Mythology: Greek & Others

[happyfilmluvguy]

In middle school and high school, I came out with one solid interest in mythology. It might have been the stories or the characters. It might have been the religious aspects, or it might have been the imagery of it all. From paintings to sculptures, to motion pictures and novels, mythology has grown far and wide and isn't ready to disappear.

So what's your favorite myth or legend?

What opinions do you have on the figures of these times?

Do you believe it was all a fable or perhaps these stories of gods and legends existed?

What else about mythology?

In the Los Angeles Times, there was a interesting article of a simulated ancient Rome project that has been in the works for ten years.

Here it is

And here is their WEBSITE

 

[Helen Troy]

When I was about 10 years old, I became very interested in Greek and Norse mythology. I was a Christian and very strong in my childhood faith, but after reading all about the Greek and Norse gods, I figured that they had existed before Jesus, but was now old-fashioned and retired or dead.

I started with the Greek myths about the star configurations, the ones who "explains" why the stars form pictures in the sky. It fascinated me, and I knew all the stories about all the star pictures. Then, I moved on to Norse mythology.

I loved the stories, but I thought it was strange how silly, selfish and stupid the Gods were- just like humans! And that Zews, always on the hunt for a new woman to "seduce". Tsssk..... Somehow, I was not troubled by the "adult" theme of many of these myths. (Incest, rape, murder, torture etc.) But I was a bit shocked by the illustration to one of the Norse myths; where Loke seeks wisdom by (very logically?) hanging from a tree by a rope tied around his very private parts..... The illustration was very figurative.

My favorite myth must be the one where Tor has to dress up as a woman and marry a jotun to win back his hammer.

Well, enough reminiscing. I still enjoy myths, and knowing them, (along with some Bible stories) are very helpful to understand art, history etc. But I do think that myths is all it is, although the Norwegian "scientist" Thor Heyerdahl claimed in his last book that Odin was a real guy from Russia....

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

A year ago I read the Iliad and the Odyssey. Since it is based on truth and myth I would have to go with that as my favorite. On one side you have Achilles, who knows he will die but will be remembered throughout the ages and on the other you have the noble Hector. Just a great story.

Here is a pretty conclusive website about mythology.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/bulf/index.htm

 

[LaMedicine]

Since I was educated in British, American and Japanese schools, I've been exposed to Norse, Greek, Roman, Japanese, and some Chinese mythology and legends, and always have enjoyed and been fascinated by them. After all, they are all so very human!!
Also, (though I haven't actually read the accounts) there are some books and studies that trace the common themes in the legends from region to region.
Like Orpheus going to the land of the dead to bring his wife back, in one of the Japanese legends, one of the gods travels to the land of the dead to bring his wife back, and he is told that he must not look back while going through the tunnel back to the land of the living--just like Orpheus is told not to look back.
If these legends came to be, completely independent of each other, that tells us something about human nature, and how civlization develops. If the legend traveled from Greece to Japan, then the who and how of its journey over all the distance and time, is also very intersting.

 

[Harp]

On one side you have Achilles, who knows he will die but will be remembered throughout the ages and on the other you have the noble Hector. Just a great story.

A real drag.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I've loved mythology since I was a little kid: seeing "Jason and the Argonauts" in a theater when I was 9 was one of the defining events of my childhood! I read all kinds of Greek myth books for kids for years, and I worked my way up to college-level translations of the Odyssey, etc., quickly.

Since then, I've always been fascinated by all kinds of myths, both the classical and the modern variations (comics, movies, etc.) I'm interested in myths from everywhere, and very much into compartive mythology: I was a fan of Jung and Bettleheim from my teens (and Joseph Campbell - but even though he's now the poster boy for this stuff, we didn't read him at all in my college myth courses in the early 70s).

A great site about many areas of myth and legend well worth checking out is Encyclopedia Mythica:

http://www.pantheon.org/

 

[Baron Kurtz]

No doubt there are common stories in the mythology or folk tales of all cultures. They are quite often, after all, parables. Each culture comes up against very much the same issues that need to be dealt with . . . whether that be through written stories, word of mouth tales etc. etc.

I have read a few of the stories in Italo Calvino's huge collection of Italian folk tales (must get back to that someday), and of course the Andersen stories and the Brothers Grim. One which recurs quite often - i've read a similar Chinese one, too - is based around the general theme of the Ogre under the bridge.

But then, this is about mythology. I'll shut up.

Or rather i'll ask the originator: Can we extend this to Folk Tales/Fairy Tales as well? Pleeeeeaaaassseee

bk

 

[Twitch]

I would like to add that many myths and folktales have ultimately been found to stem from actual happenings. Ancient writings that were written as narratives at the time when they occurred are often dismissed by modern scientificos as fairytales because they don't fit into the pre-conceived view at the given time.

 

[CanadaDoll]

Myself, I've always loved Egyptian mythology, particularly the stories involving Isis, I also love Irish myths I just love mythology period really

 

[Technonut]

I always liked the myth of Nisus and Scylla...

Scylla fell deeply in love with Minos just by watching him from the city wall. Scylla betrayed her father, Nisus the king, to show her love for Minos. Minos conquered the city, and was sailing to return home, when Scylla ran into the water to get to Mino's ship, and climbed onto the rudder. A large eagle then swooped down from the sky, causing Scylla to let go of the rudder and fall. The eagle was her father, Nicus, who the gods saved by turning him into an eagle. Before Scylla fell into the water and drowned, she was turned into a bird by a god that felt sorry for her because she had betrayed her father and city for love....

