from afamia

On Mythology





A study of the phenomenon of mythology

Greek mythologies as an example
















Prepared by:
Ahmad Radoon













Outline

Introduction 3

Chapter One The Nature of Mythology 4

What is Mythology? 4

The First Mythologies 4

Definition and Description 5

Mythologies of Modern Age 6


Chapter Tow The Origins of Mythology 7

1.The Sacred Books Theory 7

2.The Historical Theory 7

3.The Metaphorical Theory 7

4.The Natural Theory 7


Chapter Three Greek Mythologies 9

Sources of Greek Mythologies 9

Hesiod: 1. Theogony 2. Egra Kai Hemera 10

Homer: 1. The Iliad 13
2. The Odessy 15

Conclusion 16

References 17






Introduction


There are a lot of mythologies in our Arabic and Islamic life, but we do not classily them as mythologies. We simply claim reality to all what is around us. For that reason we can say that mythology is seemingly absent in our culture. This study is trying , then , to shed light on many faces of the phenomenon of mythology in human heritage with special focus on Greek mythologies to which we will devote the last and the longest chapter. The study is only three chapters , and since mythology is seemingly absent in our culture , we will lay a special importance in the first and second chapters on defining mythology, examining its roots and origins and stating where does it stand from religion and other forms of discourse.




Ahmad Radoon





















Chapter One
The Nature of Mythology


What is Mythology?

In studying any subject , it is quite important to define this subject. The definition of the subject of study is the first step towards investigating this subject . It is important also for this definition to be clear-cut and specified in order not to get lost in generalities as we proceed in our study.

Our problem with mythology is that the concept itself is relative . I mean when we study Babylonian mythology , for example , we are simply studying the religion of Babylon ; nevertheless , we feel too mature , unfortunately , and describe this religion as "mythology" because we no longer believe its sanctity , and it is no more adopted as an ideology.

In the same way, if we go deep in our religious believes nowadays ; whatever they are , we can find a lot of mythologies and stories which are not in lack of falsity .But , since we still hold these stories as part of religion, unfortunately , we claim no falsity in them, and we feel angry sometimes to admit that they are mythologies.

We can conclude now that the word " mythology" implies falsity .We came, also, to the point that the problem of the term stems from our subjectivity in using it.

The First Mythologies

How did it come that we humans have mythologies?
Man started on this earth as a primitive creature with tow legs." He raised his head to the sky , saw its stars and the movements of its planets . He scrutinized the earth , its geography , its plants and animals and he was frightened by thunder"¹. Man was grieved by death and started to question the fact of life and death . Here , we have " Gilgamesh" as an outstanding example of what we are saying. Thus , we can say now that man's efforts in answering fatal questions about his existence resulted in mythology.
1. (Al-khatib 13).


This stage of thinking for man was a success if we consider his disappointment with magic and his try to depend on his abilities. This is also a failure when we take into consideration that the way man thought in the beginning "depended on imagination and emotion rather than mind and logic"¹ . In spite of this fact, man's primitive introspection was to reside in the minds of his race as a sacred heritage of the ancestors who themselves became gods ,and whose lives became a sacred past to which man resorted all the time. And every generation would add its own flavor on the dish of the sacred until that sacred became a comprehensive and totalitarian theory that answers all man's metaphysical questions.


Definition and Description

In his book "Mythology and Meaning" , the Syrian researcher Feras As-Sawah defines mythology as a "sacred story with deep implications that result in meanings connected with the universe , existence and the life of the human being"².

As-Sawah goes on in his study of the meaning of mythology and tries to give his own descriptions of mythology in order to help us distinguish mythology from other literary genres that are wrongly mixed with mythology , such as folklore stories and epics. He describes mythology as the following:
1.In form, mythology is a study usually composed in poetic structure to fit in religious cults.
2. The authors of mythologies are unknown because mythology itself is a collective product.
3. Gods and semi-gods play the main roles in mythology, and if man ever appears on the stage of events, his role is secondary.
4. Mythology deals with the essential questions in man's life.
5. The happenings of mythology take place in a sacred time other than ours; nevertheless , those who believe in that mythology believe these happenings more than they believe real history.



