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We mythologize because mythology presents guidelines for living. In Christianity, God has always said to follow his rules of compassion and truth to being Christians. The word “christian” actually means “Christ-like,” so we need to obey his laws but, if we put all of his faith in Him and believe that Jesus died for us, we will be welcomed into the Kingdom. In other religions, like Islam, Hinduism, and Greek mythology, things like special holidays, lifestyles, rituals, and beliefs are contributed to guidelines for living and believing in those religions. So my question is, what other guidelines for living in a religion can a person follow?
@mmegs Do you think that humanity would have had a harder time finding their purpose in living if they hadn’t had the gods?
I think humanity would have had an easier time finding a purpose for life because they would not have spent their time comparing and living for the gods, but living for themselves. Fulfilling their hopes and dreams would make their life more fruitful for their self image, keeping their heads up and pushing towards integrity and personal goals.
@hannahwelsh
I think that Greek myths got stretched to make them more entertaining and fun to the people who were believing it at the time. In these times, almost nobody believes Greek mythology because they are too elaborate and all over the place. What story do you think is the most elaboate and craziest one of all?We mythologize because we need role models. We, by nature, are afraid, but curious. Most people do not take the first step unless the road is already paved. The characters of mythology are the road pavers for the people who look up to them. Like, as Christians, we sometimes ask, “what would Jesus do?’ because we look for guidance in our decisions. Similarly, some people look up to the gods and goddesses of mythology for that guidance. Some people use the acts of these fierce gods to be courageous, to be brave, to kind, to be smart. All these things are displayed by the gods, and when in doubt, as fragile, unknowing humans, we look to them, and they are the perfect role models. Who are some role models in your own life?
@rochelmgo Some Greeks still believe in mythology today simply because that is what they were raised in, and, to some degree, it is a logical belief system in their culture. Do you think that if the Greeks stumbled upon mythology later in their lives instead of being raised up in it, they would still believe it today?
@mmegsj The answer definitely depends on what time period we are talking about. The term “humanity” is very broad, but in the earlier cultures, like the time of Abraham and the Old Testament, almost no one was an atheist. They all believed in God simply because He was so real to them. I think they would most definitely have had a hard time if God wasn’t present in their lives.
In my opinion, our heroes today are athletes or movie stars or Jesus for example. Whereas the Greeks’ heroes were gods and Trojans and beasts that were very great creatures and could control many things. So, no our heroes are not similar to the Greeks’. List some differences between our heroes and the Greeks’ heroes.
Humanity in the olden times would have definitely had a harder time finding their purpose in life without mythology. Faced with unexplainable events everyday (because they did not have the advanced science and research that we have today), the Greeks had to come up with some sort of an explanation to satisfy the questions of the people. Also, because of Greek mythology telling of the creation story and the fact that there is a god for everything, the Greeks could not have gone on living without a god to blame, to worship, to pray to, or to marry. If Greek mythology never existed, what would the state of humanity look like today?
@nate1234
If the Greeks did not make all of the famous Gods of Olympus and all if its other minor characters, then we wouldn’t have all the well-known gods that are known all across the as world as famous fake gods. What would your favorite story about the gods of Greek mythology be?We mythologize because it is very entertaining to read about supreme gods with their own characteristics, personalities, and powers. Each person in the book has unique personalities and stories that we can either relate to, be amused by, or learn from. It also creates a new form of imagination because of the unusual creatures or monsters mentioned in the stories. Why do you think greek mythology also consists of biblical stories?
We mythologize to explain the unexplained. Myths can provide the explanation for possible phenomenons that can’t be properly explained by man. Also, we many times mythologize as a result of fear from our Creator. We don’t want to allow someone else to dictate how we view the world we live in, so we create gods and goddesses to explain our creation and world instead. For example, the story of Demeter and Persephone. I know @hannahwelsh made mention of this myth for her example, but it coincides perfectly with my point so I’m going to borrow it. In this myth, Demeter goes down to Hades to visit Persephone which explains the seasonal change from fall to winter to spring. A story as this one seems very logical to the uneducated mind. We now know that seasons have to do with the rotation and tilt of our world, but back before this was know a myth like this seemed believable. Mythologizing allows unexplained events to have meaning to inexperienced people. Are there still people that believe mythology is the explanation for everything? If so, if people now-a-days know that either science or God are responsible for the things that are created in the world, then why do they still believe that mythical gods created them instead?
