5 ms·
The Ozymandias referred to in this poem is the Greek name of Rameses II. He was arguably the most powerful and successful Pharaoh in all of Egyptian history. H
by RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
The Ozymandias referred to in this poem is the Greek name of Rameses II.
He was arguably the most powerful and successful Pharaoh in all of Egyptian history. He became Pharaoh as a teenager, led an invasion of the Levant against the Hittites, and almost single handedly through great personal bravery turned what would have been a crushing defeat into a stalemate at the Battle of Kadesh. He also extended the Egyptian power south into Sudan. Egypt probably reached the pinnacle of her wealth and power under him. He is thought to have lived into his 90's and reigned 66 years. He fathered roughly 100 children (~50 sons and ~50 daughters). His whole life, he was treated as god on earth.
The reason I bring this up is that the person Shelley is referring to is not some obscure person. In our wildest dreams, none of us could ever hope to reach the level of significance of Rameses II. In terms of reaching the pinnacle of success, Rameses did it: famous, powerful, rich, huge family, beloved by everyone around him, long life, etc.
Yet he died. His accomplishments decayed. His kingdom eventually fell. His statues fell over and went into decay (though some are around and his temple at Abu Simbel is still amazing).
Remember, all our greatest accomplishments and any fame we could hope to accomplish are all ultimately fleeting. In our quest for significance, we should not forget to enjoy the moments we have now.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- erikpukinskis 6y agoDid the accomplishments decay or are they part of the fabric of reality? Is the 2nd law really the only truth? Could it be locally false for long enough to not matter?
- ekianjo 6y ago> Remember, all our greatest accomplishments and any fame we could hope to accomplish are all ultimately fleeting. What's the point of thinking this way? At the end of the day the Sun will destroy the Earth and nobody will ever remember anyone because there will no trace of us all. If you keep looking at things this way, this is rather depressing. If all our ancestors thought that "let's forget about investing in building something better because ultimately it does not matter", we would not even be having computers to write on by now.
- bobbiechen 6y agoI recently reread Ted Chiang's Exhalation, which explores a similar question on existence from a very alien perspective. For some reason, this rereading, the bit at the end hit me a lot harder than when I read it before. I hope that your expedition was more than a search for other universes to use as reservoirs. http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/exhalation/ http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/exhalation/
- perilunar 6y ago> At the end of the day the Sun will destroy the Earth Maybe not. Our descendants might just move the Earth, or fix the sun to prevent it becoming a red giant. We've got billion of years to work it out.
- ozmbie 6y agoThis what my takeaway from watching Baraka again recently: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film) While the film doesn't focus on any particular person, it covers society at large. It portrays the build-up of a modern, global society and eventually shows shots of ancient Egypt ruins. We are no different. One too all of this will be gone.
- garren 6y agoBaraka is a really good film. Samsara, made later, is also good, but not quite at the level of its predecessor. Both available on Amazon.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- saagarjha 6y agoYet we do still remembering him, thousands of years later! Immortality in a sense.
- IAmGraydon 6y agoI get it, but isn’t it obvious that his actions and accomplishments changed the world, and those changes still persist today? Bodies and statues are fleeting, but borders and cultures were changed by this person.