Tell me what you think about Greek mythology...?

Question

Was this like a form of entertainment, these epics and tales about the greek gods a godesses? I've been searching online about greek mythology and it seems so unreal. Its like a soap opera.
What i would like to know from you is if you believe in this.
We're taught about it in highschool yet they don't really explain why or how the greeks and romans came up with this stuff.
Did they really believe there were gods or godesses of war, agriculture, music, medicine, etc.

I also wonder why these stories stopped, and when?. Did they lose belief or what?

This has nothing to do with todays beliefs or religions, or my opinions on religion. I'm just trying to focus on and try to understand this stuff.

Answer 1

Well, first I have to say (and it might be a little uncomfortable, but trust me here)--you need to know some Greek history. Folklore doesn't always make much sense out of context. So if you know more about their culture and society, it might help you understand the myths more.

That said, I adore Greek mythology. I took hours and hours of Greek history and Ancient Greek and Greek religion and culture classes. The myths are really profound if you get down in them. It's sorta like Shakespeare--for the first few lines or so, it's totally unintelligible and seems like it has nothing to do with modern life. But once you get into it, it's beautiful and lyrical and really profound. Try not to take it too literally--look at it from a literary criticism point of view. Look at the metaphors (find them first, then study them.) Look at the characters--what do they really represent? Why do they do the things they do? They're there to teach you lessons--so pick them apart until a lesson starts to formulate in your head. I could study Greek stuff allll day. The mythology was a mix of comic book superheroes, ancestor stories, worship, hero tales, and bizarre explanations for the cosmos. The deities were personified ideas--not all of them were religious, though. There were atheists, too (like some major philosophers.) The Christians have their Bible, the Muslims have their Quran, Jews have the first part of the Bible, Hindus have Vedas--Greek religion and entertainment got all wrapped up together in their mythology.

Oh, and Greek legends are still around. You're reading them, right? They're still relevant. As to why they didn't continue their ancient religion, well, blame it on the Romans. Romans used religion mainly for social control and to unify a bunch of people in the empire who didn't have much in common. If everybody worships the emperor as a god, then at least they're not going to a million different churches and therefore, ignoring their duty to the government. Plus, Greek society got insufferably stuffy and boring over time and the wild rituals and mystery cults and pilgrimages kinda shut down. Some of the tamer aspects of Greek paganism made it into Greek Orthodox Christianity, but most of it just faded out under the strict moral standards of strict Christians. Party poopers.

Answer 2

When you study Greek mythology, don't think of it as "that didn't really happen". That isn't what is important. What is important is what the myths tell us about ourselves and our perceptions about our place in the universe, our relationship with the divine.

Even though I am a Christian and therefore believe in one almighty God, I can see why the Greeks could view someone as infinite and powerful as God as being multiple individuals. If you read through the Bible, you can see that there are many facets to God. It is interesting to see though how the ancient Greeks viewed the Gods as being so remote and not intimately a part of everyday life. They didn't feel a close connection to the divine. When they died, they went to the underworld, whose overseer was Hades. It was a pretty gloomy place, where the dead were just sort of waiting around. Only a very, very few were punished in Tartarus, and very, very few enjoyed the eternal rewards of the Elysian fields.

Why did these stories stop? Well, first they spread further, were absorbed by more cultures. They did finally stop though when God revealed his plan for our salvation through his son Jesus Christ. These stories stopped when the Gospel made its way into this part of the world. Think about St Paul and his letters to the Corinthians, to the Thessalonians. Christianity changed the ancient world.

Answer 3

Back in the time of Greek , Roman, Egyptian, etc, mythology they believed that there was one God and Goddess that ruled over all the other minor gods and goddesses. But, since there was so much in the world to deal with, the minor gods and goddesses took the control of those various things. Like Athena, she is the goddess of war and wisdom, and many times women would go to her in search of answers. So, yes they did believe in the many Gods and Goddess'. In some religions people still believe in more than one.
The stories were handed down orally and when a new religious power took over they made it wrong to speak of the old ways. Like the Christan church has done with many religions. The stories haven't stopped they are now written and even though some has been lost you can still find their stories. Their religions didn't die out but it has taken new forms and some people still hide from the church and society so they won't be ostracized.

Answer 4

Every culture, society, etc. is haunted trying to understand why we're here and what are we here for. So they all come up with these stories and super powers to answer those questions and adjust them as the way of life changes. The problem comes when they want their story to be the one true way. So everybody must believe, but it don't work that way. There have been more people slaughtered in the name of true religion/my story is right and if you don't subscribe I'll have to kill you. It's still going on today. The Romans got their gods from the Greeks only the names were changed to protect the incongruous.

Answer 5

i dont think it was a form of entertainment.maybe the epics were told as stories but,from what i have read of the ancient culture,then they did believe there were gods and godesses cocerned in the many aspects of human life.
essentially they came up with it to try and explain the unexplained or confusing.
the stories would have stopped being believed in around the time christianity came in the picture with one god and created and controlled,but needed no sacrifices.(i however am an athetist. jus saying) so technically they did "lose" their belief although the lost was speeded by constantine and other rulers bent on forcing christianity onto others.
if i believe? of course not. although it is like a soap opera but not so popularised by television.

Answer 6

Man has always know that he and his world did not come about by chance but due to a mighty power/powers. Since the knowledge we have today came to be known gradually-as man advanced so did his ability to understand. Even then man identified these powers to have similarities to them but bigger, more powerful-why Greek Gods/Goddesses had human appearance but abilities that humans yearned to do, have and so on. The forces of nature-wind,fire,water and so on man also knew instinctively had to have some direction,guidance -controlled by the gods. Why did man continually think of a power/powers greater than him responsible for his existence is that within man's soul -because within his soul there is the imprint of God. These gods were replaced by the Christan God for it was in the time of the Romans,Greeks and so on that Jesus Christ appears and after His Ascension into the Heavens the apostles and His disciples after receiving the gift of tongues-the ability to speak and be understood by other language people -went and taught and converted other peoples to Christendom.People get converted because what is being said obviously makes now more sense than their belief-o course also guided by the Holy Spirit(God).

Answer 7

Yes, they really believed that there were Gods and Goddesses of war, agriculture, music, etc. It is very soap opera-ish, I know. But, so is the Bible. Lots of violence, sex and impossible things happening. Even the Native Americans believed in different aspects of deity. When you think about it- its all really similar.

Who knows how they came up with it? Its all just stories, that people believed in. The difference is the way people connect with deity through the stories- whether its the mabinogion (a collection of celtic myth) or the bible.

Answer 8

Story telling was the way cultures passed on beliefs and understanding. Most people didn't know how to read and write so story telling was the only way to continue a culture. Due to technology, you very seldom see cultures using this method anymore. Yes, the peoples of ancient greece and other ancient cultures believed in alot of gods. There were gods for everything. You can blame the Catholic church for killing the interesting beliefs of other cultures.

Believe in Christ or die.

Boo!

Answer 9

I think mythology is awesome. I love reading the stories and I hope that they're true, but of course there is no way to tell. They believed in those gods and goddesses just as strong as people believe in the Bible today. I couldn't tell you exactly when the stories stopped, but it was because people started being monotheistic.

Answer 10

they didn't lose belief, but we've proved that gods don't control what they thought they did.