(RESEARCH)

The Council of the Gods(1880)

…the following year (1880) the Artistic –Literary Lyceum opened another literary contest to
commemorate the fourth centennial of the death OF Cervantes, Spain’s glorified man-of-letters and
famous author of Don Quixote. This time the contest was opened to both Filipinos and Spaniards

Many writers participated in the contest-priests, newspapermen, scholars, and professor.

Rizal ,inspired by his poetical triumph the previous year (won the poem To the Filipino Youth) ,entered
the literary joust, submitting al allegorical drama entitled El Consejo de los Dioses (The Council of the
Gods)

… for the first time in history, an Indio –a 19 –year-old Filipino medical student at that-excelled in a
national literary contest, defeating several Spanish writers of his time In Manila.

He was particularly happy, for he proved the fallacy of the alleged Spanish authority over the Filipinos
and revealed that the Filipino could hold his own in fair competition against all races.

The winning g allegory of Rizal was literary masterpiece based on the Greek classics. In wining it,
Rizal, although a student of the University of Santo Tomas, was aided by the kind Father Rector of the
Ateneo in securing the needed reference materials. The allegory established a parallel among
Homer ,Virgil and Cervantes. The gods discuss the comparative merits of these writers and finally decide
to give the trumpet to Homer, the lyre to Virgil and the laurel to Cervantes. The allegory gloriously
closes with the naids, nymphs, satyrs, and other methodological characters dancing ad gathering laurels
for Cervantes.

During the awarding day.

When the chairman of the Board of Judges announced the names of he winners .the winners of the
second and consolation prizes were Spaniards and they greeted with load cheers aand thunderous
applauses by the big audience which consisted mostly of Spaniards and mestizos. But when his name
was called as first –prize winner he came forward to accept his prize .But all of a sudden the cheering
and applauding ceased… for he was a brown Indio.