Ever since humans are humans, stories have been told as a way to convey wisdom while entertaining. Imagine a neolithic tribe, eating meat around a bonfire. “John hunted this mammoth this morning”, grown-ups would say to the youngest. “It was hard, but John managed to kill the animal and bring it to us”. This is pretty dull and it would not motivate the youngest to go hunting. So, they would have to make up an incredible story to leave them amazed and to grow their desire to join the exploration team. So, they would emphasize the perils and show how clever and strong John and his team had to be to beat the beast.
At some point, it was not enough to praise the qualities of the heroes. As a way to explain phenomena that seemed incomprehensible, storytellers would invent Gods and Goddesses that had supernatural powers, but, deep inside, were just like ordinary people: they were jealous, envious, vindictive. These stories would narrate how the world was created or the epic conflicts between them or between the worlds where they lived, like “heaven” and “the underworld”. There were tales of love and marriage between gods and between gods and humans. The “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” are among the most famous Greek mythology stories. The Trojan War was told by Homero in the first of these books.
Greek and Roman mythologies are very similar and sometimes are mixed up. They have common characters with different names. For example, Athena, the Goodness of wisdom, war, and handicraft, belongs to Greek mythology (hence the name of Greece’s capital). Her “equivalent” in Roman mythology is Minerva. The Gods and Goddesses of both these mythologies gave their names to months and planets. