Ancient Greece has been a fascination of mine ever since I was a child. It amazed me how such an ancient civilization knew so much and made so much progress, despite their lack of modern technology. I would spend hours reading the article about Greece on Wikipedia, and many more hours afterwards reading children's websites about the history specifically. The part that fascinated me the most was not how they built their temples or their advanced knowledge of geometry, but their mythology. The intricacies of their folklore managed to grab my attention and not only hold it, but entertain me; and they still do today! Here are some of the reasons why I love Greek Mythology so much.
1. Greek heroes are not "perfect" or "entirely good".
For the Greeks, being a hero didn’t mean you saved a puppy or helped out an old lady. It didn’t even mean you had superpowers or were a crime-fighter. All ‘hero’ meant in Greece is that you were half god. The title 'hero' didn't have the connotations we put on it in our culture, and therefore didn't have the same pressures or expectations that we have. The idea of an imperfect hero is one that was new to my mind as a child, and now it is an idea that is dear to my heart.
2. The Greek gods are just as messed up as any of us are.
That's right, you heard me; the Greek gods are just as messed up as all of us are. The family tree of the gods and titans, as described by Hesiod, takes strange turns and is just as messed up as anyone else's. Zeus has more affairs than he does children. Hera is insanely jealous (can you really blame her, though?). Aphrodite was born of sea foam and the genitals of her great-grandfather Uranus. Dionysus was born from Zeus’s thigh, and Athena was born from his head. Not to mention that the entirety of the genealogy of the gods has been argued over since their conception. Who among us can't relate to being messed up, or having a messed up family?
3. Grade A artistic depictions.
Need I say more?
4. Weird mythical creatures.
You ever seen a centaur? It's half human, half horse. HALF HORSE. It has six limbs. Four of them are horse limbs. You could, in theory and with the proper consent, ride a centaur in Greek mythology. But centaurs can't ride other centaurs, because their bottom half is the horse half. How crazy is that? How crazy do I sound typing that?
5. Amazingly powerful goddesses
Athena, the goddess of war. Demeter, who lost her daughter, Persephone, to Hades and refused to let anything grow until she got her daughter back. Hera, who let no woman, mortal or not, interfere with her marriage without consequence. Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Aphrodite, who would not allow any man to hold her back. Hecate, the goddess of magic and the crossroads. Is there really anything else more empowering than being a goddess?
6. Insane theories about what purpose the Greek gods REALLY served.
Much like any religion, the religion of the Greeks is supposed to have served a purpose. Since we can't ask the ancient greeks, we are left only with the theories of classical scholars. As is true with most things, some of these scholarly theories are clunkers. Some of them just don't make sense, and others are just outright wrong. But, as to what theories you do and don't believe? I'll leave that up to you.
7. They're actually really entertaining.
Reading about the adventures of the Argo, Heracles' 12 labors, the Seven Against Thebes are just genuinely entertaining. Their story lines are full of drama, love, heartbreak, renewal and complex characters. Who wouldn’t love a good story like these?
8. Not every story has a happy ending.
In the myth about Persephone, Demeter will not allow anything to grow until she gets her daughter back. After arguing with Hades and Demeter, Zeus decides to let Persephone come home, so long as she has not eaten anything from the underworld. However, Persephone has eaten 6 pomegranate seeds. In the end, it is decided that she must spend 6 months of the year with Hades, and 6 months with Demeter. This kind of harsh reality that is found in the Greek myths can be sobering, and good reality check material.
9. Greek myths can be so strange, that they're hilarious.
I mean, come on. Aphrodite was born from some guy's penis and the sea foam. I don't know if it's just my particular brand of humor, but I just find some of the things that happen in the myths hilarious.
10. There's no "practical" lesson to be learned from them for us.
There's no lesson that's applicable to life today to be learned from these myths, but for the Greeks, there are very important lessons to be learned. Much like the lessons Christians learn from the bible, the Greeks learned about the importance of not angering Zeus, or where the world came from, or why we have winter.
