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Greek myths are epic tales, tales of achieving impossible tasks, tales of gods and
goddesses gallivanting about the earth. To some people, they are stories of human dealing
with gods either the winner or the loser ends up bloody and charred or turned out into
animals or plants. Indeed the surface look of the stories will give nothing but some fancy
stories of fights, wars, and romance by old story-tellers. But a deeper understanding tells
more than that typical notion. A deeper look at the legends reveals morals, philosophies,
theology etc.
These stories may have been written thousands of years ago. Talking about myths
gives us some vivid images and visions of epic battles, the quest of legends and gods in a
time when there were monsters in earth roaming freely and terrorizing the mankind.
Myths are not histories, no one can categorize in a single discipline though it holds the
Myths were mainly developed by the narrators who were recognized as a poet. The
narrators used to present a unique version of a story each time. Most of the times the
stories were unacceptable to the public and these stories had never been repeated.
The works of historians e.g. Herodotus, Hippocrates, were different than that of a poet.
The epic poem "Iliad" written by Homer was an oral tale long before Homer
penned it, the version which is available to us. Historians agreed the poem was written in
between 800 to 500 B.C. When any historical fact is presented the writer tries to focus on
1
Robert Graves, Rick Riordan and Ross MacDonald, the Greek Myths (New York: Penguin Books, 2012).
2
the fact. But like other poets, Homer continuously played with the audience with the
improvised version of the oral tale. Some myths had also created some other myths thus a
Different types of views are shared by the historians, authors, and researchers.
Some think that these are some fancy tales to entertain the audience. Another school of
thought is these allegorical poems have some deep inner meaning which has moral, social
and cultural values. 2Roman Empire was one of the largest and influential civilizations in
ancient time. In many societies, ancient religious notions have performed a major role in
Roman Empire was not an exception. The Roman myths are also revolved around
the history and heroes of Rome who built it. Romans had their own pantheon of good and
goddess. These deities are mostly associated with Greek mythology. Romans added the
Greek gods by their own name and style and added some other foreign cults as the
From the founding of the Roman empire to its fall in A.D. 476, Rome dominated
Europe and much of North Africa, the Near East, and Asia Minor. Although this
sprawling empire encompassed many cultures with their own myths and legends, the
mythology of the Romans themselves revolved around the founding, history, and heroes
of the city of Rome. The Romans had developed their own pantheon of gods and
goddesses.
2
Walter Miller, "Roman History and Mythology. Henry A. Sanders", Classical Philology 7, no. 1 (1912):
97-100, doi: 10.1086/359620.
3
associated with the figures of Greek mythology. It is difficult to separate the history of
Rome from the myths. Until 510 B.C. Rome was ruled by the kings. Then Rome became
the republic government ruled by the officials. The foundation of Rome is extremely
associated with the national epic of poet Virgil name 'Aeneid'. The mythologies were
developed during the early stage of the empire (20 B.C. to A.D. 20). Virgil and Ovid, who
wrote metamorphoses, drew myths linked with the city's founding deities and Greek
legends. Ovid collected the near eastern and Greek myths and wrote in a unique way
In ancient period the religious view was polytheistic both in Roman and Greek
civilization. Different from today's monotheistic view the god and goddesses hold
different types of power for different aspects of life. The gods ruled over the region,
natural phenomenon and events. Differing from today's Messiah, salvation, and faith-
based religion ancient religion was a tradition. The role of Greek myths and religion has a
In Lower Peninsula due to the Greek colonies Romans have adopted many Greek
gods as their own. The religious view was no different. The Greek and Roman Gods were
more anthropomorphic with human feelings such as love, hate, anger, wrath, and jealousy
etc. Though adopting the Greek gods in religion the practice of rituals was different and
3
Walter Miller, "Roman History And Mythology. Henry A. Sanders", Classical Philology 7, no. 1 (1912):
97-100, doi: 10.1086/359620.
4
Jennifer Laing, the Greek and Roman Gods (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1982).
4
The fusion of Greek and Roman deities influenced the life of Rome in many
ways. Even though only entertainment was the main function of these stories, poets were
inspired to develop more characters interlinked with the previous plot and characters.
In Greek society, these myths serve many functions. The characters and plot of the stories
give a view of the history of that time. Though the characters are fictional the allegorical
description gives more messages than the actual historical texts. To understand the
influence of these mythical heroes we can look at the names of the days and planets,
The western culture and civilization have changed the religious view and science
has overruled the factual accuracy of these events. But mythology can be used to relate to
the happenings of past time beyond the memory. It sometimes refers significant hint of an
event which might have taken place in ancient time. Many historians have confirmed that
some fact of Home’s “Troy” was real. There may have been a war and the war was fought
for a runaway wife. These myths are sometimes worked as an inspiration for further
study.
People had fancy on gods, something for people to pray to for situational call for
it. The need of these god’s help is the result of human sufferings and helplessness. In the
time of the battle the Greeks call for the support of Ares, Romans ask support from the
mars. These myths don’t give any direct lesson but a social and cultural value of a society
is mainly based on some the folk proverb, in Greece which has mainly come from these
myths. In many stories, there are examples of response from the God. Actually, people
5
Walter Miller, "Roman History and Mythology. Henry A. Sanders", Classical Philology 7, no. 1 (1912):
97-100, doi: 10.1086/359620.
