Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion (Part II)

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part I)

Previously, I discussed the contrast between mythology and the morals of the Greeks, and how exactly they justified it. Another way to reconcile these aspects is with the idea that the Greeks did not fully believe their own myths. This could be seen as odd as tales and fables are an integral part of any religion, modern religions demonstrate similar ideologies. However, it could easily be argued that either they did not believe their myths or that mythology was not regarded as the definitive truth at all times.

In many areas, myths conflicted with each other, the origin of Aphrodite being one such example. In Hesiod’s ‘Theogony’, it is said that when Uranus was cut into pieces, a part fell into the ocean and thus Aphrodite was born. This is the more commonly accepted version of events - however, it is also said by Homer that she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione, providing a completely different account of her birth. While minor differences in myths can be attributed to the method in which they were passed down, the existence of two completely different stories highlights how many versions of a single myth could exist. Of course, this does not mean that they never believed any myths, yet it can clearly be seen that myths were not set in stone and varied greatly. This can be attributed to many factors, such as literature confusing the narrative or even regional differences. In addition, Plato explains it by saying they were completely different entities, Aphrodite Urania (the ‘heavenly’ Aphrodite) and Aphrodite Pandemos (Aphrodite of sensual pleasure and uniting the people), emphasising how philosophers and writers attempted to explain the contrast between myths.

Moreover, this can be seen with the variance in the creation stories. In every religion, there are stories of how the universe came to be, likewise scientists believe the Big Bang was the origin of the universe, and the Greeks had similar stories. Interestingly, the Pelasgian creation states that the goddess Eurynome, born from Chaos, was the goddess of all things and was impregnated with the ‘universe egg’, from which everything sprang. In contrast, the Homeric version claims that everything came from Oceanus (the Titan personification of the ocean) and Tethys (the Titan daughter of Gaea and Uranus). Finally, the most well-known version of the myth is that Gaea was born from Chaos, and from her, Uranus and then the world was created. The discrepancies that exist between these distinct tales demonstrates the differences that could exist in one religion. This further proves that, while worship of the gods was required, the mythology surrounding them was not always clear or believed.

Even Plato, when describing the ideal state in the ‘the Republic’, says that he wanted to exclude myths because of how immoral they were. As philosophy developed and philosophers expanded their ideas of ethics and morals, mythology may have become more irrelevant, though not necessarily religion. Therefore, the unconscionable mythology can be reunited with the pious nature of their religion in many ways.

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part III)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part IV)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-1)

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-2)

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-3)