The Many Faces of Graeco-Roman Mythology
- achillesreel
- Sep 30
- 9 min read
Sofia
Believed to have stemmed from Proto-Indo-European mythology, which includes a pantheon of deities associated to the natural world and various moral and behavioural implications, Greek Mythology started as a series of myths and legends recounted through oral tradition, before being recorded between the 7th and 8th centuries BCE by poets such as Hesiod and Homer in immortal works such as The Theogony, Works and Days, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Whilst many works of Classical literature have since been lost, including the six poems of the Epic Cycle associated to the Trojan War, the written retellings of various myths and descriptions of religious practices throughout multiple ancient civilisations serve as the pinnacles of studying Classics, considering as they enable modern readers and audiences to explore and analyse the religious significance of mythology, as well as its role in society. Greek Mythology is a polytheistic religion which consists of all known objects, abstract feelings and concepts being represented by different deities, wherein the significance and power of the gods serves both as an explanation for the inner workings of the natural world, but also as a source of entertainment.
Similarly, though dates differ greatly, it is believed that prior to the Roman invasion of the majority of Greek city-states by 146 BCE they were already adopting and adapting Greek Mythology by around the 2nd or 3rd centuries BCE, thus crafting a rich mythological tradition that not only changed the names of most Greek gods, but also which adhered more closely to Roman values by emphasising certain aspects of how people were expected to behave, as can be inferred through Augustus’s commission of Virgil’s Aeneid for the primary scope of attributing Augustus’ position as the first Roman emperor to his divine heritage. Ultimately, despite the differences between Greek and Roman mythologies, their syncretism is referred to as Graeco-Roman or Classical Mythology and thus spans the study of myths, philosophy and political thought from Hellenic poleis and the Roman Empire, which evidently served a multiplicity of roles within the societies of both civilisations.
The word mythology, which comes from μῦθος, meaning story or legend, and λόγος, meaning speech, word or knowledge, is defined as a set of stories or beliefs about a person, institution or situation, particularly when belonging to particular religious or cultural traditions. In origin, being a polytheistic religion, Graeco-Roman Mythology consists of hundreds of different gods, who were said to control various aspects of the natural world around them, ranging from the sea, the sky and fate, to smaller things such as the seasons and the existence of particular flowers. For this reason, one of the most significant assets of Graeco-Roman Mythology is that it provided explanations for the nature of the world, particularly in a time in which science had not developed enough to provide answers to quintessential questions intrinsic to human existence, such as how the world was created, how people should live their lives and what happens after death.
In fact, whilst Graeco-Roman Mythology is generally referred to as being a single religious
tradition, mainly featuring the Olympians, minor gods, nymphs and various monsters, it actually consists of several contradictory myths, as well as multiple mystery cults, which essentially allowed people to have more personal and individual attitudes towards beliefs and the afterlife, often focusing on a particular divinity, such as Mithras, who was a Zoroastrian divinity worshipped by the Mithraic mysteries. To elaborate, the three main written sources concerning the cosmology story, which thus refer to the creation of the world and of human beings, are from Hesiod, Homer and from Orphic literature. Out of these, Hesiod’s Theogony and Work and Days first introduce the gods and offer advice on how to lead a moral life, whereas Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey respectively recount the last year of the Trojan War and the story of Odysseus’ return to Ithaca, differing from Hesiod’s interpretation on details such as the birth of Aphrodite and the identity of the first primordial gods. Vastly different from both of these sources, Orphism is a more modern concept, which draws from the belief that many Hellenistic religious beliefs and practices were associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, the very same hero who descended into the Greek underworld after the death of Eurydice.
Additionally, the main sources of information for Roman Mythology are texts like Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Virgil’s Aeneid, which respectively elaborate on Greek myths and recount Aeneas’ escape from Troy to found Rome. Despite the similarities between Greek and Roman myths as a whole, it is also worth noting that Metamorphoses and the Aeneid both vary from the original Greek myths due to their underlying political messages, with Ovid’s works featuring prominent messages of anti-authoritarianism, whilst the Aeneid instead serves to promote Augustus’ supposed divine right to be the emperor. In fact, whilst there are multiple differences between various Graeco-Roman cosmology stories themselves, the over-arching themes of hubris, fate, love and violence are prominent throughout much of the ancient world and the first religions to ever exist, also aligning well with mythologies from other civilisations, including the Egyptians and the Vikings.
