希腊神话 英语 论文 Greek Mythology’s Influence

Greek Mythology’s Influence

外文学院欧阳思思12020102203179 Ancient Greeks were deeply religious and they worshiped many human-like gods. Greeks often narrated stories about their gods and goddesses in verbal and visual forms. This practice produced a system of mythology.

Among the principal Greek gods were the Olympians, residing atop Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. Besides the Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan, Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs, and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives.

In the wide variety of myths and legends that Greek mythology consists of, the gods that were native to the Greek peoples are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts". Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease, and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth, was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia, by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins.

Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the god of the dead, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage. Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus, revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia and Helios, were little more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be dedicated to a limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere.

In the ancient European world, Greek mythology had deeply impact on many aspect, like literature, art, architecture, philosophy. Even now, Greek mythology also has its influence on our daily life.

First, Greek mythology had huge influence on the literature.

Greek myths of gods are a complex system of interesting and inspiring tales. Mythology was at first passed down through oral traditions. With the invention of writing, people began to record myths in literature. And Greek mythology has been the source of literary masterpieces over the centuries.

Homer was the first to put myths into writing. The Iliad and The Odyssey tell the story of the Trojan War. With his remarkable sensibility in sounds and rhythms and supreme skills in vivid description, both the battle itself and the return of Odysseus came alive. Without Homer, the Trojan War myth would be incomplete to people after his time since the oral version would not be as accurate as writing iteself.

Hesiod, Homer’s contemporary, worked on The Theogony, in which the genealogy of gods and goddesses was recorded. There were other epic writers such as Peisander of Rhodes and Antimachus of Colophon, who helped to record myths. Next came the Homeric Hymns, a collection of 33 poems written in the Homeric epic style by later poets to honor various gods. The most notable are: the Hymn to Demeter, which relates the famous myth of the seizing of Persephone by Hades and Demeter’s search for her, and ends with the founding of the Eleusinian mysteries; the Hymn to Apollo, the first part of which describes the god’s birth on Delos and the second the establishment of his oracle at Delphi; the Hmyn to Hermes, alively and amusing account of the god’s achievements as a baby; the Hymn to Aphrodite, chich depicts the goddess of love herself yielding to the power of love and marrying Anchises; and the Hymn to Dionysus, which briefly tells the story of the god’s capture by pirates and the subsequent miracles he performed.

3 centries after Homer, it was the Greek tragedians’ turn to make great contribution to the cause. For example, Aeschylus’ Oresteia tells of the chain actions of slaughter and revenge under the same roof, daughter by the father, father b y the mother and mother by the son. Its exploration of the relationship between justice and law greatly enriched the myth of the Trojan War. Sophocles enriched the Oedipus story, which became the best tragedy ever composed according to Aristotle. Euripides gave his genius to the festival of Dionysia and his crazed Bacchae, pointing to a new dirction of worship and immortality. Greek myths were further enriched by Hellenistic and Roman poets Apollodurus, Virgil, Ovid, Apuleius and Plutarch.

Second, Greek myths has close relation to another marvelous Greek achievement--- Greek art and architecture.

These visual representations of myths are important, partly because many Greek myths are shown on vases earlier than in literary sources, and partly because visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not mentioned in any extant literary source.

The main visual survivors of Greek paintings are vase paintings. Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century BCE depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracle.

Sculpture also plays an important part in shaping a visual Europe. The Greek believed that their gods particularly loved to see strong fit graceful human bodies, and that the gods gave athletes their courage and strength. So most of sculptures at that time created a feeling of movement and tension. The Discobolus, made by Myron of Eleutherae, best demonstrates Greeks’ zeal in sport. The Greeks took games of all kinds very seriously, especially physical athletic competition. Since religion played a huge part in the lives of the early Greeks, sports in ancient greece were held as offerings to entertain their gods ad goddesses. In the classical era, the function of sculpture was enlarged. The Temple of Zeus at Olympia required relief