Hi, I’m Jason. I was named after the great hero named Jason. My mother, whose name is Penelope, respected the great hero Jason a lot. I had no father because he had died before I was born. I wanted to grow up to be a hero like him.
I live in Rome my mother and I are slaves. I don’t do a lot of work because I am only seven years old. I only do some house work. My mother works as a nurse. Although we’re slaves and don’t get paid, our master provides food for us. We only have a couple pairs of clothes to wear though.
You might say my live stinks, but it’s not bad right now. It only is getting worse though. Our master says I am going to have to start working in the fields in a couple of years.
4 YEARS LATER
After four years had passed I was forced to work in the field. I did not like it at all. My back always hurt after a day of bending over plowing the fields or picking fruit off bushes. I wanted to run away. I told my mother about this idea. She explained to me what would happen if I tried to run away. She said that most likely I would get got and then I would be punished and have to work harder. However, she did understand why I hated to do all that work.
One day when I was working in the fields, something weird happened. I heard someone calling my name. So I looked around. But everyone was minding their own business. I heard it again. Then I finally just said, “Whoever is calling my name, I am listening.”
Then the voice said, “Jason, this is Zeus, god of the sky speaking.”
“Yes, what do you want?” I asked.
“I am going to tell you something that will happen to you in the future.”
“Okay, but please deliver me from slavery!”
“You will escape when you are grown up. All you have do is believe in yourself. When the time comes you will hear more about it from me.” Zeus then left me working in the fields.
When the night came, I told my mother about what had happened to him during that day. She was surprised. And she told me to do as the gods say and I would be okay. So that’s what I did. I didn’t get talked to anytime soon but I was always listening for the gods to talk to me.
5 YEARS LATER
Five more years had gone by. I was now forced to work as a builder. I built house furniture and sold it. Of course I had to give the money to my master and made no prophets of my own. I built things like tables, statues, and other things built of wood and stone. It was tough work.
I was really getting anxious to escape from slavery like Zeus had told me I would. I hadn’t received any messages from any of the gods. I really hated being a slave. And I didn’t even live with my mother anymore. I had been sold to another master. All I ever got to eat was bread and soup for every meal. I thought that it was so unfair and I was really getting mad.
One night I had a dream though. In my dream I ran away and escaped to an island on a ship. There I was taken to Mt. Olympus to live with the gods. When I had got there, I asked Zeus why he had chosen me to live with the gods. He said, “You have lived a life full of harsh. I thought you needed some mercy.”
“Why me? There are lots of other slaves just like me. Why choose me?”
“Because I know something about you that you don’t know.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Deep down inside you, you have more courage than anyone I know. All you have to do is believe in yourself.”
Then I woke up. I didn’t really know what my dream was about. I had forgot (because I was too tired to remember anything) about when Zeus had spoken to me in the fields when I was younger. It was the middle of the night so I decided to go back to sleep.
I then had another dream. This time my mother had walked up the me while I was eating supper and spoke to me. She said: “Remember, my Jason, do as the gods tell you.”
I then said back, “Mother don’t leave me! I miss you so much....come back!”
But she left me. I really wished that I could of talked to her more. I never did get to see her after all. I slept a couple hours more until morning came. I then woke up.
When I woke up everything started to come back to me. I then remembered Zeus’ plan to rescue me. I never got the part at the end of the dream because I guess I woke up I the middle of it.
The next night I had another dream. This time it left off and continued from my first dream. Zeus said, “You will are now the god of freedom. I will send you to go let all the other slaves free. For you now have the power to do this.”
“How do I do this?”
“Go down to Earth and speak to all the people of Rome. Tell them that they must let the slaves go. If they don’t agree however, then I will send a lightning storm to all the slave owners and the slaves will be set free. Warn them about that too,” Zeus replied to me.
“Okay,” I said. So that’s what happened in the rest of my dream.
Then I suddenly woke up. I now knew that Zeus would deliver me if I listened and obeyed him. So I did. I was always alert for him to speak to me where ever I went and whatever I did.
7 YEARS LATER
Seven years went by. I was now fighting as a gladiator slave. I was hoping that the time of when Zeus delivered me would come. Being a gladiator, I was always getting hurt. Even though I had won all of my battles that I fought in.
I always worried about having to face anyone that I was friends with. Especially my best friend Jaramus. He had only been a gladiator for a couple of weeks. I had been fighting for about three months now.
One day while practicing our gladiator techniques, the gladiator master told us about our next fight. He listed who was to fight who. I went over to the list and checked. I was to fight Jaramus, my best friend. “Great, this stinks,” I said to myself.
Our fight wasn’t until a week later. So I prayed and prayed to Zeus about delivering me. I was so worried and I didn’t want to kill my best friend. I also knew that Jaramus wouldn’t want to kill me, his best friend.
The next day I talked to Jaramus. I told him that when we get in the arena to fight, that we wouldn’t kill each other. He agreed on that with me. I didn’t tell him of Zeus’ plan though.
The next morning I woke up earlier than everyone. Zeus came and spoke to me. He said, “When you fight in the coliseum at your next fight, you will not kill Jaramus. After you both won’t fight, the king will come and talk to you and threaten to kill you. I then will send Hermes, messenger god, to warn the king about me killing them if he doesn’t let all the slaves free.”
“Okay,” I said.
“ You then will be brought up to Mt. Olympus to be made god of freedom. Jaramus, your good friend will live a peaceful life with a family of his own.”
“Okay I will do as you say Zeus.
A coupled days passed and the night of my fight came. When I was to fight I stood there and so did Jaramus. The king, as predicted, came and threatened to kill us.
Right then Hermes came and warned the king. The sky started to turn black and so the king did listen to Hermes. All the slaves were set free. Hermes brought me up to Mt. Olympus and I was made the god of Freedom. That’s where I have been ever since.
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