Jonathon
2/8/02
Greek Myths
Do you know about Greek myths and what they where for? There are many reasons and they are all different in some way. One interesting fact is that the sources of myths are still being found today. Myths are also the last of the Greek religion for many reasons. Finally two of the most famous myths were the Trojan War and the Olympian Gods.
The Greeks were polytheistic people, (people who believe in more than one god). They believed that each god controlled a different natural or social resource. These gods were highly worshipped, and the Greeks made temples and statues for them.
The Greeks also believed that the afterlife awaited them. Like the Egyptians the Greeks would die, and go to an afterlife to be with gods.
Many poets were inspired by the Greek religion because most myths were about the relationship between gods and humans. Other things about the different fictional characters were, (only an example) a giant walnut tree that talked and said wise things to the people who found it. Finally, the fictional characters of the Greek religion seemed to be a great source of myths.
The first sources of myths were from poets like Homer. Homer was a blind poet in the early years of Greece. He wrote down myths that had been talked about for 400 years before they were every written down. Other poems like the Homeric Hymns were a source of unknown writers in the 8th and 5th centuries. Likewise, poets like Atheistic Dramatristca, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Awistophoses wrote many myths. Although no one knows what myths they wrote, people estimate that the myths had nice and well made morals and were fun entertainment too.
Some myths actually started as poems. For example, the poet Pindar wrote many poems that turned into myths. Even though most of the poets had no idea that their poem would turn to be a myth, they had more people enjoy their writing that way.
Greek myths are NOT fables. They were told for many more reasons than fables. One reason is that they taught and explained unexplainable things unlike fables. Second is that they answer questions that people pondered about and don't know the answer to. To sum it up, a myth is a story not a fable.
Greek myths are easy to believe in ( Well most of them at least.) They usually taught a moral lesson or were just plain entertainment. Although most of them were fanciful, they still made you believe.
Some myths told of a person's life in the Golden Age of Greece. For instance we all know of Hercules the son of Zeus. (the king of the gods). Hercules had great strength and was a great hero. He was a myth of a persons life. Also, others like Achilles who was invincible all over except for his heel, fought in the Trojan War when he finally died. In conclusion, the one they called Jason, who had an epic journey to find the legendary golden fleece which had magical powers. Therefore, the Epic Journeys showed what the Golden age of Greece was like in a persons life. Even if they were only myths
One of the most interesting myths was the Olympian Gods. No one knows if these gods are real. It matters if you believe or not.
There were 12 Olympian Gods. Zeus is the king of the gods, clouds, and lightning. Zeus overthrew the king of the Titans named Crono. After that he ruled the gods on Mount Olympus.
The gods and goddess on Mount Olympus were very interesting. The only god that ruled higher than others was Zeus. The gods on mount Olympus seemed to be more important than other gods and goddess because they had bigger responsibilities than others. Lastly these gods were so neat that each god or goddess was related in some way.
Another interesting myth was the Trojan War. It was a war between the Greeks and Troy. They fought for 10 years and many lives were lost for each side. Each side enjoyed wins and were destroyed by loses in battle.
It all started when a king of Troy had a son named Paris, but he could not keep him so he had him killed. As a result of this action a few farmers from outside of Troy saved Paris from death.
After the years past he was put back into the royal family of Troy and during that time he meant a women named Helen. She had a very rich and powerful father. Paris and Helen fell in love and lived in Troy.
Helen's father was furious because he thought that Helen was kidnapped by Troy. As this thought went through his head he called on the Greeks to help him get Helen back from Troy.
The war ended when Greek warriors hid in a huge wooden horse. The Greeks said it was a gift to Troy. Once the Trojans took it into the gates of Troy the Greeks attacked all of their city and won the war as a result.
Thousands of years later a archeologist was digging in the place were Troy was said to be and he found an amazing discovery. He found out that Troy was a real city and the war was real too!!
In conclusion Greek myths symbolize fun and interesting things in the Greek world. They don't always make sense, but they always have a true meaning in the reasons they are told. Here is my tip to you as you depart from my paper. If you ever come across a myth, read it and try to find the meaning that the poets like Homer were trying to tell.
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| Trojan War Pictures | Olympian Gods Pictures | Writers of myths pictures |
Thanks to:
http://www.messagenet.com/myths/
http://www-lib.haifa.ac.il/www/art/troyan.html
http://www.geocities.com/theancientworld/homer.html