5
now believe that power of prayers actually resides inside any human. The willpower of
Myths have their own explanation of the creation theory. It is very interesting to read the
fancy stories of the clash of Supergiant and Gods. Prometheus the creator of mankind,
Zeus the supreme power, each and every figure has some characteristics human mind
always craved for. Pandora’s Box is a great example of an allegorical story which
There are some similarities between the biblical theory and the Greek myths. In
both texts, it is found that curiosity was the reason behind the human sufferings. In bible
eve curious about the forbidden fruit, on the other hand, Pandora was curious about the
People try to understand the world and phenomenon in their own ways. The answered
questions were answered through stories, myths, and fairy tales. By the flow of time,
some of these stories become a proverb and set moral notions in cultural tradition.
Change of season, day and night and other natural phenomenon were mysterious in
People created superpowers and asked them for help. Polytheistic religions have
become obsolete, Monotheistic God based religion has gained popularity and acceptance
among the people. But there are some basic similarities which will never be changed. The
human quest for spirit and consciousness colors these stories in many ways. The creation
myth was a complex process regardless of the long explanation. Erynome the goddess
bore Titans, Uranus; the father had the power of government over the planets. Saturn was
6
Jennifer Laing, the Greek and Roman Gods (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1982).
6
ruled by Rhea and Cronus, Cronus rebelled against his father Uranus and castrated. When
This is a very abridged version of the creation myth. Another question people
have been searching is “what will happen after death?” In Greek mythology, the deceased
descend into the underworld. There is a river called Styx charon has to be paid to cross
the river. So after death, two gold coins were put on the closed eyes of deceased to pay
Charon. The God of the underworld is Hades. The deceased souls can go into three
places. Dreadful creatures protect the place from outside, so the living persons are unable
to visit the place. The underworld was placed into a deep abyss.
Unlike the Greeks, Romans were more imaginative when drawing the images of
the God. But Roman traditions are based on ceremonies and the worship of God was a
part of it. The culture of Rome has not been developed in one or a few days, defining
culture is very difficult. Culture holds a nations art, literature, religion etc. In ancient
Romans, there were gladiators who fought in an arena for the entertainment of people.
The medieval centuries are also influenced by this literature in many ways.
Language is the medium for the flow of information from one age to another.
Mythologies of every separate region hold a special place. These stories have been told
a land or a city which gives the right to rule the land or city. These types of myths are
7
Rebecca Stark, Karen Birchak and Nelsy Fontalvo, Mythology (Hawthorne, N.J.: Educational
Impressions, 2001).
7
It is still a mystery that how people get the idea of such as disciplined myth series which
had begun even the basic understanding the human life. In ancient time people were busy
in collecting food and hunting animals. They strive to secure their generations from
outside threat. People lived by tribes they fought for their land their shelter. Ancient
Greek and Romans also fought for their land. The uncertainty of living, the fear of
unknown encouraged people to come up with such tales, offers answers give courage to
When analyzing the myth comparing the daily life, mythic stories suggests
thinking in between the “Fact” and “Myth” as a linear spectrum radically contrasted by
the black and white. There are many “Gray areas” which are investigated in many pre-
characteristics don’t hold the ground of science rather these are interpreted as visions and
symbolic expression.
Despite having the differences between fantasy and mythic stories and daily life,
these have several common features. It becomes very difficult to tell whether the story
deals with more fantasy than the typical daily life when there are some real characteristics
which can be found in reality. Most of the storytellers developed and narrated these
stories in their families and communities. Human actions are encouraged through similar
characters, situations, and events. Sometimes the characters are real but the place is
imaginative and sometimes the characters are fictional but the place is a kind of map of
some territory.
Outsiders don’t understand the mythic stories and generally assume it as fictional and
fairy tales to meet some psychological needs. The critics from outsider consider these
8
E. O James, the Ancient Gods (Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2004).
8
stories as unconnected from the real world and somewhat nonsense folk tales. The
authors of mythology argued that the accuracy of the mythology had never mattered to
Many powerful symbols and messages were conveyed through these stories were
perceived by the wise listeners of that time. Most of the time the storytellers mixed their
stories with other stories but the messages was the same and wise people were quick to
catch it. People may find some conflicts between the plots which give a different
Time has changed we don’t live in ancient time. So for the modern readers, it is
very difficult the contextual myths. Researchers still have found much proof of mythical
incidents though these are not like the fancy tales but have great similarities and hints.
For common people, these stories are still a great source of entertainment. Books are
being written, movies are being made on these myths. Mythology still has the same
appeal to people. Some people find moral messages, some find entertainment. Thousands
Bibliography
Diaz, Marta Gomez, and Gregory Nagy. "Greek Mythology And Poetics". Language 68,
no. 1 (1992): 237. Doi: 10.2307/416404.
Graves, Robert, Rick Riordan, and Ross MacDonald. The Greek Myths. New York:
Penguin Books, 2012.
James, E. O. The Ancient Gods. Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2004.
Laing, Jennifer. The Greek and Roman Gods. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1982.
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