希腊论文

The Influences of Greco-Roman Myths on Modern Society Ancient Roman and Greek civilization is the origin of western civilization. Just like the other myths, Greco-Roman myths present a meaningful progress that ancient Greek from savagery to civilization. In other words, It has profound influences upon western civilization. it includes literature, vocabulary, idioms, constellation, etc.

The influence on modern literature

In ancient times, Greek created their own myths, they worshiped the gods and goddesses they created. After Rome invaded Greece, Rome accepted Greek culture. Almost everyone worshiped gods,so people in ancient Greece usually take the person in the myths as symbols. For example, “the Achilles’Hell”, which means a weak point that, can make someone or something in despair. “Helen of Troy”，which means a terrible disaster brought by somebody or something you like best. English dramatist Shakespeare borrowed the myths to create Troilus and Cressida , the poem Venus and Adonis. English romantic poet Shelley wrote the Prometheus Unbound,Hymn of Apollo by Greco-Rome myths. There are so many other writers used myths to create their writings. In a word, the Greco-Roman myths has a huge influence on modern literature, without Greco-Roman myths, there may not exist so many literatures.

The influence on modern vocabulary

The Greco-Roman myths have greatly enriched the English vocabulary. Month: January, from the god Janus who keeps the doors in the Greco-Roman myths.;March, from the Ares God Mars;

June from the Juno. Besides month, there are many common noun from the

Greco-Roman myths, such as Cereal, from the goddess Ceres in the Greco-Roman myths who charged the grain and the earth. Odyssey, from the Odysseus.

The influence on idioms

In the big family of English idioms, there are many idioms about Greco-Roman myths. For an example, Apollo,the God of Sun, is responsible for light, wisdom, prophesy, music, poetry and medicine. So in western world , Apollo stands for masculinity , so people often use it as a metaphor of a handsome man. Damon and Pythias,In Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.

The influence on constellation

Constellation doctrine, as an ancient discipline, she has a unique wisdom. Every sky stars are related to the Greek and Roman gods. Of course, are related to the Greco-Roman myths. For instance , Taurus(April 20 to May 20),it’s patron is Heracles and Venus. There is a story about the origin of Taurus, The story went that Zeus fell in love with Europa, the daughter of Agenor who was King of Phoenica. On one day while she was playing by the waters edge, she caught sight of a majestic white bull grazing amongst her fathers heard. When she approached the bull, it knelt down and let get on it's back. Once she was on, it sprang to it's feet and took off to the sea in Crete where Zeus made her his mistress. Today, there are so many people who rely on constellation to make their decisions, in a word, the constellation has a great significance on people’s life.

Conclusion