Short Essay On Mythology

Since the beginning of time the people of the world have their share of beliefs. Greek mythology is the arguably the most popular region of study. In Ancient Greece every citizen had a patron that would protect them and pantheism was commonplace. The Romans admired the Greeks in their art and culture and even took different aspects of their gods. Polytheism was widely accepted in all cultures so the seed of mythology bloomed. The time line of the creations of gods to the end of their reign is an important factor in Greek Mythology.

The supreme ruler and king of gods, Zeus, is often mentioned as Jupiter and the sender of thunder, lightning, rain, and wind (Britannica.com). “Zeus was the first of the gods and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as ‘the father of gods and men,’ he is a sky god who controls lightning.” (Britannica.com) Although the god is labeled most powerful and the mightiest of all, he is not perfect. Zeus is known for his promiscuous action. Often times he fell in love with one woman after the other and attempted to disguise his infidelity from his wife. Zeus left no woman behind in his crazy love-life, the god married and had children with his sister, Hera and. Hera was not Zeus’ only siblings. He also had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades and another sister named Hestia. His parents are known as Cronus and Rhea. Zeus was not just handed the title “god of the sky,” instead him and his two brothers drew lots. The sea was given to Poseidon, the underworld to Hades, and Zeus was named lord of the sky, rain god, and cloud gatherer. The eagle is considered sacred to this god. Zeus also treasures the oak tree. It is often told that the gods will was revealed by the rustling of the oak tree. (Hamilton 27)

her to give him the baby so he could swallow it. She hid Zeus in a

Mythology serves to create an explanation for why the world is the way it is. All religions have mythology in them and myths help people understand history. Myth can mean so many different things to different people. Some myths are total fiction, while others may have a hint of truth in them. But most myths are more of a symbolic and metaphoric truth, rather than a literal truth, because most of the time myths cannot be proven and people are not trying to prove that they are true. Myths become true to the people who believe in them and they use them as a sort of lens through which they see the world. They use myths to create explanations for themselves as to why the world is the way it is and they use them to help cope with the difficulties of life. Myths are a natural outgrowth of our imagination and our passions.

Every culture, religion, and beliefs have their own ideology on how the earth was created and the story of how the first person was formed. Many beliefs come from science and religion however there is also myths that have been passed down from generation to generation. So, who is right? How did the earth form? I believe that there is no right answer and that every myth gives a person something to believe in. If you take an in depth look at these myths, you will become mesmerized at some of the stories. Today we are going to dive into two myths from two different cultures.

Ancient Greek society fell over 2000 years ago but despite this, its mythology still continues to influence our western society. References to Greek mythology can be found all through time and in our western culture. The influence of Greek mythology can be found in our science, arts and literature and our language. When Ancient Greece fell to the Roman Empire, Rome adapted its mythologies which still influence us today as they have through history. That is not to say that Greek mythology wasn’t influenced itself – Greek mythology has links with the bible and the early Mycenaean’s. It has also been recognised as one of the earliest forms of paganism.

Greek and Roman mythology is well know. The people of that time period were passionate about the gods and did everything in their power to please them. Like most religions the goal is be like one of the gods in order to achieve good fortune or to gain everlasting life. One of the most interesting characteristics about the Greek and Roman Gods is how the gods are not perfect in that they make the same mistakes that the average human would make. These characteristics were put into place to allow ancient Greeks and Romans to effectively relate to the gods making them more believable. This is unlike other religions where the god(s) are shown as the all perfect character making no mistakes. These characteristics relate back to the family and

Hundreds of years ago people did not have the technology to explain different forces of nature. They created gods, each with separate powers, to rule their domains. Some of the gods were merciful, some were wicked, and others were merely servants of more powerful gods. Looking at the gods, it is easy to tell what the civilization most valued. I am going to look at the Greek and the Norse gods to compare what was most important to their societies.

     Mythology is a way that the ancient societies explained why things are the way they are and how they came to being. Two ancient societies are infamous for their mythology. These societies are Greece and Rome. Great authors were made be the mythological works they wrote. Homer was a famous author who is best known for his epics. It is from these epics that most of the gods and actual myths well known. I am writing of two of these gods in particular, Saturn and Dionsysus.

The very first thing I am able to think of with this is the Bible. It encompasses everything that has

The Works and Days is a Greek myth containing an appropriated version of the Israelites Ten Commandments from The Bible. Throughout Works and Days, the myth constructs a virtually identical set of rules pertaining to moral conduct; all which, if disobey, are punishable by Zeus. Both the Israelites and the Greeks believe that their Lord (for the Greeks, specifically all powerful Zeus) distributes retribution to those who disobey these moral rules of conduct. In both texts, these guidelines for judgment are crucial because they give formal validity to the punishments that each god distributes. The similarities found are as a result of the Greek appropriation of the Israelites mythology, however, the differences and variations within the

There once was a god named Perculus, he was one of the three lost gods that were destroyed by Zeus. He was the god of education; he was responsible for teaching all the citizens of Greece the basic ways of living. Once Zeus got into power he was jealous that someone other than himself was teaching the citizens so he sent him to Hades, along with two other gods for other personal reasons, Diminutive the original god of Truth and, Gargantuan the god of punishment.

What would one think if he goes back in time to a period where myths were common? Would one believe it to be true or hold his own opinion? I would say it depends on the situation and on what type of myth it is. Classical period was full of myths. There were many aspects to mythology that were held important in the classical era. One of the most significant aspects of the Greek mythology was that it was the primary concept to put humans at the midpoint of the universe. Not like the animal deities of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, the gods of the Greeks were human in form. Not only did they have human physical character, but they symbolized the touching flaws of humans as well. Unlike the gods of other ancient

Greek Mythology played a monumental role in the structural development of ancient Greece, not only as a society, but as individuals. Surprisingly, their religion was not exactly one of originality. In fact, their religion was loosely based on earlier cultures’ religions. It bears many strikingly similar resemblances to some of the oldest recorded religions in history. Ancient Greek religion is a type of polytheism called “Monarchial Polytheism.” That is, they believe in several different gods and deities but there is a supreme ruler above all of them. In order to fully understand how similar the mythological systems of religions have been throughout the years, you must look back towards the earliest of recorded civilizations. Polytheism

Not all mythology comes from ancient cultures. People all around the world continue to create new myths and rework existing ones. Modern technology such as movies, publishing, telecommunications, and the internet allow folktales, rumors, and myths to travel faster around the world. A feature of some modern legends is that they originated as artistic creations. Modern legends offer images of the best and worspect aspects of mankind. Modern myths suggest that good behavior can be rewarded while greedy and foolish behavior will be punished. While modern mythology is different from ancient mythology they are similar in that monstrous and scary partly human creatures still fascinate people today. Vampires and Werewolves are examples of modern mythologies most fascinating monsters. Modern mythology spawns from life’s wonder, excitement, mystery, and fear.