Another role that Graeco-Roman Mythology fulfilled is that it was a means of entertainment, with its stories and epic poems being passed down through oral tradition, including both The Iliad and The Odyssey, bringing together people of all epochs, all revelling in the magic of the storyteller and the trials of various heroes. However, unlike many other contemporary mythologies that depended on oral tradition, the elevated literacy rates of the Greeks and Romans meant that, as Graeco-Roman Mythology flourished and gained popularity, more people and poets wrote testaments to the myths that it incorporated, hence explaining why it is one of the best preserved ancient mythologies.
Furthermore, though Greek plays and theatres originally began from 6th century BCE as a form of religious expression, mainly dedicated to Dionysus as the god of wine, revelries and theatre, the origins of Greek plays are equally contrived from mythological storytelling, blending religious traditions with innovative interpretations of myths. In fact, tragedies, which were the first type of Greek plays, are widely believed to be an extension of honorific rites towards Dionysus and were deeply influenced or based upon myths from oral traditions, presenting themes such as justice, human suffering, love and power through the use of acting on a stage. In fact, the word τραγῳδία is thought to be derived from ‘τράγος’ and ‘ᾠδή’, respectively meaning ‘goat’ and ‘song’, which is thought to be an etymological link to the practices of ancient Dionysian cults. Furthermore, according to Aristotle, the importance of tragedy is that it first enabled audiences to experience κάθαρσις, or catharsis, which is defined as the purification or cleansing that occurs when one releases strong or repressed emotions.
In fact, though many ancient tragedies have since been lost, their entertainment also
extended to the didactic messages conveyed about human nature, as is elucidated through works such as the trilogy of The Oresteia and The Persians, by Aeschylus, the Oedipal Trilogy and Electra, by Sophocles, and both Medea and The Bacchae, by Euripides. Moreover, Greek plays further developed to include comedies, or κωμῳδία, such as Dyskolos, The Frogs and Lysistrata, which were characteristic due to their happy endings, crude humour, political satire and exaggerated character archetypes, whilst satyr plays, such as Aeschylus’ Dictyulci, Sophocles’ Ichneutae and Euripides’ Cyclops, instead served to combine both tragic and comedic elements in theatrical pieces that were usually performed at Dionysian festivals. Thus another significant source of entertainment within Graeco-Roman Mythology is in the form of multiple religious festivals, which often featured worship, plays and games, and which served to create a sense of unity and joviality, as is the case for the festivals of Aphrodisia and Anthesteria in Attic Greece and both the festivals of Saturnalia and Fors Fortuna in Ancient Rome, which ultimately greatly shaped the lives of those who worshipped the Graeco-Roman gods.
Lastly, arguably one of the most important roles that Graeco-Roman Mythology fulfilled is that, as a religion, it provided gods for the Greeks and the Romans to believe in, giving them deities who could be thanked and blamed for both their fortunes and tragedies alike, whilst simultaneously bringing the hope that one could pray and offer sacrifices to attempt to appease the gods, allowing them a potential solution to any misfortune. However, considering as the Greek gods were notorious for being self-centred and petty, it should be deemed that this element of hope was not the most important aspect of the religion, but rather that, like many modern religions, Graeco-Roman Mythology was significant because of the explanations that it provides regarding what happens to people after death. In fact, whilst fate is often placed at the centre of an individual’s destiny, one of the core ideas at the foundation of Greek Mythology is that a person’s actions would dictate where in the Underworld they would end up, between the Elysium Fields, the Fields of Asphodel and the Fields of Punishment. In actuality, when considering Graeco-Roman Mythology, it is crucial to grasp that, though the depiction of the gods varied between individuals, these deities were never intended to be akin to the Judeo-Christian God, who is thought of as an omnipotent and omnibenevolent being. Instead, Graeco-Roman Mythology is founded upon the exploration of what people would be like if they were immortal and if they were not held accountable for their actions, delineating the importance that the Underworld held in keeping most individuals compliant with the moral systems established by Graeco-Roman Mythology.
