Greek Mythology? why mythology?

So i'm in 11th grade, and we are studying mythology in my English class. But somethings bugging me.

My teacher said a myth is something that has no truth to it at all. Yet we are studying Greek mythology how do we know it's mythology, how do we know theres no truth to it? My teacher would get offended if I said Jesus Christ wasn't real, yet it has just as much proof to it as ancient mythology does, it wasn't mythology to them. But not just Greek all of the mythology , at the time, any civilizations. I don't know, I just think it's arrogant to say the the popular religions now days are religions and the popular religions back then are myths.




Your thoughts?

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


A myth is a traditional story, usually with no factual basis, that is accepted as history. The Greeks tried to explain things that they couldn't understand through stories that they could understand. For instance, if you don't understand the mechanics behind rain, you try to explain it through a story of god crying.

--airspoon

[edit on 6-9-2010 by airspoon]

Don't worry... the story of Jesus will end in the same fate. Students of the future will be studying the bible in "Western Mythology" or perhaps "Christian Mythology" as a chapter in their humanities class

That is an amazingly insightful question!!!

I guess the answer would be that for the majority of modern people the things described in the Greek stories are obviously unbelievable and silly, and should clearly be read as stories.

Why the same isn't true of the Christian creation story I have to say that I don't have a clue. It seems like it's a bit of a popularity contest i.e. the less people that believe in it then the more you are allowed to call it a myth.

As far as I am concerned they should be teaching you each different religion as equally viable and having the same amount of proof

You should try asking your teachers when they are going to get on to Christian Mythology

Well done for asking the question anyway, even though I can't give you a good answer.

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


One can resolve this, rather cavalierly, by saying that a faith becomes a mythology when enough people stop accepting it as a truth. If it is a truth, of course, our perception of it, defining as faith or myth, is not of any consequence.

A more interesting question to ponder, though, might be why the currently major faiths (Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism) have the staying power that they do. Greek, Roman and Norse mythology (among others) wasn't in vogue for all that long, but these other faiths have been around for thousands of years and show no signs of going away any time soon.

Is there more truth in these? Or is their longevity a reflection of something else?

Originally posted by XxRagingxPandaxX
So i'm in 11th grade, and we are studying mythology in my English class. But somethings bugging me.

My teacher said a myth is something that has no truth to it at all. Yet we are studying Greek mythology how do we know it's mythology, how do we know theres no truth to it? My teacher would get offended if I said Jesus Christ wasn't real, yet it has just as much proof to it as ancient mythology does, it wasn't mythology to them. But not just Greek all of the mythology , at the time, any civilizations. I don't know, I just think it's arrogant to say the the popular religions now days are religions and the popular religions back then are myths.

Your thoughts?

My Brother, it is you who should be teaching the class.

Here is the basic answer. It is called the "Right of Conquest", when two cultures fight, whoever wins, destroys the losers Culture. First the Egyptians fell to the Greeks and lost their Culture and Religion. The Egyptian Religion went under ground and carried on as certain mystery schools of thought, such as the Pythagoreans, but I digress...

The Greeks were then conquered by the Romans and Greek Gods were replaced with Latin names.

Christianity came along and could not be defeated. Christians were pacifists at the time that would rather die than hurt anyone else like their Master Jesus. So, rather than look like a savage beast, Rome adopted the religion of Christianity...

The tale goes on from here, but I guess I answered your question pertaining to the Greeks. Their Gods are no more because they were conquered.

With Love,

Your Brother



[edit on 6-9-2010 by IAMIAM]

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


Ah young student many myths have truths or are based on events that occurred only the names changed and the lilly guilded,the great hero's after their return from dealing with their Gods and trials and tribulations with nothing of use to them in mans everyday world,as above so below if the Gods were squabbling,dysfunctional,jealous etc that would explain a lot wouldn't it.Grab a hold of Joseph Campbells books.

Originally posted by IAMIAM
Christianity came along and could not be defeated. Christians were pacifists at the time that would rather die than hurt anyone else like their Master Jesus. So, rather than look like a savage beast, Rome adopted the religion of Christianity...

