THE NATURE of GREEK MYTHOLOGY
by jzr [meister_z]
GREEK HEROES
Greek Mythology
by jzr
meister_z
Introductory Comments:
Before attempting to venture into samples of Greek mythology, an IMPORTANT part of any course in Literature any school year, I find it a convenient moment to go into some sort of introduction by digging a little into some of the historical facts and elements which may perhaps serve to better our understanding and appreciation of Greek mythology. By initially looking into certain aspects of the NATURE of Greek mythology, you, as reader and learner, will more successfully value and enjoy the works which make up the bulk of Greek mythology. Additionally, you will be able to perhaps appreciate the powerful elements which accompany mythology in general, for it is not simply a collection of fantastic stories which men made up because of a lack of entertainment. Myths (usually Creation or Flood myths) are to be differentiated from Greek Mythology.
Myths, created and possessed by almost every Civilization which has ever existed on the face of our planet, were developed as historical issuances of the early human mind, being passed on from generation to generation with the aim of perpetuating especially amazing or cataclysmic events. Greek Mythology, on the other hand, originated as an attempt to register and EXPLAIN much of the external and internal phenomena which stunned or awed highly civilized man at that time. And it resulted in a highly sophisticated SYSTEM of intricately related and intelligent myths which we now call MYTHOLOGY. (Therefore, Myths are to be taken as historical accounts of some sort, whereas Mythology is to be appreciated and interpreted as a system of intricately interrelated myths meant to relate and explain much of the natural phenomena and some, or many, of the historical or heroic events of the times.)
Mythology in general, then, is not just a casual occurrence which arose in the minds of men who had nothing better to do at the moment. On the contrary, Mythology arose as an essential need for expression of the human mind. It is thus related to the outward expressions of the human mind in an attempt, perhaps, to understand its own structure and contents -- that which makes up the mind as an organ -- that which is inside, but which we find so hard to explain or even understand.
All this said, we now need to understand that the mind has always been under the forces of development imposed by the natural laws of life and universal existence. We already know that the organism as a whole has always been under the influence of these natural forces, but we usually limit ourselves to only the physical aspects. That is to say, we usually limit our understanding to only the human form or body. But, have you ever stopped to think that the mind has also been under such powerful influence and change, too? The human mind is not what it was a hundred thousand years ago, I assure you. The modern mind is not what it used to be a million years ago. Perhaps it was not even human yet. But it was there somewhere along the evolutionary scale that we still do not understand enough about. And finally there emerged a human mind. A mind capable enough of solving problems and learning from them and their respective solutions. Finally there came a mind capable enough of discovery and growth. And so, it began to grow in knowledge and experiences, and in turn more knowledge from the discovery and learning from these very same experiences, until we had a thinking being, a thinking "animal" or organism (as Science calls us). First, though, since the human mind was inside the body looking out, it had to understand the outside world. It had to understand the things that were around it. And the things that happened probably terrified primordial man, and this in turn created a record or register of images associated to the terrifying experiences. These horrifying events went directly into the unconscious part of the mind, and they probably registered into that unconscious as patterns or "constellations" of the feelings and terrifying emotions which were generated by the horrifying experiences and lack of understanding. Since man was lacking previous knowledge of things and events in his surroundings, he was, we could say, literally in the dark. It was darkness for him within his own mind. But as he evolved further and further, as he progressed from one step to another, as he climbed further into the conscious world, he soon slowly became able to commence explaining and understanding some or many of the things which at first puzzled and terrified him.
Now, as his primitive mind began to explain things, and as he finally began to associate one to another, he began to find in the discovery of the environment and of the nature of things a certain fascination. Later this fascination probably evolved into a mystic sort of interpretation of the things discovered and the things still to be understood. His still primitive mind began to associate the discoveries with the emotions reserved in the register of his unconscious mind and he began to "see" or visualize IMAGES. But these were not just dead pictures of the mind. These were living images that motivated the human mind, for the emotions are not dead matter but rather living material full of powerful energy -- powerful enough to generate "living images" that play roles and move into action. Powerful enough to move the IMAGINATION into CREATIVE energy. Energy which creates living characters within a living group or society and in which they play an active role. Thus, man's human and rustic mind began to hold a fascination for the things that surrounded him and he tried to understand them.
