to go out looking for sunlight. It occurs in our body since our birth, combined with natural substances present in air is enough for its sustainability till we die. That is impossible you may say, but it is not for a scientific argument, but for a thought experiment to see what happens. So, let's think there is such a world.
What will such a world would look like?
Will there be wars?
Will there be Jobs?
Will there be anger and hate?
Will there be a contest to live?
Will there be killings of animals?
There will be a god, like planet, where nobody fights for a piece of land. So, Hunger may be our greatest weakness. Of course, we wouldn't taste anything. We would only need some daily sunlight and to preserve energy, we might sleep whole day. But will there be civilization? When there is no need to grow crops or hunt animals, will there be anything at all?
When I think about it. I can only think about a peaceful world where everyone is content and happy. So, hunger is an evil force. I know knowing this wouldn't make you hate your food. Let's roll the boulder together as a nation.
In summary: Flavor as a side-effect of hunger. Sisyphus Greek mythology
Sisyphean meaning futile task which is repeated over and over.
Hunger seems to be Sisyphean except made more evil by the flavor, in a world where no hunger exist.
Thank you for reading: Flavor as a side-effect hunger Sisyphus Greek mythology
You may also like to read: A cup of tea and a Ghost
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