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There's a period of history where there's a spotlight on something for some reason. You can think of many reasons that might be. Greek mythology became very po

There's a period of history where there's a spotlight on something for some reason. You can think of many reasons that might be. Greek mythology became very popular because there was a spotlight on mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, and the islands around it. The Greeks had felt a reason to change for the better. Many traders would bring new innovations like the alphabet and a simple notion of wanting to be better off than their parents before them. They believed in progress. Many ideas of thought and telling stories brought that progress. The very fact that our language, thinking, and many ways of modern life are directly inspired by Greek myth goes to show the foundation they laid for us. This is exactly how I feel about space exploration around this time. There's just something special when there's a first time in history where there's a spotlight on one major challenge and the culture of thinking and progress emerges. The amount of stories that has came from space exploration has brought some kind of fantastic resonance. They tell us about ourselves in ways that are not religious or preachy. Some may even serve as warnings just like the Greek stories of Icarus flying too close to the sun and drowning in the sea. But we come to admire these stories as well. There's something glorious in trying to do something never been done before, even if it's doomed. The best part about myth is that nobody can tell you what it means. It's personal. It speaks to each of us differently and how we think about the world. Great article!

bigbillheck 5y ago
> Greek mythology became very popular because there was a spotlight on mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, and the islands around it. The Greeks had felt a reason to change for the better. Many traders would bring new innovations like the alphabet and a simple notion of wanting to be better off than their parents before them. They believed in progress. Many ideas of thought and telling stories brought that progress. This is an 'interesting' analysis, by which I absolutely do not mean anything close to 'correct'. There's a lot that's strange here, I'll just pick out one example. > wanting to be better off than their parents before them Can you explain how this is a particular Greek thing and how it's missing from neighboring contemporary cultures? And how do you square this with, say, 'Works and Days' and the various Ages within?
- thenerdhead 5y ago
  It’s a prominent example of well known myth that has stood the test of time. It’s a main theme in almost every major titan, god, and hero story. If it sounds like a strange analysis, then so be it. I happen to enjoy the comparison to modern myth because it remains largely the same.
  - bigbillheck 5y ago
    > It’s a main theme in almost every major titan, god, and hero story I'm assuming 'it' refers to: > wanting to be better off than their parents before them and I'm pretty much coming up blank in terms of examples. If you're thinking of the Uranus->Chronus->Zeus sequence, that's hardly the same thing. Cronus and Zeus were both motivated by revenge: > But great Cronos the wily took courage and answered his dear mother: “Mother, I will undertake to do this deed, for I reverence not our father of evil name, for he first thought of doing shameful things.” and > But when she was about to bear Zeus, the father of gods and men, then she besought her own dear parents, Earth and starry Heaven, to devise some plan with her that the birth of her dear child might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake great, crafty Cronos for his own father and also for the children whom he had swallowed down. And in fact Zeus took steps to ensure the cycle did not continue: > Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth and starry Heaven advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil. (all from Theogony, https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html) Now for heroes, which ones do you mean? Not Cadmus, not Orestes, not Odysseus, not Achilles, not Bellerophon, not Hercules. Oedipus killed his father and Perseus killed his grandfather, but neither was intentional.
    - 5y ago
Archelaos 5y ago
Nowadays mythology often comes in the form of historical cliché, especially about the ancient Greeks.
- sorokod 5y ago
  I believe this was always the case for all cultures.

bigbillheck 5y ago

> Greek mythology became very popular because there was a spotlight on mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, and the islands around it. The Greeks had felt a reason to change for the better. Many traders would bring new innovations like the alphabet and a simple notion of wanting to be better off than their parents before them. They believed in progress. Many ideas of thought and telling stories brought that progress. This is an 'interesting' analysis, by which I absolutely do not mean anything close to 'correct'. There's a lot that's strange here, I'll just pick out one example. > wanting to be better off than their parents before them Can you explain how this is a particular Greek thing and how it's missing from neighboring contemporary cultures? And how do you square this with, say, 'Works and Days' and the various Ages within?

thenerdhead 5y ago
It’s a prominent example of well known myth that has stood the test of time. It’s a main theme in almost every major titan, god, and hero story. If it sounds like a strange analysis, then so be it. I happen to enjoy the comparison to modern myth because it remains largely the same.
- bigbillheck 5y ago
  > It’s a main theme in almost every major titan, god, and hero story I'm assuming 'it' refers to: > wanting to be better off than their parents before them and I'm pretty much coming up blank in terms of examples. If you're thinking of the Uranus->Chronus->Zeus sequence, that's hardly the same thing. Cronus and Zeus were both motivated by revenge: > But great Cronos the wily took courage and answered his dear mother: “Mother, I will undertake to do this deed, for I reverence not our father of evil name, for he first thought of doing shameful things.” and > But when she was about to bear Zeus, the father of gods and men, then she besought her own dear parents, Earth and starry Heaven, to devise some plan with her that the birth of her dear child might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake great, crafty Cronos for his own father and also for the children whom he had swallowed down. And in fact Zeus took steps to ensure the cycle did not continue: > Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth and starry Heaven advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil. (all from Theogony, https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html) Now for heroes, which ones do you mean? Not Cadmus, not Orestes, not Odysseus, not Achilles, not Bellerophon, not Hercules. Oedipus killed his father and Perseus killed his grandfather, but neither was intentional.
  - 5y ago

Archelaos 5y ago

Nowadays mythology often comes in the form of historical cliché, especially about the ancient Greeks.

sorokod 5y ago
I believe this was always the case for all cultures.