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  • What Is A Greek Myth?: Notes

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    Alana Lowe
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    This document discusses the definition and nature of Greek myths. It notes that in ancient Greece, myths were primarily the domain of poets and were told through oral tradition, unlike in Rome where some myths were written down. While myths often involved supernatural elements like gods and heroes, their main importance was that they were traditional tales relevant to Greek society and its collective values. The document considers different definitions of myths and ultimately suggests they can be defined as "traditional tales relevant to society."

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    This document discusses the definition and nature of Greek myths. It notes that in ancient Greece, myths were primarily the domain of poets and were told through oral tradition, unlike in Rome where some myths were written down. While myths often involved supernatural elements like gods and heroes, their main importance was that they were traditional tales relevant to Greek society and its collective values. The document considers different definitions of myths and ultimately suggests they can be defined as "traditional tales relevant to society."

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    33 views1 page

    What Is A Greek Myth?: Notes

    Uploaded by

    Alana Lowe
    This document discusses the definition and nature of Greek myths. It notes that in ancient Greece, myths were primarily the domain of poets and were told through oral tradition, unlike in Rome where some myths were written down. While myths often involved supernatural elements like gods and heroes, their main importance was that they were traditional tales relevant to Greek society and its collective values. The document considers different definitions of myths and ultimately suggests they can be defined as "traditional tales relevant to society."

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    of 1

    What is a Greek Myth?

    there are no claims o f d i v i n e i n s p i r a t i o n ; m o r e o v e r , the stories


    n o r m a l l y are t o l d i n p r i v a t e and i n prose; I t has recently been
    persuasively suggested that the w o r d Sage presupposes an archaic,
    perhaps even I n d o - E u r o p e a n , n a r r a t i v e prose t r a d i t i o n . U n l i k e at
    R o m e , however, where the f o u n d a t i o n m y t h o f R o m u l u s and
    R e m u s was a p p a r e n t l y handed d o w n i n prose, i n archaic Greece
    m y t h s were the exclusive t e r r i t o r y o f poets. It is true that dist i n g u i s h e d scholars, such as G . S. K i r k , have made use o f the
    n o t i o n o f the folktale to e x p l a i n motifs o f Greek m y t h , but it must
    be stressed that such tales s i m p l y are not attested
    Greece.

    i n archaic

    17

    W h a t exactly is a G r e e k m y t h ? W e started this chapter w i t h


    B u r k e r t ' s d e f i n i t i o n o f m y t h as 'a t r a d i t i o n a l tale w i t h secondary,
    p a r t i a l reference

    to s o m e t h i n g o f collective i m p o r t a n c e ' . T h i s

    d e f i n i t i o n has p r o v e d to be v a l i d for the whole p e r i o d o f Greek


    h i s t o r y . A t the same t i m e , h o w e v e r , we have seen that m y t h s are
    not always t r a d i t i o n a l tales, n o r is t h e i r collective i m p o r t a n c e the
    same d u r i n g the whole o f Greek h i s t o r y . Perhaps one could propose a slightly simpler d e f i n i t i o n :

    ' t r a d i t i o n a l tales relevant to

    society'. I t is true that to us the appearance o f gods a n d heroes is


    an essential part o f Greek m y t h , but the supernatural presence is
    only to be expected

    when religion

    is embedded

    in society.

    18

    W e s t e r n secularised societies have nearly abolished the supern a t u r a l , but they usually still have their favourite (historical) tales
    that serve as models o f b e h a v i o u r o r are the expression o f the
    c o u n t r y ' s ideals. I t is t h e i r relevance to G r e e k society that makes
    the mythoi still fascinating today, for however different the Greeks
    were from us, they were also very m u c h the s a m e .

    19

    Notes
    1. T h e notes are confined to the most recent literature. I am in general much
    indebted to Fritz Graf, Gnechtsche Mythoiogie ( M u n i c h and Z u r i c h , 1985).
    2. For a survey of the various explanations, see G . S. K i r k , Myth: Its Meaning and
    Functions in Ancient Mythology and Other Cultures (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London,
    1970) 1 - 4 1 ; W . Burkert, 'Mythos und Mythoiogie', in Propylden Geschuhte der
    Ltteratur, I (Berlin, 1981) J 1 - 3 5 ; Graf, Mythoiogie, 1 5 - 5 7 .
    3. Traditional tales: K i r k , Myth,
    3 1 - 4 1 and The Nature of Greek Myth
    (Harrnondsworth, 1974) 2 3 - 3 7 ; Burkert, S&H, 23; Graf, Mythoiogie, 7.
    4. Pre-Homeric mythology: Graf, Mythoiogie, 5 8 - 6 8 . Mycenaean layer: A .
    Hoekstra, ' E p i c Verse before H o m e r ' , Med. Ned. Ak. Wet., AJd. Letterk., NR., JOS
    (1981) 5 4 - 6 6 ; note also A . Snodgrass, 'Poet and Painter in Eighth-Century

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