Mythology the Foundation of Today’s Society

Myths have been around for many centuries. They are the stories of Gods in Greek and Roman culture. They are used to provide a better understanding on how the world came to be.

This is significant because it is the foundation of our beliefs today in culture and religion. In fact, they are still being made and told throughout the world. Myths also provide good sources of moral lessons and culture normalities. The above points highlight that Myths do hold a big part in our past and present day.

Mythology in the Greek and Roman culture was used to show how the human race was believed to have started. According to Hamilton in “Mythology:Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes”, the first writings were written by Homer. He took the first literature pieces made by the Greeks and revised and retold them as Myths. They used the Myths as proof of civilization. Homer’s writings showed us glimpses into how they lived and what their culture was like.

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Hamilton also mentioned how the Greeks thought the world came to be. She stated “the universe created the gods. Before there were gods heaven and earth formed. They were the first parents. The Titans were their children, and the gods were their godchildren. “ This further shows an outstanding understanding of the world's creation and leads the audience into a state of curiosity, which further allows us to form questions on what the world was like long ago and how it came to be. Without this foundation there may not have been the Big Bang Theory and other major roles in science. One of the other roles in science deals with Astronomy. Each planet is named after one God, which is very significant. This further proves Myths play a huge part in the building blocks of our modern culture and other sciences.

In our society having morals and having cultural standards is key for a unionized world. Myths started the basis of people forming a common ground, so we can further grow and prosper in our communities and throughout our world. Hamilton tells the story of Pallas Athena. She states “She was pre-eminently the goddess of the City, the protector of civilized life, of handicrafts and agriculture; the inventor of the bridle, who first tamed horses for men to use...In later poetry she is the embodiment of wisdom,reason, purity. Athens was her special city; the olive created by her was her tree; the owl her bird.” The story of Pallas Athena is a superb example of a moral lesson in a myth. When one reads her story, they may not recognize the moral embedded throughout the text. They may simply read it as an entertaining story just like we would with The Tortoise and the Hare; however, once you dig deeper and analyze the story it is easier to depict the author’s theme and the lesson he/she wants the reader to learn.

These stories show parallels between past and present beliefs. In this case, Athena teaches us about wisdom, having a sense of reason, and the art of purity. In “Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes”, Hamilton generates the idea that Greek Mythology played a major role in Egypt. “ The Greeks made gods in their own image. That had Not entered the mind of man before until then, gods head had no semblance of reality. They were unlike all living things. In Egypt, a towering colossus as fixed in the stone as the tremendous temple columns, a representation of the human shape deliberately made unhuman. Or the original figure, a woman with the cats had suggesting and flexible and human cruelty. Or a monstrous mysteriously thanks, I’ll leave from all that lives in Mesopotamia, bas- reliefs bestial shapes and like any beast ever known, and then with birds heads and lions with bulls’ heads and both with eagles’ wings, creations of artists who were intent upon producing something never seen except in their own minds, the very consummation of unreality.” Hamilton compares Greek gods and Egyptian gods and how they influenced one another’s cultures. Since Egypt and Mesopotamia are the founding places of civilization, it is recognizable that greek mythology and the role of Gods were integral in shaping society as we know it.

In conclusion, Myths have been shown to be foundational in present day society. Their influence in how people live and what they believe will be evident for centuries to come.