Myths and Mythology

The Major Texts and Writers

Homer 8th C BC. Author of the Iliad and the Odyssey although the stories had a long oral tradition. See also Homer's Odyssey

Hesiod 7th C BC wrote the Theogany dealing with the origins of the gods. Also wrote Works and Days and Catalogue of a Woman

Homeric Hyms . 6th C BC Epic-style poems honoring Greek deities

"[author" contains a listed "[" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid. 5th C BC. Lyric poet

Heredotos Mid-5th C BC. Wrote Father of History

Aiskylos 4th C BC Athenian tragic dramatist

Sophokles 4th C BC Athenian tragic dramatist

Euripides 4th C BC Athenian tragic dramatist

Aristophanes 4th C BC Comic playwright

Plato 4th C BC Athenian philosopher who used myths to illustrate ideas

Kallimakhos 3rd C BC Learned scholar poet

Apollonios Rhondios 3rd Wrote definitive version of Jason and the Argonauts

Theokritos 3rd C Hellenistic poet

Virgil 1st C BC Roman Poet who wrote Aeneid

Ovid 1st C AD Roman poet who wrote Metamorphosis. Most influential author about myth on Western literature

Plutarch 1st C AD Wrote Parallel Lives and Greek biographer

Pausanias 2nd C AD Greek travel writer

Where do they come from?

Homer refers to Theban stories and predate the 8th C BC. Comparative lietrature suggests that Hindu and Greek poetry share similar motifs. On the other hand they can be contemporary to the period. Penelope's suitors want to hear the newesy song.

In Homer's day the Myths were sung by a bard but with literature came the fixing of tales in to a common narrative Such as Ovid's Metamorphosis.

We should distinguish them from folk tales and fairy tales. Folk tales can be set in any thime or place. Fairly tales are trated as fiction from the start and have no recognizable places or people. With myths they are very specific. e.g. Helen is carried off and the story involves Agamemnon and Menelaos. As for legends, they do not claim to be divinely inspired and comes from the word to be read while myths comes from spoken

Towards a Definition of Myths

A dictionary definition would define falsehood. They may not be true but that does not diminish their power and relevance. Infact myths are true for those who use it but in the modern world the word had some degree of ambivalent meaning.

In essence myths are traditional tales relevant to society and they are good way to think about something and understand the world. They are not considered scripture but helped to define human's relationship with gods. Greeks often behave like humans.

In the time of Homer myths were not necessarily thought of as untrue. In later centuries the nuance changed. Thudydides says thay may not be true but they have a serious historical narrative.

Myths can mean the stories themselves, the analysis of myths or a particualr myth and can be presented orally, written or sdepicted in art. The most recent scholarly analyses emphasizes myths as traditional tales that reference something of collective importance

So myths are there to entertain, instruct, persuade, provide examples and are seldon without a motive. Generally

• A Greek myths is a set of variants on the same story
• Concerns the divine or supernatural
• Indefinable by human chronology
• traditional
• Relevent to society
• Retelling provides a new variant