Greek Myth Over two thousand years ago, Ancient Greece was born into this slowly progressing

world. Greek thought and law influenced successive cultures; however, many people are more intrigued by their mythical stories composed by such legendary poets as Homer. To understand Greek mythology we must first examine the internal factors that influence the myths. There existed a collective system of political and religious customs in Europe before the advancement of the Greek culture. This period of time, referred to as Neolithic Europe, had similar sets of religious ideas based on the worshipping of mother-goddesses. The great goddess was regarded as immortal, changeless, and omnipotent. The role of fatherhood was not a practice that had any influence in a groups religious toleration. This focus on goddesses transferred into the reverence of a queen as the dominant figure amongst a people. The matriarchal structure that developed is very different from the practices most cultures observe today. (Graves) Queens chose lovers for pleasure only. Most men feared the power held by the matriarch, but they obeyed. In a twist of fate, mens religious status actually improved at the expense of a sacrificial young man. Over time in some tribes, a tribal nymph, or queen, chose a man to become king and then to be sacrificed by the end of the year. Instead of just being the object of erotic desire, the king became a symbol of fertility. The blood from his death served to nourish trees, crops, flocks, and the flesh from his body was eaten by the Queens other nymphs. (Graves) Seasonal cycles were either worshiped or shrouded in superstitious beliefs. The sun was thought to yield precedence to the moon. This appears contrary due to the suns

obvious superiority in size and strength, but not to these early people. The sun may produce scorching heat during the summer months, but it weakens as the winter months approach. The moon, however, does not grow dimmer like the sun once the winter nears. The moon was also seen to have greater power because it was credited with granting or denying water to the fields. (Graves) The connotation of symbolic numbers also influenced matriarchal thought. The number threes significance is derived from the moons three phases corresponded to the queens three stages of life. The new stage was said to represent a queens maiden status, the full lunar stage represented the pinnacle of beauty or a nymph, and lastly the old stage signified the decline of the queens appearance, which then was called a crone. The sun also forms a triad during earths orbit around its sphere. The seasons of spring, summer, and winter all carry the same direct meaning as the moons three phases; maiden, nymph, and crone. Besides the sun and moon, earth itself held non-human powers to these ancient people. Earth was given femininity, and was referred to as Mother Earth. It is interesting that on every Earth Day Americans still refer to the earth as if it exhibited feminine traits. The ancients were intensely aware of the earths seasonal cycle of growth. Spring began the new cycle of growth with buds and germinating plants. Summer brought the climax of the growing season and was followed by the barren conditions during the winter months. The three cycles of life associated with the queen again matched the sun and moon. Mystical analogies such as these triads contributed to the sacred disposition of the number three. At first the three triads were independent goddesses, but during classical Greek times the three were combined into one god name Hera, queen of the gods. (Graves)

Two additional numbers of importance were seven and twenty-eight. The ancient way of keeping time was observed by lunation. Every important ceremony was related to a specific phase of the moon during certain seasonal periods. The sacrificial king was killed during the seventh full moon after the shortest day. That explains the number sevens importance. The ancients kept track of their year according to moon cycles. The solar year was divided into months with an even number of twenty-eight days each. The months, called, common-law months, fit perfectly into the matriarchal worship of the woman. A womans menstrual cycle is typically twenty-eight days long, so it thus became a sacred number. With twenty-eight days in each month, the solar year was thirteen months long. Even after the introduction of the Julian calendar, many European peasants still used the Greek calendar into the following millennia. (Graves) The matriarchal social structure began to change with the confounding of different invaders. Hellenic invasions followed the more destructive advances of the Achaean and Dorian tribes. Male military aristocracy gradually masked female theocracy in what is now Greece and Crete. The Hellenes transported there own ideas once they gained a foothold and were able to form a civilization, not just a subsistence lifestyle. The king became the figure-head, replacing the queen. The king was said to be granted his powers by the god Zeus, or Poseidon or another god Apollo. I will describe in greater detail the gods later. The people still adhered to the ritual of killing the king on the seventh month, except it was a staged death. Animals were also substituted for the sacrificed killing of boys, which was much more humane from the human perspective. (Graves) Despite the kings increase in powers, he still derived the right to rule through marriage with the tribal Nymph. Achaean invasions further weakened the matrilineal

