MYTHOLOGY Introduction and Background

Facts about Greek Myths  Little distinction between real and unreal  Myths don’t reflect the horror and brutality of primitive life  Myths were the creation of poets  The gods often act like no decent person would

Facts about Greek Myths  The Greeks made the gods in own image  The Greeks created a “humanized world”- gods exist in a world of humans, not the unknown  The Greeks feared the gods, but were also at ease with them  The Greeks transformed a world full of fear into a world of beauty

Facts about Greek Myths  Magic is used very little and astrology is completely absent  Ghosts do not appear on Earth because the Greeks were not afraid of the dead  Monsters appear, but only so heroes can overcome them

Purpose of Greek Myths  Show us how human race felt and thought ages ago  Reflect mankind as center of universe- a new point of view  Made a sensible, rational universe, not one of fantasy

Purpose of Greek Myths  Myths were unrelated to religion  Greek myths are early science- they were used to explain nature  Myths were used: –to explain the world –for entertainment