3
$\begingroup$

Whether I am feared or loved,
I continue to grow in power,
Once together a mighty force,
I care not for things that tower.

Supposedly an equal to another,
Yet he claims domain over me,
A body that appears just as vast,
For this is an illusion that I see.

Those who claim to greatness,
Are but fools who provided none,
Bring you worldly treasures to me,
For they all get swallowed as one.

My power is locked at two ends,
But I constantly free it some more,
Eventually I will control all that is,
For all but me is only an eye sore.

The mysteries of me remain hidden,
My beauty shape is unknown,
Many have tried to discover truth,
But they fail as secrets are my own.

Those which are strong fight me,
But they forsake their own weak,
I will fight all at once for control,
They never get the victory they seek.

What am I?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3
$\begingroup$

Is it

An ocean ?

Whether I am feared or loved, I continue to grow in power, Once together a mighty force, I care not for things that tower.

You can love /fear an ocean, once all the water mass was united and water's force is unprecedented.

Supposedly an equal to another, Yet he claims domain over me, A body that appears just as vast, For this is an illusion that I see.

Water is supposed to equal to wind (in properties and power), however wind claims domain(atmosphere ) over water, on the Earth.

Those who claim to greatness, Are but fools who provided none, Bring you worldly treasures to me, For they all get swallowed as one.

During Tsunamis and deluges, all that was saved by different people goes and submerges into depths of oceania/ water bodies.

My power is locked at two ends, But I constantly free it some more, Eventually I will control all that is, For all but me is only an eye sore.

A sea/ An ocean has two ends (widely speaking, two shores) but it is available at across nations/continents. Next part needs to be explained.

The mysteries of me remain hidden, My beauty shape is unknown, Many have tried to discover truth, But they fail as secrets are my own.

Mysteries of oceans are known as legends/mystic tales today across the world across generations. Many navigators/explorers tried to discover the depths of the oceans but still there remains unexplored secrets.

Those which are strong fight me, But they forsake their own weak, I will fight all at once for control, They never get the victory they seek.

Those who can row / use power engines can fight against the tides of an ocean but unarmed/unequipped if we encounter ocean/water-body waves, we are always losers.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
7
  • $\begingroup$ This is correct! Got it very quickly however the explanation for paragraphs 4 and 6 are incorrect. They reference specific parts would be cool if you got those too! $\endgroup$
    – BMS21
    Jul 27, 2017 at 10:58
  • $\begingroup$ Also paragraph 3 was also a reference the mad Caligula! $\endgroup$
    – BMS21
    Jul 27, 2017 at 11:03
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting. Are all the physics references I thought I saw deliberate red herrings, or just coincidences? Specifically, there a lot of things here that look like references to the so-called strong nuclear force. ("a mighty force", self-explanatory; "My power is locked at two ends, But I constantly free it some more," quark confinement; "beauty" & "truth", old names for two kinds of quark; "strong" & "weak", the force in question and one of the other fundamental forces of nature.) $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Jul 27, 2017 at 13:13
  • $\begingroup$ @GarethMcCaughan The references you thought you saw were coincidental, however the nature of a riddle is to obscure the answer and mislead but in such a way that when the right answer is given it makes you think that's so obvious now! $\endgroup$
    – BMS21
    Jul 27, 2017 at 13:22
  • $\begingroup$ Oh, I know that riddles are meant to be confusing. Though I have to say that this particular answer doesn't really make me say "of course! how could I have missed it?"... $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Jul 27, 2017 at 13:24
0
$\begingroup$

I already knew the answer from Mea Culpa Nay but made some notes without reading his explanations, I think I got #4 (the polar caps melting). (My first guess was marriage.)

  1. Tsunamis and floods, which occur when the ocean waves combine greatly, don't care about towering objects in their way.

  2. Air is over the ocean. To the ocean looking skyward, air appears to be endless, but the air is really only contained in our atmosphere. (From a human perspective the ocean seems endless too. Silly ocean, you can't say something like #5 without recognizing that other things besides you are mysterious and complex too.)

  3. This just reminded me of pirates with their treasure on their boats. It doesn't really fit because I wouldn't say all their treasure was worldly (but I guess maybe at the time their area was all the world was...) but even today pirates are seen as great figures that collected riches. When a pirate brings his gold on a ship and sails to his (usually difficult to get to) hiding spot for treasure, the ocean could easily take his life and thus all of his earnings, which in the end didn't benefit him or anyone else. What a waste!

  4. Ice caps hold ice that when melted would flood a lot of land (if not all of it...? Too lazy to Google...) on the earth. I'd say humans are "unlocking" the water from the caps more so than the ocean itself, but inevitably the sun's gravitational pull will cause the caps to melt. Even though we won't survive, the ocean will still exist (nothing but an eyesore).

  5. The entire ocean floor has not been mapped.

  6. Tides and the moon and planets? What is strong but abandons the weak? Why does the ocean fight for control from the strong, even though the strong never win? ...

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah ice caps was the fourth 4 sure, the ocean floor was part of 5 but also the Bermuda triangle $\endgroup$
    – BMS21
    Jul 29, 2017 at 22:56
  • $\begingroup$ Your first guess was not wrong too. $\endgroup$
    – m4n0
    Jul 31, 2018 at 8:58

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.