So, your theory is that the Roman Empire (in the person of Constantine) accepted Christianity as a public relations ploy? And this makes sense to you because... ?

reply to post by adjensen


The roman religion was viable from 753 BC to around 470 AD. I wouldn't call it "in vogue". If you consider it an extension of the Greek traditional religion which it bares much similarity to as it was modified over time, its even older.

And as for why Christianity was favored over the original religion in Rome, it was because of the conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312 BC. When the boss says "pray", the plebeians say "how hard?".

Christianity also excelled at the time as a religion because it was more focused on the poor and lower class, it had a grass roots following at first referred to as a cult, its original symbolic being the fish, not the cross. Christianity promised rewards for the poor and meek with no stiff tributes or sacrifices as required by the roman gods. Not alot of people have a bull to sacrifice to ensure the good favor of the gods.

It was cheaper to be a Christian, and we humans tend to be quite pragmatic at times.

reply to post by Gaderel


So, in effect, Christianity simply had a better perspective than the existing religions were? Constantine decided that his own deification was an improper assumption? Religion was to be decided by what the plebs found to be proper, rather than the age old "worship the Emperor" plan that had Constantine at the centre of the universe?

reply to post by adjensen


No Constantine apparently had a vision before a battle if memory serves. He still maintained his powers after conversion, and when a man with life or death decision capabilities changes religion, people will tend to follow suit.

At any rate, the change to Christianity was a gradual change, and not abrupt, Constantine gave the religion better acceptance by the majority. Had he not converted, it may well have taken longer to establish itself.

reply to post by Gaderel


There are, actually, no surviving histories of Constantine, so your belief is either imagined or implied. The fact of the matter is that, when Constantine rose to power, the figure of Roman Emperor was considered divine, and when he was done, he had abrogated that role in favour of Christianity.

The first, if you will, case of a god resigning in favour of God.

reply to post by adjensen


So you are ignoring Battle of Milvian Bridge? OK then. I can provide references, but maybe we should ignore them as well.

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX

My teacher said a myth is something that has no truth to it at all. Yet we are studying Greek mythology how do we know it's mythology, how do we know theres no truth to it?

Your teacher is mistaken.

A myth is a mostly fictional tale designed to communicate a deep truth. It is not the 'surface' story that is true or false, it is the lesson that it teaches.

For example, Jesus spoke in parables; the truth of the story of the Good Samaritan does not lie in whether or not the events spoken of actually took place or not, the truth of the story is in the lesson it teaches about how we should treat our fellow human beings even if they are our traditional rivals.

That is what you should understand about myth. The surface stories are entertaining, but what is the underlying truth about the human condition they are trying to convey?

Originally posted by Gaderel
reply to post by adjensen

 

So you are ignoring Battle of Milvian Bridge? OK then. I can provide references, but maybe we should ignore them as well.

Well, no, but there is no general consensus as to what Constantine believed that he saw, how he saw it, or even whether he saw anything at all, so it's impossible to say with any amount of certainty whether it happened or not, and whether it was his sole reason for converting or not. Again, the Roman Emperor was a god, so his abandonment of that for the subservience of this Judaic sect seems rather significant, and likely involves much more than a simple "hey, let's give this a try."

Originally posted by adjensen

Originally posted by IAMIAM
Christianity came along and could not be defeated. Christians were pacifists at the time that would rather die than hurt anyone else like their Master Jesus. So, rather than look like a savage beast, Rome adopted the religion of Christianity...

So, your theory is that the Roman Empire (in the person of Constantine) accepted Christianity as a public relations ploy? And this makes sense to you because... ?

Public relations ploy, exactly!

Why does it make sense...

Every ruler knows that he rules by the consent of his people. He must get their consent. He is only one man, with thousands under him who will follow him. People, are NOT subject to anothers WILL. They must hand it over for another to rule them. All people are KINGS for they have absolute sovereignty over THEMSELVES. This is what Jesus taught his people. He also taught them to respect each others sovereignty and to never usurp anothers. He taught them that it is better to die, than to claim anothers Sovereignty. He taught them that our divine duty with this sovereignty was to help each other and live in peace. Radical ideas which are a threat to any government.