1.(Khashaba 17) .
2.(As-sawah , Mythology 14).




Mythologies of Modern Age

Now it is time to stop with ourselves and ask the simple question: do we; the civilized human race, have mythologies in our modern culture?
Though the answer to this question might endanger us of being accused of being extremist in our attitudes , we see it quit logical to say that any human being on this earth who is organized in any of the existed religions has his own set of mythologies which are imposed on him by the ideology to which he belongs. The free man of our age seems, sometimes ,shackled with the chains of illogical sacred stories such as the talk between God and the snake in "the Book of Genesis" in the Old Testament, or the challenging conversation which Satan had with Allah in the Surah of "Albakara" in the Quran !

Even those who claim to be freed from the illogical constraints of religion sometimes create their own mythological world, unknowingly.
This is because mythology is deeply rooted in our psychology as a reminiscent heritage of our past ancestors.What is Nancy Ajram then else than a new Venus coming to us from the very far past to inspire our love and feed our instinctive desires in searching for female beauty?

In conclusion, we find it quite clear now that mythology is a term equal in all its dimensions to religion. Greek mythologies , for example , were the Greek sacred totalitarian system of believes that presented them answers that were quite satisfactory at their time.Nothing can prevent us today from calling these believes mythologies, but we have to take in mind that lots of the pillars of our own " civilized " religions may fall apart one day as mere stupid mythologies told for the sake of entertainment !












Chapter Tow
The Origins of Mythology

There are many theories that try to investigate the origins of mythologys in human thought. These are : the sacred books theory , the historical theory , the metaphorical theory and the natural theory.

1. The Sacred Books Theory

In his book "The History of the World" , Sir Walter Rally sees that all mythologies are derived from the holy books which were sent by God to humans through his prophets and messengers, but the content of these books, Rally argues , was distorted. According to Rally , the Greek myth of the dragon that guards the golden apples is nothing but the snake which cheated Eve !


2. The Historical Theory

Mr. Thomas Bulfinch would argue that the gods in any mythology are the human heroes themselves in certain periods of the history of the nation . The stories of those heroes were retold again and again by people until they became gods and their time became sacred . "Aeolus" ; the god of wind , for example , was nothing but an Algerian king who ruled his country in a nice way and who taught his people how to sail in the sea and forecast the alterations of weather.


3. the Metaphorical Theory

This theory sees that the mythologies of the ancestors are puns and allegories of specific literary or philosophical meanings. Thus , "Ieo" the beautiful girl in Greek mythology is a symbol of the moon , and the beast that protects her "Argus" is a symbol of the sky that guards all planets including the moon .


4. The Natural Theory

This theory suggests that the first worship that man had was devoted to the four natural elements : soil , water , air and fire . With the


running of time , man symbolized these elements by personified Gods . Thus , we have got the god of water , the god of fire , … etc .
These are the most important theories that try to interpret the origins of mythology .







































Chapter three
Greek Mythologies

Nature had a great impact on the way old Greeks thought . It was fascinating in the islands and gulfs that are found in great numbers. The high mountains inspired the imagination of the first Greeks , and the deep valleys cleared their instincts . This kind of nature helped in establishing the "city – state" system which in turn provided a fertile soil for the mythologies of heroes and heroism to come into existence .

Sources of Greek mythologies

Greek mythologies were collected in the 18th century B.C. when the Greek poet Hesiod wrote his famous poems "Theogony" and "Egra Kai Hemera" .Hesiod's effort was supported by the great poet Homer who wrote two great epics "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" . Those tow poets are the only source of information about the Greek mythologies. And since their works are more like pieces of literature than real history , some scientists would consider them as an unreliable source of information¹ .But , Mercia Iliad seems less irritated with this literary formation and sees in it a victory of the literary work over the religious belief² .















