What is Mythology?
An Introduction to Greek Gods and Heroes by Robert Graves
"What we have today is a demythologized world...And, as a result, the students I meet are very much interested in mythology because myths bring them messages."
---Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
What does Robert Graves say about myth?
Myths are the stories of Homer and Hesiod (GG&H vii). “Myths are not solemn, like Bible stories” (GG&H viii). What are they exactly?
What does Kenneth Davis say about myth?
Myth – derived from the Greek word mythos, for “story” (25) were considered sacred and true in their cultures of origin (26)
What does Joseph Campbell say about myth?
“the song of the universe,” “the music of the spheres” (Moyers xvi) deal with the great mysteries of life (xvii) “guide-signs” – deal with deep inner problems, mysteries, thresholds of passage (Campbell 2) metaphors for spiritual potential in the individual and in the world (28) contain universal themes or “archetypes,” ideas that come “from below” in the unconscious (60) a poem we are called to participate in (65)
A Broad Definition of Myth
“It is really a cluster of ideas, whether true or false, to which people subscribe, for it gives philosophic and often spiritual meaning to their lives” (Lyle Smith 17).
How did Greek mythology begin?
Neolithic Europe worshipped a Mothergoddess
Possibly the precursor of Hestia, goddess of the hearth Identified woman with Earth because life cycles of woman correspond to cycles of the Earth
Seasons Moon Sky, earth, underground
(Graves, The Greek Myths 13-14)
The Mother-Goddess
Typical for queen to represent MotherGoddess and choose a king who would represent the fertility god.
His job was to impregnate her and then be ritually sacrificed. Sacrifice identified with cycles of the sun; gods identified with the sun, goddesses with the moon
Early Greek myth is concerned with the Mother-Goddess and her lovers
(Graves, The Greek Myths 16)
Religious and Political History in Myth
Myths might symbolize political and religious changes in Greece:
(Graves, The Greek Myths 17)
Perseus, “the destroyer,” represents the Hellenes, a patriarchal people who invaded Greece. Perseus overtakes Pegasus, an animal sacred to the Goddess. Medusa could be the Mother-Goddess in disguise, warning off trespassers. Perseus beheads Medusa and establishes a god-based religion. Bellerophon is a similar story.
Changing of the Religions
Many myths about gods’ seduction of nymphs may refer to the marriage of priestesses to Hellenic chieftans. The king agreed to suffer a “mock death” every year to ensure the success of the crops but would maintain his role for much longer. Usually, the substitute was a young boy and eventually became an animal. The Olympian system is a composite of the preHellenic and Hellenic views creating six gods and six goddesses.
(Graves, The Greek Myths 18-19)
Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph and Bill Moyers. The Power of Myth. Betty Sue Flowers, ed. New York: Anchor Books, 1988. Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much About Mythology. New York: Harper Collins, 2005. Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. New York: Dell Laurel Leaf, 1960. ----. The Greek Myths. New York: Penguin, 1992. Smith, Lyle E. “Introduction.” Humanities 573 Course Guide. 2008.