The 'faulty' bull of Zeus

A story about criticism
Author: Aesop

Zeus, Athena, and the Titan Prometheus once vied with each other in very beautiful creations. Zeus created the bull, Prometheus created man, and Athena created the house. Then they appointed Momos, the god of mockery, to judge their creations.

When Momos saw their works, he found fault in each:
- the bull should have eyes in its horns to see where it strikes,
- the man should have his brain outside his head to show his thoughts,
- the house should have wheels to flee quickly from evil neighbors.

Zeus thought that the criticism of Momos was envious, so he drove Momos out of Mount Olympus, the house of the gods.

Moral of the story: often envy leads to inappropriate criticism.
As Greek Tragedian Aeschylus said: " There are few people who have the strength to appreciate someone's achievement without envy."