1. ( As-Sawah , Mythology 43 ) .
2. (Iliad 149 ) .






Hesiod

Hesiod is the greatest Greek poet after Homer and father of Greek didactical poetry . He was born in 848 B.C. and died in 777 B.C. Some historians say that he was a contemporary of Homer , they add that Homer met Hesiod , heard his poetry and liked it so much.

Hesiod worked as a farmer and a shepherd .The old Greeks believed that one day , when Hesiod the shepherd was with his cattle on the mountain , the Muses of poetry came to him and poured in his body the spirit of poetry . It was only by this mean that Hesiod became a poet.

As we said , what we have from Hesiod's poetry is two poems that talk about the gods and beliefs of the Greeks . It is said that Persis , a brother of Hesiod deprived him of his share of their father's heritage . Hesiod complained to the judges at the time , but they were bribed by his brother to reject Hesiod's cause .That is why Hesiod would insist later on the importance of justice and try to teach it to people through his poetry .


1. "Theogony"

This is the first poem by Hesiod. The Greek word "Theogony" means "gods' origins " , it is composed of tow words : "theos" which means "god" and "gones" which means "origin" .

This poem is a kind of narrative which tells the story of the gods of the Olymp ; their origins , relationships and actions . It is a real source of the Greek creeds. It is composed of 1022 lines of eloquent Greek language that talks in an organized style about subjects such as good and evil , women , and human history .

Hesiod says in this poem that the world at first was a kind of chaos , then the earth "Jaya" was created . After that , there was "Eros" the god of production. With the interfere of Eros , gods began to come into existence until the whole creation was found and every god took his role in governing the universe .

2. "Egra Kai Hemera " or "Works and Days"

This is a poem of 828 lines divided between four parts : the first part contains Hesiod's advice to his young brother Persis . The second part is about farming and sailing . The third deals with subjects related to morals and religion . The last part is a kind of calendar that describes good and bad days .

In the first part , Hesiod tells an allegorical story about honest competition and dishonest struggle . Then comes the story of "Pandora" which clarifies how evil was found on this earth and shows that man can not live without toil and hard work . There is another story in this part called "Aiono" or "The Eagle and the Bird" which attacks the evils of savagery and injustice .Part one is full of moral advices , such as :
"That who harms others causes evil to himself for the eye of Zeus sees everything ."

The second part gives advices concerning farming and explains the kind of plants to be farmed in each season and the times of harvest . "This part of the poem was considered the first farming calendar in human history until the year 1951 AD when Sumerian farming calendar was discovered written on a stone that dates back to the year 1700 B.C."¹ .

The third part included a number of recommendations concerning marriage , social relationships and religious cults. What is interesting about this part is that is shows women as the source of all evil and that wives are so bold in betraying their husbands . This comes in accordance with the mythology that talks about the creation of women .

The forth part is the is the shortest , it talks about happy and gloomy days . Hesiod says :
" The day sometimes is a father's wife , and sometimes it is a tender mother " .
Hesiod sees his time as good and glorious and expects the coming times to be sever ones that would bring no good at all .





1. (Al-Khatib 268 ).



What is noticeable about "Works and Days" is the way Greek gods are presented . Unlike the way gods appear in "The Iliad" by Homer , here they look to be more interested in achieving justice in human life . What is also unique about this poem is its argument in the fourth part that time is deteriorating from good to worse .This idea is so essential even in the three heavenly religions .The followers of these religions believe that Adam and Eve were first in paradise , then they fell to earth because of their sin . Things on earth would continue to deteriorate until Doomsday . According to Abdlhamid As- Saleh , this is to be found also in Islamic medieval philosophy represented by Ibn Zakariya Arrazi and "Safa Brothers' messages "¹.
























1.( As- Saleh 219 ) .







Homer

Homer collected for us news , stories and mythologies of past times and presented them in a very nice poetic way .He made use of old poems and stories in order to help him compose his immortal poems .
" Modern archeology in Ileum proved that the image homer presented on the lives of people there is not contradicted with reality"¹ .