Ultimately, though these gods were worshipped and revered for the power and authority that they held, their stories and personalities are not presented as ones that should be emulated, with both Zeus and Poseidon being morally reprehensible by today’s standards, whilst the jealousy and arrogance of Hera, Aphrodite and Athena mirror the hamartia of several Grecian heroes, such as Odysseus and Oedipus. Interestingly enough, Graeco-Roman Mythology does not distinguish deities or paint them in different lights based on their morality or how many people they hurt; whilst such actions are not condoned, the entire infrastructure of Greek Mythology is such that each god resembles what they represent or stand for, sharing similar aspects within their own personality. For example, as the King of the Gods and the god of the sky, Zeus at times serves as a decisive ruler who works hard to ensure that quarrels on Olympus are resolved, whilst not subtracting his plethora of negative traits as one of the most egocentric and arrogant gods of Olympus. Similarly, whilst Hera is depicted as jealous and vengeful to a fault, the psychology behind her pain over being constantly cheated upon strikes a nerve with those willing to empathise with her married life; whilst she is the goddess of childbirth, marriage and family, her own life as an Olympian serves as a representation of mistaken marriage and its consequences on a person's mental health, whilst still exposing some of her deficiencies, particularly as the mother of Hephaestus.
Overall, deities in Greek Mythology are viewed as more separate and unattainable entities, not due to moral superiority of any kind, but rather because they were born as gods. Similarly, many demi-gods are perceived as heroes due to their divine heritage, making them bridges between humanity and godhood, yet their status as mortals and often tragic demises elucidates their fatal flaws, serving as an injunction to the readers and audience for personal improvement and growth. For example, the references to virtues such as xenia (hospitality) and andreia (courage), in myths such as the story of Baucis and Philemon, several books of The Odysseyand the myth of Perseus, demonstrate the virtues that were respected in Attic society, whereas aspects such as blood crimes and hubris were highly condemned in myths, as in the case with characters such as Lycaon, Odysseus, Heracles and Tantalus. In contrast, Roman Mythology features a more substantial belief of living in the right way and following the example of heroes in order to achieve Elysium, with poets like Ovid writing about the gods in such a way as to heavily emphasise their negative traits and their deficits, delineating how the gods were intended as potent authority figures who had to be revered in order to survive, rather than perfect and omnibenevolent individuals. On the other hand, within Orphic religion, there is the belief that humans were dualistic, composed of a sinful physical body and divine soul, thus their beliefs and practices aimed at freeing the soul from the cycle of reincarnation, altering their religious beliefs and worship slightly in order to prioritise reincarnation and a concept akin to good Karma.
Overall, Graeco-Roman Mythology was an important part of ancient civilisations due to the multiplicity of roles that it played in society; as a religion, it provided hope and the belief that cosmologically superior beings controlled life, thus providing an element of control in the form of worship. However, considering its rich oral traditions and the divergence of myths between different groups of people and cults, it should equally be considered as a form of entertainment, which connected individuals and allowed them to partake in various festivals and forms of worship together. Lastly, but equally significantly, Graeco-Roman Mythology provided the Ancient Greeks and Romans with explanations regarding the nature of the world around them and advice on how they should live their lives morally, in the hope of reaching the Elysian Fields, which are themes that were further explored through Greek theatre and philosophical writings by individuals such as Plato, whose dialogues, such as his Apology, Symposium, Republic and Phaedo, demonstrate the versatility of Graeco-Roman Mythology when implemented as part of philosophical discourse and the Socratic method. Ultimately, though some of the stories include darker themes and tragic endings, Graeco-Roman Mythology represents an amalgamation of human experiences, from the pits of despair, to love and strength, whilst retaining a certain wariness of what human beings would become without the constraints of their own religion and of death.
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