But later on he also became aware (conscious) of the world further out than his immediate surroundings, and he looked out into the darkness of the universe outside his immediate world. There he found the SENSATION of the INFINITE! There, he discovered that his world was not the only substance with life on it. And so, he probably imagined other worlds as fascinating as his own out there somewhere in that infinite SPACE which he would look into on clear nights. When he would sometimes look and admire the fascinating and mystical beauty of the stars and the moon, which all shone in that terrible and profound darkness. This perhaps led men's minds into the sensation of not being alone. Of not being the only ones in the grand and impressive expanse of the universe and all its darkness.
The discovery and use of fire furthered man's knowledge and adventure of discovery. But it also furthered his conscious fascination for the things of the world and the universe, and so added to the sense of mysticism which he already felt. This probably led him to the sensation that there exists besides all the things which surround him in his immediate world SOMETHING much more powerful than he. And since he could not understand this "something", this supreme force, probably a force of creation, he began with this rustic imagination to believe that the force was another BEING like himself, and so he thought of a supreme god, or God himself. But, because he could not explain God or the CONCEPT of GOD to himself, he personified God into someone like himself. This would of course make it now easier for him to understand the concept, and so he invented God, but as a god in general. But how could he possibly explain the origin of this god, and how could he explain the origin of himself? Thus, man's mind began to explain the existence of his god by giving him an origin, and a family, just like his own. And relatives or friends, and a personality, just like his own.
For man's mind has a natural tendency to explain puzzling things in terms of his own constitution and existence. And thus, there came about the production of gods and stories about these gods. And all of it was done in order to explain the origin of this supreme being or force, and the universe, and the stars and the world itself. And all of it was done ultimately to explain the origin of himself as man.
Thus, my dear learner, mythology was originated. Not as a sudden event, as you can well see, but as a very gradual and prolonged PROCESS which started perhaps even more than a million years ago.
THE NATURE OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY
This brings us now to Greek mythology. By the time the Classical period was reached in Greek mythology, other mythologies had already existed, developed, and even died out. Almost every people or nation had created their own mythologies way before the Greeks themselves developed their own. It is interesting to note that there has always been a heritage in man's thought, and that mythologies are no exception. That is to say, there has always been, as there will always be, a kind of inheritance from one generation to another, and from one people to another, or from one form of a nation to another form (of that very same nation).
Nothing nor anyone exists forever. Everything and everyone is only temporary. Everything changes, and without exception. A nation or tribe of people may be one way for a period of time, and then be submitted or forced to change because of internal conflict. The resulting new form of the nation will invariably be slightly different. And after a long era the existing form of that same nation will no longer resemble the original in most of its aspects. And still after a much longer period of time the nation at that point will perhaps upon first sight not even resemble the original at all.
But, it is also a natural law that there will always be SOMETHING in which the new form will resemble the original. It is just that as time develops the newer forms, the resemblances will keep getting harder and harder to see. They will transmute or change into hidden characteristics which will become harder to detect upon first sight. They will project deeper and deeper into hiding and away from sight or obvious visibility because of the new ones which have taken their place. *So we have it that many of the mythologies resemble each other in one way or another.
Greek mythology is no exception. But Greek mythology is the most worldwide kind of mythology known by man -- at least, by western man, or most modern peoples and societies. No other mythology was so intricate and very well explained. No other mythology was ever so well woven together into a thorough and logical world of the Classical past.
Modern man is a highly socialized animal. Modern man is in extreme socially, politically, and technologically so involved. He is so to the point where he is no longer in contact with nature. He no longer respects nature, nor does he hold any admiration or adoration for it. But classical Greek man lived "in close companionship with nature" (E. Hamilton).
Reading myths, therefore, raises interest in many of us because myths lead us back to a time when the world was young and full of adventure and fascinating discovery. Man, then, was closely connected to nature, the land, and everything related. At that time little distinction had been made between the real and the unreal. But curiosity and the human imagination were by then very much alive and active.
Primitive man, we must remember, filled his prehistoric wilderness with darkness, fear, terror, and human sacrifice. More than explain, he hid behind horror, ceremony, taboo, and punishment. In the Greek world it was not like this at all. Greek man faced the darkness of his mind in a highly creative manner. There was beauty, adventure, challenge, heroism, and explanations and important relationships. As we have seen, the Greeks and their mythology also had their roots in the remote past, but their mythology and intellectual achievements prove to us how high they had risen above the primitive (and later barbaric) stages of human development.