This goes for Dictators, Monarchs, Presidents, Emperors, all rulers. So, Christians presented a problem for Constantine. He put them to death to try and get their subservience. All this did was attract followers. Roman rule was appearing weak before the masses for every cruelty visited upon Christians, only made them flourish. Worse yet, they did no harm to anyone anywhere they went, so why were they being tormented so? It revealed to the masses the cruelty of Rule!

Constantine had no choice if he wished to keep his Empire intact. He was an Emperor afterall. He was not some uneducated scoundrel. He could see the power here. Anyway, he could not just hand his empire over to this new cult which liberated man from Rule. No, he had to find a way to rule the cult from within.

There ARE a lot of people that still believe in the Greek Gods and Goddesses, yet our schools teach it as myth.

I'm pagan, and to be honest, I don't think they should teach mythology in the schools. When I first heard the myths, they resonated with me to the extent that I accepted them as my basis for religious belief.

Now if they had ONE mythology class, and taught it all - from New Testament to Kali to Zeus.

I'm glad they WERE taught in school, but I'm not so sure my Christian parents would agree.

But the fact is, there are a lot of people that still call those old Gods. There's people struggling in Greece to this day to have the old religion accepted - the Greek Orthodox church tries to squelch them - but, there HAVE been rituals at the temple of Zeus on old religious holidays in recent years.

I'm glad to see thinking students.

Originally posted by hadriana
There ARE a lot of people that still believe in the Greek Gods and Goddesses, yet our schools teach it as myth.

I'm pagan, and to be honest, I don't think they should teach mythology in the schools. When I first heard the myths, they resonated with me to the extent that I accepted them as my basis for religious belief.

Now if they had ONE mythology class, and taught it all - from New Testament to Kali to Zeus.

I'm glad they WERE taught in school, but I'm not so sure my Christian parents would agree.

But the fact is, there are a lot of people that still call those old Gods. There's people struggling in Greece to this day to have the old religion accepted - the Greek Orthodox church tries to squelch them - but, there HAVE been rituals at the temple of Zeus on old religious holidays in recent years.

I'm glad to see thinking students.

My Sister,

You have a beautiful view of the Lord God. Is there not enough wonders in his creation for us all to perceive them differently? Who can gaze out in a single life and behold it all.
Learn from all my Sister, especially those you disagree with, they have more to teach you. Love them all humbly, and carry your love for God, however you perceive him, however you adore him, close to your breast.

With Love,

Your Brother

Originally posted by adjensen
reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX

 

A more interesting question to ponder, though, might be why the currently major faiths (Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism) have the staying power that they do. Greek, Roman and Norse mythology (among others) wasn't in vogue for all that long, but these other faiths have been around for thousands of years and show no signs of going away any time soon.

Is there more truth in these? Or is their longevity a reflection of something else?

Lets look at your examples. Now Greek, Roman and Norse mythology was followed in relatively small areas by a relatively small number of people and was'nt generally exported abroad.
The difference with Christianity and Islam is that people of many different countries on many different continents were FORCED to accept Jesus or Allah or die. The crusades of the Christians and the Muslims in the second millenium were horrific. I find it inexcusable that the TWO main religions of the world had to convert people by force and fear. I thought that God and/or Allah were all loving. Or am I missing something?? Following the crusades - which lasted hundreds of years don't forget - people got so CONDITIONED to doing as the churches told them, religion became their life instead of just part of it and down the centuries parent after parent has conditioned child after child to accept 'the family' religion as truth instead of letting their children find their own beliefs in their own time. Anyway I'm rabbling now!! There is no more truth in the Quaran or Bible than there is in the Vedas, Eddas or any other ancient manuscript amd IMO it is because ALL religious texts have the same root. It is the same basic story told in very different ways.

My big beef is that it is not fair to teach Greek and Norse and Celtic mythology/religions as being dead.

I hear all the time that these religions are dead. That is a LIE.
Dan Hollaran is a govt. official, and he practices the Norse religion.
Thousands, maybe millions practice these religions.

They are not 'dead.'