The Meaning of Greek Myths

Paper Summary:

This paper examines three different Greek myths--the stories of Prometheus, Pygmalion and Endymion. It discusses the content of each myth and the lessons that can be learned from it. The paper aims to demonstrate how the Greeks used personified tales in order to explain the world and its processes and compares this to the way that stories are related in religion.

From the Paper:

"While all three myths do mimic the function of religious stories, there is a clarification that needs to be made. The Greeks did not believe in the myths as a religion. That might sound shocking. The myths did, however, provide the functions of religious beliefs/stories, but the Greeks only used their myths as a means to explaining the natural phenomena of the world. One might say that the myths were their only available "beliefs." This is crucial to understanding this entire paper, because people often think that the Greek myths were believed as a religion, when they were not. They were stories that provided explanation, meaning, and prescription, and while these three things mimic religious stories, as I have proved in this paper, this does not mean that the Greeks used their myths as a religion."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Riding, Laura. Anarchism is not Enough (University of California Press, 2001).
• Hamilton, Edith. Mythology (Back Bay Books, 1998), pgs. 85-87.

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