tradition during the 13th century B.C. Following this invasion, the lives of princesses declined proportionally to the increased social status of males. It is at this period in history, with patrilineal descent, that the formation of myths waned, and succumbed to historical legend which eventually faded into the light of common history. (Graves) With an understanding of where and how the Greek culture evolved from it is now appropriate to establish the creation of the universe through Greek eyes. Most early cultures were curious about such exhaustive questions pertaining to the origin of the universe. The Greeks, like other civilizations, sought to answer these questions through stories and myth. In the very beginning the Greeks believed there was Chaos, an emptiness clouded with confusion and bottomless, boundless abysses. Out of this Void was formed the earth, or Gaia. The earth became the floor of the world. However, chaos still was present at the bottom of the earth. Chaos and earth were followed by a primordial love, called eros, or old love. (Vernant) Next in the sequence of creation is the starry sky. The sky covers the earth completely. The sky is referred to as Uranus, and it is masculine. The sea then appears and is traceable to Chaos because it is utterly dark. Chaos, Gaia, and Eros all become divinities at the same time. As soon as Uranus emerges, he constantly engages in sex with the earth. Because there is no space between earth and sky, the children become inseparable inside the earth. Some of the offspring created were called Titans, who had no shape. There were six titans and six titan sisters. The imagination of the Greeks becomes more vivid with each new creation. Three Cyclops giants are also formed and are extremely powerful with one eye each. Another trio of creatures were each born with a hundred arms and fifty heads. (Vernant)

The earth becomes resentful towards the sky for its constant sexual aggression. So the earth angrily devises a plot to have one of her sons attack Uranus. Cronus, the last born son, agrees to surprise Uranus during one of his sexual acts. Using a sickle, Cronus castrates Uranus, causing excruciating pain. Uranus then retreats to the summit of Gaia, never leaving it again. The result from Cronus action is a separation of earth from sky. All of the creatures who were once embedded within the earth, were now able to live freely above earths landscape. Night and day alternated cycles of time. (Vernant) The creatures who were born from the earth, live on the earth. The gods, however, lived at the pinnacle of heaven. The Greeks believed heaven to be a place of eternal brilliance and bliss. The gods, or celestial beings in heaven were always surrounded by radiant brilliance. There are also deities of the underworld. These deities warred against other gods and as punishment were forced to live where there is no light. The earths creatures and humans alike lived in both conditions, of passing night and day. There is no definite period when humans begin there reign upon the earth. The sky continues coupling with Gaia and out of that humans are spawned in the midst of other new creatures. (Vernant) Uranus does not just disappear from his perpetrator. He casts a curse on his son, calling them Titans, because you reached your arms too high; you must pay for the crime of raising your hand against your father. Furies become the creatures responsible for ensuring that offenses against ones own family our met with retribution. The Furies represent hatred, because only a person filled with rage would perpetrate the greatest crime against a person of their own blood. The blood spilled from Uranus engenders the Giants, which causes them to remain adults for their entire lives. The purpose of the Giants then

becomes dedicated to making war. The violence that unfolded after Cronus act of vengeance on his father, is encapsulated in the term Eris. Eris signifies every type and form of conflict. (Vernant) Everything in the Greek creation story is graphic and every action has an affect on another continuing action. Uranus situation is probably the most descriptive. After his sex organ was cut off, it obviously had to fall somewhere, because the Greeks were not going to forget about it. So the Greeks had it mingling in the foam of the sea. Out of this turmoil in the sea a new god is born. Aphrodite emerges and settles on the shore of the tiny island of Cyprus. Aphrodite is the last in the chain of gods before war erupts. (Vernant) The Greeks believed that the two powers, Eris and Eros, were complimentary of each other. While Eris represented struggle within a family, Eros reflected a unity between two elements. Both forces were created by the same act that opened spaces, set time moving, and let successive generations step onto the worlds stage. After this point all heavenly creatures go to battle, a battle for the universe. Each creature is either allied with Eris or Eros. The ultimate question arising from this conflict is; who will maintain the stability of the world built out of nothing that was everything, out of a darkness that was the very source of light, out of an emptiness that begot fullness and solidarity? The war of the gods would decide the world order. The Greeks thought that the war for divine supremacy was a reality during their time. (Vernant) So with a clear idea of the customs influencing Greek civilization and the condition of the universe through Greek eyes we can take a glimpse of the gods at work in the world. All the gods reigned atop Mt. Olympus. The mountain was just an idealized place where the gods were thought to live, instead of a specific peak like what is regarded today. The