We will give now a brief account of homer's two immortal poems : the Iliad and the Odyssey .

1. The Iliad

This epic poem tackles the subject of Trojan wars . The story of the poem goes is as follows : the king of Ileum " Priam" has a very beautiful son called "Paris" . Paris visited once "Menelaus" , the king of Esparto . Paris kidnapped Menelaus wife "Helen" who was a miracle in beauty . The Greeks grew so angry because of this aggression on their honor . They crammed a very huge fleet of 1200 ships and 100 000 warriors and sieged Ileum with the help of Achilles ; one of the greatest heroes of Greece .The army of Ileum in turn was led by Hector ; one of king Priam's sons.

The siege continued for ten years without result . At last , the Greeks resorted to treachery . They built a gigantic wooden horse , inside which they concealed "Ulysses" , the hero , and a selected band of armed men . The Trojans argued about the significance of this massive figure outside the city gates . The surrounding plain and seashore lay deserted . The optimists felt certain the Greeks had sailed away , so they drew the horse to the inside of the city as a souvenir of their victory .At nightfall , when the Trojans made festivals to enjoy their victory , the treacherous "Sidon" opened the horse's trapdoor and the Greeks swarmed out . The Trojan sentries were silently killed and the city gates thrown open to admit the main force , which had been hiding on the offshore island of Tenedos and had landed under cover of darkness . The Trojans were hopelessly outnumbered . Flames from burning houses lit the narrow streets where bitter hand-to-hand fighting took place . Trojan men were killed and women were taken as slaves .



1.(Ayad 112).

Homer describes in details all the happenings of the war , and the talks that went on between different characters , and the struggles issuing because of women .Gods themselves were divided into two groups ; one subsided with the Greeks and the other with the Trojans .






































2. The Odyssey

This second epic poem by Homer talks about the adventures and horrors met by king Odysseus ; one of the Greek heroes in Trojan wars , during his journey back to his hometown Ithaca after he defeated
Ileum and burnt its edifices .

The Odyssey describes only forty days of Odysseus' journey. It is different from the Iliad in that it is full of beautiful scenes and strange happenings .We have ,for example, a scene of a small boat in the middle of the huge sea played with by wind and storms .This boat suddenly arrives to an unknown island where no human traded before Odysseus . In that island, the reader witnesses a variety of scaring scenes.
We have the giants who feed on human flesh ,we have the beautiful sea nymphs and so many strange creatures we hear of for the first time .































Conclusion

Whether researchers suspected the seriousness of Hesiod and homer writings, they are still the only and the biggest sources of our knowledge about Greek mythologies . The two poets found no problem in depicting the gods in a way that they would look and behave as humans do . That way of depicting gods , anyway , did not contradict with the general Greek view of Man as the most sublime and glorious creature on the earth . The great Greek civilization which was built on the shoulders and brains of great men considered it a credit for gods to be imagined in the shapes of human beings .






























References

Al-Khatib , Mohammed . Greek Thought . Damascus : Dar Ala'a Eddin ,
1999.
As-Saleh , Abdhamide . Introduction to the History of Philosophy .
Damascus : Damascus University Press , 1986 .
As-Sawah , Feras . Mythology and Meaning . Damascus :
Dar Ala'a Eddin , 1997 .
As-Sawah , Feras . The Epic of Gilgamesh . Damascus :
Dar Ala'a Eddin , 1996 .
Ayad , Mohammed Kamel . The History of Greeks . Damascus :
Damascus University Press , 1969 .
Gilbret , John . Myths and Legends of Ancient Rome . London :
Hamlyn , 1970 .
Iliad , Mersia . Aspects of Mythology . London :
Harper , 1996 .
Khashaba , Derrini . Greek Myths of Love and Beauty .Beirut :
Dar At – Tanweer , 1983 .
Sara , Khalil . Studies in Greek History . Damascus :
Damascus University Press , 1996 .
The Holy Quran .
The Old Testament .

Thank my brother Kareem on this article beautiful Apamea