I believe myths explain the unexplained. In each of the Greek myths, it illuminates the reasoning behind something that couldn’t be any way else explained except through stories.They invented reasons behind actions and concepts in order to feel stability for their own actions and perspectives. For instance, the Greek story-tellers explained lightning came from Zeus and how Pandora, the first woman, set the stage for destruction on mankind. By using these stories to explain their environment and other topics, they were able to be at peace in the way they reacted with their own environments. For instance, they would offer up sacrifices and praises to appease the gods, like more rain, or maybe help in romantic struggles. Today, we use science to satisfy our curiosity in the way we interact with our environments, while back then they wrote and told elaborate stories. Why and how is mythology relevant and important in today’s society, if at all?
@sofiahmckeown I think that people are always trying mythologize the future because no one is certain of what the future consists of, and then they imagine it and tell it through a story with the characters in greek mythology. They imagine the future through mythology by explaining how the world is going to end, what is going to happen to us or the Earth, etc.
Great point! I don’t think we can. Science allows us to determine the cause or causes of the disaster as well as the effect of the disaster. As Christians we always say that our explanation for a lot of things is “Jesus has a plan”, which is true, but it isn’t concrete information that can be proven. Science provides explanations that can’t be matched. I am by no means saying that God isn’t in control or He has no power because he does, but in this situation it isn’t fitting. My question then is can science fail, or not be sufficient, in explaining natural disasters?
@danielhendrickson,
I think that they chose to create their gods to look like themselves and have the same faults because humans didn’t want to be accountable to their own faults. By using gods as the precedents for these certain errors, they could blame it on the gods and just say, “Well, they started it.” Even in today’s society, people don’t want to have to feel accountable for their sins, and instead base their moral code on how they are in relation to the people around them.@426624gardner I think people believe myths mostly by choice instead of scientific facts because it brings more excitement in life and is something that can make you curious as to what will happen if it is tested.
Mythology is relevant in today’s society because we have so many things around us named for things in Greek mythology. We have food chains named after mythological women (Daphne), and we also have stars and planets that carry the names of gods and goddesses. We also have companies named after Greek gods and goddesses. Mythology plays a huge role in our modern society. Why has mythology survived for so long, and why do we continue to use it to name things like celestial bodies?
@danielhendrickson,
Another thing is that because the fact that the humans gave the gods human traits and idolized them, they subjugated themselves lower than the gods and became less than they were in the first place. And since the gods weren’t real, they could never live up to the traits assigned to them. Over time, as the people start subtracting more and more moral traits from the gods’ personas, the people’s moral traits descend with the gods’. As people’s moral standing fell, what things could have happened because of this?We mythologize to explain the unexplained. Throughout the years where people didn’t have the resources to define natural causes in our world, they would explain the pattern of events through stories of great, all-powerful beings leading the ineffective cause of such rare occasions. For instance, the Greeks created gods with the powers and abilities to destroy the world if that was their will; such as Zeus or Hades. The Greeks could have used the explanation of death to testify the power of Hades, or if the sky had been exposed with lightning, they could have described it as Zeus in battle while reigning lightning bolts on earth. The creation of these dominate gods, led to the unanswered questions people had about the unnatural causes of nature (tsunami’s, earthquakes, tornado’s, etc.) according to the Greeks. Did they create the gods just as an answer to unexplained events on earth?
i believe the Greeks continued to believe in mythology because they had an unanswered question to the origin of life and earth. mythology was the closest thing to the earth’s creation as they had, so they accepted the myths that had been created many years ago. what would you say about this?
I believe the reason people mythologize is to explain the unexplainable. People come up with the most absurd ideas sometimes to try and explain things that, simply, cannot be fully understood. For example, Greeks claimed that if a tsunami took place, then Poseidon must have been angry about something. However, the true alternative is very different than that which the Greeks declared. Ultimately, I think that those who mythologize are just looking for answers and searching for the truth; only they do not understand that myths will not help achieve that goal. What do you think people are ultimately searching for when they come up with mythological stories such as the ones we have been reading?
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