Illiad and Odyssesy, written by the poet Homer, do not give a definite description of the heavenly mountain. However, as time passed the Greeks did associate the tallest mountain range in Greece as the mythological spot. The highest peak in the Olympus massif range is Mytikas at 9,570 feet. (Martin) Zeus was the king of the gods, or Olympians as the Greek gods were called. Zeus wife was named Hera, Poseidon and Hades were Zeus brothers, Demeter and Hestia his sisters, and Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Hephaestus his children. It is impossible to give a small description of the gods without having to also digress into the fanciful stories that abound from each god. Each god may have different attributes, but their story and purpose cannot be fully conceptualized unless it is understand in the broad context of all the gods combined. So instead of touching on all of the gods I will focus on a few so that the idea of a few will transpose itself onto the idea of many. The few gods I will cover more in depth are probably the most important in Greek Mythology, although there are many in the long chain of lineage. (Dowell, Johnson) A paper on Greek mythology would be remiss if it did not talk about the supreme god, Zeus. Zeus was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles. The Titans Cronus and Rhea were Zeus parents. When he was born, his father intended to swallow him as he had with all of Zeus other siblings: Posiedon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. But Rhea, Zeus mother, hid him in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete. When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to through up his sisters and brothers, and these gods joined him in fighting to gain control of the universe. Zeus defeated his father and the other Titans. He expelled most of them to the underworld of Tartarus. Then he and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided up creation. Poseidon received the sea and his domain, Hades got the underworld

and Zeus took the sky. And Zeus also was accorded supreme authority on earth and on Mount Olympus. (Dowell, Johnson) Apollo was the god of prophesy, music and healing. Like other fellow Olympians, Apollo did not hesitate to intervene in the affairs of humanity. Apollo was responsible for the demise of Achilles in the Trojan War. During the Trojan War, Achilles was the best fighter besieging the city of Troy, until Apollo helped the Trojan captain Hectors brother slay Achilles with an arrow. So whenever someone died abruptly, they were said to have been struck down by one of Apollos arrows. As a god of music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre, however he was not considered the inventor of it. He won several musical contests playing this instrument. (Dowell, Johnson) The last god I will briefly explain is the god Poseidon. He was the god of sea, earthquakes and horses. Despite Zeus claim as king over the earth, there arose some territorial disputes. Poseidon vied with Athena to be patron deity of Athens. Poseidon demonstrated his power and benevolence by striking the Acropolis with his three-pronged spear, which caused a spring of salt water to emerge. Athena, however, planted an olive tree, which was seen as a more useful favor. The people of Athens were careful to honor Poseidon as well, out of the fear of his violent anger. (Dowell, Johnson) Posiedon was father of the hero Theseus, although the mortal Aegeus also claimed this distinction. Theseus was happy to have two fathers, enjoying the lineage of each when it suited him. Thus he became king of Athens by virtue of being Aegeuss son, but availed himself to Poseidons parentage in facing a challenge handed him by King Minos of Crete. This monarch threw his signet ring into the depths of the sea and dared Theseus to retrieve

