2006-09-15 22:21:31 · 5 answers · asked by tnatlapia 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
I would like to disagree with Grendle. To quote Richards, 'The word myth in English means two contradictory things: first, a story that is widely believed but not true and second, a story everyone knows is not real, but which expresses powerful truths'.
I have just completed an interpretation of Euripides Medea and though the story is based on part of the Argonaughtic myths, it has a very important place in aiding the reconstruction of the Ancient Greek ideology. Through Euripides writing we can see the expected roles of the male and female in Ancient Greece, attitudes to children, parenting, ethnicity and social identity.
2006-09-18 02:06:06 · answer #1 · answered by samanthajanecaroline 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No no.
Myths are NOT based on truth, unless you really believe there are a bunch of ubermen fighting with tigerpeople in the clouds.
Myths can tell us a lot about an ancient culture ... what the people liked, disliked and feared, what they valued, their mores and social rules.
What they can't do is tell us anything about a culture's history or lineage. Because they are not based on truth and fact.
2006-09-16 09:24:53 · answer #2 · answered by Grendle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might be a partial truth. But if we don't have anything else, our only hope to find out something is Archeology and to "band" the pieces together and to get an idea about that culture we have the myths.
2006-09-16 06:47:19 · answer #3 · answered by bizkit_ 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
myths are based on some form of truth, ritual and religious beliefs. Maybe looking up some sites on Archaeology, Anthropology, and Ethnography may serve as more of an insight to the basis of myths.
2006-09-16 06:49:48 · answer #4 · answered by spearchukka2003 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A great deal. All myth in one way or another has its basis in fact.
2006-09-16 05:33:20 · answer #5 · answered by eccentriclady 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