Greek_Mythology_Research_Paper

=** Assignment 2.2: Culture Research Project **= =** Greek Mythology: Cultural Research Paper **=

Emilie Buske-Ferman LS 5633: The Art of Storytelling Summer 2010 Dr. Judith Moreillon Texas Woman’s University

Assignment 2.2: Culture Research Project Greek Mythology
Every culture has a religion based on beliefs, stories, myths, and legends. Some religions were conceived to create a hierarchy within the classes and structure for society. Others were meant to make sense of the world. For many people, religious beliefs give a calmness and explanation for natural phenomenon, such as earthquakes and death. The ancient Greeks created an intricate and complex god and goddess system. Through myths and oral storytelling, stories were told of the gods and goddess, heroes and monsters, to explain all of the things that “happened to people that were beyond anyone’s control” (Vinge 1999).

For the ancient Greeks, however, these myths were more than just stories; they were “a way of making sense of the world—how it began, why summer gives way to autumn and the leaves fall, why some people are lucky and some are not, what becomes of man after death” (McCaughrean 1993). According to Eyewitness Books, myth comes from the Greek word “mythos” meaning a word or a story (Philip 2005). For the Greeks, these stories were the truth and their way of life.

Classical Greece dates from the 600-400 BC. Government, democracy, discoveries, theatre, art, and architecture thrived. Each city-state within Greece had its own variation of the oral myths. These stories provided answers and taught important lessons. Greeks were educated through storytelling, school, social gatherings, and theatre (Payment 2006).

Almost every aspect of nature was considered to be spirits. The Greeks believed the gods were concerned about mankind’s welfare (Coolidge 1949). This is demonstrated in Zeus’s intervention between Demeter and Hades. They believed that if shown the proper respect through worship and festivals, the god and goddesses would be helpful and not punish the humans (Payment 2006).

The care and concern of the gods and goddesses is illustrated in the story of Persephone and Demeter. When Demeter neglects her harvesting duties and human beings begin to suffer, Zeus intervenes to ease their pain, hence the explanation of why we have seasons. Most of the research states that Persephone ate four pomegranate seeds and must spend four months in Hades. Variations on this number occur in retellings. In Greece, temples were erected in Demeter and in Persephone’s honor to worship the queen of the dead. Persephone was believed to hold the human race together. The pomegranate was thought to be a symbol of fertility as Persephone spent four months in the underworld because she ate that fruit, and the rest of year on earth for harvest time (Philip 2005).

Today, most Greeks believe in the Christian or Greek Orthodox faith (Sioras, 1998, 5). Science has dispelled many of the legends. Even though we do not celebrate the gods and goddesses of the Greek myths, these stories are told again and again and are the muse of countless literature references, architecture, movies, and art because they are simply good stories and have universal themes.


 * Works Cited **

Bolton, Lesley. //The Everything Classical Mythology Book: Greek and Roman Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and Monsters from Ares to Zeus.// Adams Media Corp., 2002. Print. Coolidge, Olivia. //Greek Myths.// Ill. by Edouard Sandoz. Houghton Mifflin, 1949. Print. D'Aulaire., Ingri and Edgar Parin. //D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths.// Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 1962. Print. Geringer, Laura. //The Pomegranate Seeds: A Classic Greek Myth.// Ill. by Leonid Gore. Houghton Mifflin, 1995. Print. Green, Jen. //Myths of Ancient Greece.// Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2001. Print. Hawthorn, Nathaniel. //The Pomegranate Seeds//. Tanglewood Tales, 1853. Accessed 5 July 2010 []. Web. McCaughrean, Geraldine. //Greek Myths//. Ill. by Emma Chichester-Clark. Margaret K. McElderry Bks, 1993. Print. Payment, Simone. //Mythology Around the World: Greek Mythology//. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2006. Print. Pearson, Anne. //Ancient Greece// (DK Eyewitness Books). DK Children, 2007. Print. Philip, Neil. //Eyewitness Mythology//. DK Publishing, 2005. Print. Sioras, Efstathia. //Greece//. Gareth Stevens Publishing, 1998. Print. Vinge, Joan D. //The Random House Book of Greek Myths//. Ill by Oren Sherman. Random House, 1999. Print.