it. The hero dove beneath the waves and not only found the ring but was given a crown by Poseidons wife, Amphitrite. (Dowell,Johnson) Shifting from the stories themselves to the art of the story, the history of Greek myths spread first through oral tradition. The history behind Greek storytelling is something that is very speculative because of few written or archaeological clues into their context. It is, however, widely believed that Greek myth has its origins in oral storytelling. Such poems as Homers could not have existed without a Mesopotamian tradition of storytelling that was thousands of years old by the time of the Greek Iron Age. (Powell, 155) The Greek language Homer spoke had its foundation in the spoken language of the Mycenaeans who dominated the Aegean region during the millennium preceding the Greeks. The written version of Greek myths were tales that had been passed from generation to generation. Memorization was the only way that the tales could survive. So since there was a high price if some part of a tale was forgotten, there was a person called a bard who was paid to sing such verses. Over the course of the first millennium B.C. there was a transition from oral tradition to written transcription. The Bards were traveling poets who composed and recited verses to anybody who wished to hear about the legendary exploits of heroes. Bardic poetry was the songs of heroic epics that carried messages of human morality and the nature of humanity. Greek oral storytelling served as the foundation to classical antiquity in the Roman Empire. (Dowell, Johnson) Early Greek oral tradition is described by Gregory Nagy as A relatively most fluid period, with no written texts, extending from the early second millennium B.C. into the middle of the eighth century (2). For lack of written text, Greek oral storytelling was intended to be

vocalized, whether through singing, acting, or at least vocalized. Egbert J. Bakker points out that It is the crucial importance of the human voice in the production, transmission, and reception of poetry whose essence lies in the performance that led the medievalist Paul Zumthor to coin the term vocality (Nagy). The most famous oral poet is Homer. He is regarded as the author of the literary masterpieces, the Odyssey and Illiad. Nobody can prove if he actually existed, so the true composer of the epics Illiad and the Odyssey may be in question. The details of his life remain a mystery. There are no actual records, diaries, or autobiographies that record the daily living of Homer or other poets during that time. Homer is most known and romanticized by the historical Greeks as the poor, wandering, blind, humble poet to humanize him like many other poets. There is no approximate date of when Homer actually lived, so the ancient Greeks simply assigned him to some past era before their own time. The fact that the epics were written in the Ionic Greek dialect is cited as evidence that Homer lived in the Greek East. It is believed that Homer died after failing to answer a riddle composed by boys, which was an event foretold in an oracle. (Dowell, Johnson) Because Greek myths were told orally before being written down, they had to contain precise language. The routine daily life of the gods is left to the audience to encode and imagine. The gods seem to be far superior compared to humanity. They possess stronger attributes of strength, intelligence, and knowledge. Therefore the gods chose behaviors that are exclusive to their own, ways of moving such as flying that could not be mimicked by a person. The gods also were composed of a different internal substance, not blood. (Sissa) Humans and gods do have some similarities in the Homeric World. If a mortal woman possessed beauty, she would be able to surpass a goddess in power. Males, whether men or

gods, are all subject to the same desires and express them with the same words. The gods social behavior also is like that of human-beings. Sexuality is expressed very strongly in the Greek stories. (Sissa) It should be more discernable now to see why Greek Mythology has persisted even to this day across many cultures. The stories of the Greeks have been shaped by a variety of external and internal factors that make them accessible to not only a particular region, but to all humanity. The Greek myths are practical, pointing to some part of their tradition however magical. Some theorists have suggested that the myths are original revelations of the pre-conscious psyche, involuntary statements about unconscious psychic happenings. (Graves) However, Greek mythology is not any more mysterious than modern election cartoons. Anybody can read about the heroes involved in the Illiad or Odyssey and make a personal connection to an event. The Greek myths are just as real today as they were to the ancient Greeks thousands of years ago.

Works Cited Dowell, Vanessa: Johnson, Chris. Greek Storytelling: Yesterday and Today. History and Origins. http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~vduong/. 2004

Gray, Martin. Places of Peace and Power. Mt. Olympus. http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/greece/mt_olympus.html. 2004 Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. Pelican Books. England. 1960. Nagy, Gregory. Homeric Responses. Texas: University of Texas Press, 2003 Powell, Barry B. Homer. United Kingdom: MPG Books, LTD, 2004 Sissa, Giulia: Detienne, Marcel. The Daily Life of the Greek Gods. Standford California Press. 2000. Vernant, Jean-Pierre. The Universe, The Gods, And Men. Editions du Seuil. France 1999.