 

[Mojito]

I've always loved mythology and the myth cycles I've looked at - from Ancient Egyptian through to Irish and Australian Aboriginal dreamtime stories. Persephone/Proserpine was my favourite for many years in the Greco/Roman legends, but then I found the Orpheus and Eurydice story that LaMedicine mentions.

Sekhmet is my favourite Egyptian goddess - with her dual Hathor persona. On one side the Goddess of war and pestilence (with a truly alarming story about her in the "Fiery Eye of Ra" mode), and the other the Goddess of drunkeness and beauty, with great hair thrown in to boot!

 

[CanadaDoll]

Sekhmet/Hathor actually gave me nightmares as a child! lol Now I've learned to appreciate how versatile she is in her roles in the myths.

There are also some very pretty Hawaiian myths I've been able to read

 

[LolitaHaze]

Ancient Greek mythology is a love of mine. And I am a deep believer in it. I don't really have a favourite story, but I take enjoyment out of the symbolism and tidbits of the Gods and Titans. Like what each one represents, their special gift, what tree/flower/element belongs to which God.

 

[Elaina]

My mother was very interested, and I wound up getting my name from a weird Greek story no one seems to have heard of outside one book from the 60's.

Growing up hearing it, I got tired of Mythology before I ever set eyes on a book about it.

In my early 20's I got interested in the Eddas and oriental demonology but outside of that, I tend to favor historical accounts then myths.

 

[jgilbert]

And speaking of myths, Happy Solstice to One and All!

 

[Hondo]

Thanks for the link Doc, I also loved mythology since I was a kid, all those low budget Hercules movies. The "Jason and the Argonauts" theme or rather Homer’s The Odyssey. I try to absorbed as much as possible, Mythology, follow my own “Odyssey” in hopes of finding a “Golden Fleece” lol
I'm just fascinated with it all, not just Greek, but also Japanese.

LaMedicine: you’re very lucky to be exposed to Norse, Greek, Roman, Japanese, and Chinese mythology, How I wish I had such time to spare, Knowledge is a life time pursuit, never ending.

I've loved mythology since I was a little kid: seeing "Jason and the Argonauts" in a theater when I was 9 was one of the defining events of my childhood! I read all kinds of Greek myth books for kids for years, and I worked my way up to college-level translations of the Odyssey, etc., quickly.

Since then, I've always been fascinated by all kinds of myths, both the classical and the modern variations (comics, movies, etc.) I'm interested in myths from everywhere, and very much into compartive mythology: I was a fan of Jung and Bettleheim from my teens (and Joseph Campbell - but even though he's now the poster boy for this stuff, we didn't read him at all in my college myth courses in the early 70s).

A great site about many areas of myth and legend well worth checking out is Encyclopedia Mythica:

http://www.pantheon.org/

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I majored in theatre in college and took a Greek drama class in grad school. I have always loved classical Greek theatre staring from my first reading of Antigone when I was 16. Also was in the chorus in Hippolytus and portrayed Andromache (Hector's wife) in The Trojan Women in grad school.

I would loved to have had a theatre career just playing in or directing Greek plays.

Especially, I love the stories around and about the Trojan War, have read and seen The Agamemnon, Electra and Orestes (The Oresteia), plus others.

I also like Native American myths, Nordic myths, myths from other cultures and biblical stories.

I think there is probably a grain of truth to most all myths, but they have been expanded and enhanced (and politicized) through time until they become, well, myths.

It would be interesting to time travel a few thousand years in the future and see what events today have been mythologized. Although, with the advent of the media, it may not be possible as it was in ancient times to get a really good myth going.

karol

 

[mike]

I love mythology, especially the earlier the better because I think very often they're handed down over the generations (and through conquerored peoples) and like a game of telephone get lost in the translation. Ancient Sumerians had their own version of Adam & Eve and Noah's Ark for instance! Matter of fact lots of cultures all over the world had a Noah's Ark story. I think that's because truly they all lived through the end of the last Ice Age (12000-10000 BC) and it became ingrained in a mass concious of sorts. [huh] on the other hand I also love Coast to Coast AM & reading about ancient astronauts ala Zacharia Sitchin so take what I say with a grain of salt

 

[Dr Doran]

I'll be teaching (well, as a TA) a Greek religion class next semester at Berkeley. I study ancient greek and roman history so I deal with myth quite frequently. I have always been fascinated about how the 5th century BC tragedians USED pre-existing myth to frame plays about current issues and concerns, and the masterpiece (to me) would be Aeschylus' Oresteia, performed in 458 BC, concerning the return of Agamemnon from Troy, his murder by his wife Clytemnestra, and their son Orestes' vengeance for the murder and finally the trial he undergoes in Athens with the primeval goddesses of revenge and bloodguilt, the serpentine Furies, on one side, backed by Clytemnestra's ghost, and then on the other side Orestes and Apollo, with Athena casting the final vote and empowering a jury, the Areopagos council, to judge. It is incredible how he used this myth to spin a work about the origins of law. Radical feminist interpretations have given it a misogynist tone but I think (after reading the whole thing in ancient Greek and reading a great deal of secondary literature) that interpretation is complete nonsense.

 

[Harp]

Radical feminist interpretations have given it a misogynist tone but I think (after reading the whole thing in ancient Greek and reading a great deal of secondary literature) that interpretation is complete nonsense.

...they must love you at Berkeley.