The Importance of Greek Mythology

The importance of Greek mythology Today, the ancient Greek myths still fascinate readers throughout the world. There are thousands of books written about the importance of Greek mythology in the formation of modern-time societies. There are hundreds of movies created about the adventures of Greek heroes. Apparently, the events, creatures, and people described in the ancient Greek myths were not real; however, their mythical nature does not undermine the importance of Greek mythology in defining the world of fantasies and in everyday life of people today. Rose argues that myths were the tales which meant simply ‘words’ (1). It indicates that the purpose of the myths was to create the fantastic presentation of the life of ancient Greeks. Furthermore, Rose suggests that “full as they are of impossible events, it needs no argument to prove that they differ widely from Thucydides’ account of the Peloponnesian War, or Hippokrates’ discussions of the effects of diet on a patient” (1). Indeed, Greek myths had little in common with the true history of the Greek people; nevertheless, those myths remain an important part of ancient Greek history as well as today’s humankind. To understand the importance of Greek mythology for modern people, it is important to take a look at the allegorical meaning of the tales. Rose suggests that Greek myths were allegories which concealed deep meaning and talked about the wisdom of the rules, the courage of ordinary people, and the eternal quest of humans to become equal to gods. Indeed, the myths convey values and cultural beliefs that have helped shape the thoughts of people all around the world. Presently, the ancient heroes such as Hercules and Achilles are still referred to as the ideal individuals by millions of people. Children grow up watching movies and television shows about action packed adventures of ancient Greek heroes. Of course, there are many heroes of the modern type; nevertheless, none of the modern heroes are able

Cited: Dowden, Ken. The uses of Greek mythology. Routledge, 1992 Graf, Fritz and Thomas Marier. Greek mythology: an introduction. JHU Press, 1996 Hard, Robin and Herbert Rose. The Routledge handbook of Greek mythology: based on H.J. Rose 's "Handbook of Greek mythology". Routledge, 2004. Nilsson, Martin. The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology. Forgotten Books, 2007 Rose, Herbert. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. Routledge, 1991