Myths, we must understand, are the creation of great poets. The first written record of Greece is the Iliad , written by Homer between 1,000 and 900 B.C. It is the oldest form of Greek literature written in a rich and beautiful language, which shows many centuries of continuous development. Others before Homer had for centuries attempted to express themselves artistically, too. This development from generation to generation culminates with Homer and his Iliad, which also serves as undeniable proof of civilization.
Nevertheless, we can justifiably ask what made possible "the Greek miracle" (Grant). What led to the miraculous "new birth of the world" through the "awakening of Greece." And if we look closely back, we can safely point out one interesting fact. The early Greek thinkers and poets originated and adopted a new idea -- one from which stemmed an entirely new point of view of life and mankind. It was an idea which did not exist in the world before that time. But, it was also an idea which came to stay, even unto our own day, and in a very powerful form perhaps. With the development of early Greek thought it was now Man who became the center of the universe. Men's minds were developed now to the point where they looked on Man himself for questions and answers. Man and his mind are what now held the interest of classical Greeks.
This was a dramatic and revolutionary (as well as evolutionary) change in men's attitudes and Greek thought. This was a powerful idea inherited by all of mankind now, which changed the world, for "with its coming, the universe became rational." Now, everything could be explained, everything reasoned. In the process, Greek artists and poets realized how splendid a man can be and found beauty among human beings, both in form and actions. The classical Greeks were no longer interested in the terrifying or superstitious fantasy of the dark parts of their minds. They now began to count on the real and so all art and Greek thought was centered in human beings.
One important point which proves this is the fact that the Greeks humanized their gods by making them into their own image. The gods had their own form and their own personalities. Before this, the gods from other parts of the world had had forms merged with beasts which had impressed men for one reason or another. Therefore, you will find in those cultures gods which were half man and half beast. But now, they were just like men, human-like, and they equally acted like men. Of course, they were powerful and had to be respected, but they were no longer terrifying and alien to humans. The Greek miracle was a humanized world filled with men who entered the light of consciousness which led them to a love of beauty, truth, and learning.
There was no place for the irrational, only for the real and reasonably explicable. Magic and witchcraft, curiously enough, existed before classical Greece, and it existed afterward too, but it was virtually nonexistent for classical Greeks. Astrology (the schematic influence of the stars on our human lives and destinies) existed since ancient Babylonia (XXIII B.C.) and it still does so in our own times. But there is no trace of it in Greek mythology. Astronomy is what arose in the classical ancient Greek mind.
Priests are of no importance in classical Greek thought, and ghosts or spirits are virtually nonexistent. This places religion as we know it outside of the sphere of Greek thought and practice. In their place, and because of the rational condition of Greek minds, originated an exalted appreciation for the esthetic (for the beautiful) -- and an elevated and refined sense of the divine and supreme.
Greek mythology is filled with accounts of men and women which include gods and goddesses -- and it is mixed with the divine, provenient from the heavens (a cosmic region inaccessible to common man) -- and further still, it depicts a cosmogony and genesis of its very own. But Greek mythology must not be read as a kind of bible, or even as a from of religion. These had nothing to do with it. Classical Greek mythology is the expression of the interior functions of the human mind and being. It has nothing to do with religion or doctrine or faith. It is an effort, gradual and growing, of the human mind to awaken further into human consciousness , discovery, awareness, learning, and knowledge.
Greek mythology is an unconscious effort to explain and understand nature itself and the nature of the phenomena which surround us, near and far. It is an unconscious effort to discover and comprehend the nature within ourselves, the dynamics of the human mind and of human behavior, and of the forces which drive us on. It is a rational attempt to project, organize and reproduce the cosmic scheme, with man at the center of everything. It is a rational attempt to distinguish between the divine and the earthly, between terrestrial matters and those of the supreme, recognizing and admitting man's mortality and weakness in contrast to the eternal and all powerful. But it is also a force which promotes the recognition and belief that there is possible salvation for human mortals through acts of great courage and heroism. Mythology is early science which contributed to man's internal development and understanding of his world and of his human condition.
jzr
PANDORA
