¶ … myth in some detail, and give your evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses.
The word 'myth' comes from the Greek word 'mythos' that means, "spoken or written story." A myth is essentially a story with a purpose that is usually to explain why the world is the way it is, or the relationship between the gods and human beings. Though the events within myths may sometimes appear to be far-fetched or impossible, there was usually a social issue or moral underneath it all.
This theory of a myth, I feel is probably one of the most viable as myths have lasted thousands of years. Many have been passed on from one generation to another for centuries before written documentation or a created alphabet. Myths, in this case, would be the spoken story or history of people and events relevant to that particular society.
The natural enemy to these spoken stories would be a sense of exaggeration or "Chinese Whispers" where things may get changed through the nature of retelling. Otherwise such a method would be invaluable to bringing a tribe or village together as a social event or for inspiring the youth in a culture. It would also be invaluable to get across key ethical contexts of the society and show that there were consequences (outside parental punishment, or social punishment) by a hand of a higher power.
In a way, myths were both entertaining and lessons on how to live. They taught people the relationship between certain aspects of life and Mother Nature. Myths were also a form of history, usually spoken, before written documentation could record...
The Greek god which was considered to rule over all the other gods was Zeus. Along with several other gods, he lived on Mount Olympus. Greeks believed that each god was assigned to hold a certain position on one of the three existing places: heaven, earth, and sea. In contrast, Romans believed that their gods were everywhere, executing the tasks that they had to do. The Roman counterpart of Zeus
Whereas the Greek had a balanced view of the values inherent in both the physical and the intellectual, the Romans were more practical, and valued war above intellectual abilities. As mentioned, Rome freely adopted parts of other cultures and religions, including Greece. The Romans hoped for a better afterlife than the Greeks did, which explains the appeal of Christianity to the nation. While a good afterlife was a prospect for
Aeneas was also supposed to take with him some cattle for sacrifice, but they were to be sacrificed to the underworld gods. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is supposed to seek out Teiresias, seer of the dead, who could instruct him on how to find his way home. He was supposed to sacrifice the sheep and make a drink offering to the dead, but was not to allow them to partake
Achilles himself is a warrior, and ultimately he decides himself to join the battle, regardless of his love for Briseis and regardless of the fact that he knows he will die. It is this in him that he cannot deny Patroclus. Achilles nonetheless does all that he can to ensure Patroclus' safety. He warns Patroclus not to pursue the Trojans, because he knows this will lead to death. Furthermore he
18). In fact, while it incorporated Greek mythology, ancient Rome had a very permissive attitude towards other forms of religion. Even when the state attempted to restrict various religious practices, the atmosphere still provided a very fertile ground for early cult worship. "The beliefs espoused by many of these cults- moral conduct on earth and eternal life after death- made the inroads of the cult of Christianity possible" (What life was
Mythology The classical myths of Greece and Rome have much in common with medieval myths, because ultimately, all myths have elements in common. The Greek and Roman myths dwell most often on heroes, Gods, and Goddesses. Their characters are larger than life - someone the reader can look up to. Medieval myths also heavily rely on heroes who commit heroic deeds, such as Charlemagne and King Arthur. One difference is many
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