Thousands of
years ago in Ancient Greece there was a Road between Athens and Eleusis. It was
called "Sacred Way" because it was the route taken by a procession
celebrating the Eleusinian festival.
On the way to
Eleusis there was a town named Erineus. Near that Town was Mountain named
Korydallos, Under that mountain lived a Black Simith.He was an evildoer known as Procrustes, means "he who stretches."Procrustes kept a house by the side of the
road where he offered hospitality to passing strangers. They were invited in for
a pleasant meal and a night's rest in his very special bed. If the guest asked
what was so special about it, Procrustes replied, "Why, it has the amazing
property that its length exactly matches whomsoever lies upon it." What
Procrustes didn't volunteer was the method by which this "one-size-fits-all"
was achieved. At night, when Guest was asleep, he would gag and tie him. Then Procrustes
went to work upon him, stretching him on the rack if he was too short for the
bed and chopping off his legs if he was too long. Nobody ever fitted the bed
exactly. Procrustes continued his reign of terror until he was captured by a
Greek Hero Theseus, when he was travelling to Athens along the sacred way, he
came to know aboutProcrustes.he decided
to give Procrustes a taste of his own medicine. Theseus lived up to his
do-unto-others credo, fatally adjusting Procrustes to fit his
own bed.
Procrustean
bed is a Metaphor used to describeA situation or place that someone is forced
into, often violently.That’s why there’s now a proverb that goes: be careful,
when some people find your opinions don’t line up with theirs or they see you’re
smarter than them, they’ll put you in Procrustes’s bed. Intellectuals often
employ their intellects for foolish purposes, forcing facts onto a Procrustean
bed of theory. In psychology This Phenomenon is called Procrustes Syndrome: The
best and shortest explanation of Procrustes syndrome is: Do Well But Don’t Do
Better Than MeThere’s no doubt that no one acts with the same violence as Procrustes
in our daily lives. But what we do see is the same hidden aggressiveness — in
sports, politics, business, etc.In fact, we all know that people who hold the
highest positions in an organization aren’t always the most capable or
qualified. So when a brilliant, proactive, creative person capable of beating them
in more than one way makes an appearance, they use their terrible tricks to
defeat them, humiliate them, and put them in the corner where they’re no longer
“a threat.”People with Procrustes
syndrome uses all their energy to limit other people’s abilities. They’re
dream-chokers, hope-killers, psychological manipulators, and masters of hidden
aggression.Despite the Procrustes in your life, don’t ever let them break your spirit.
We were all born to stand out in some way. Let’s embrace it and find a place
where it can bloom.
Procrustean Bed
by Zaheer uddin Babar
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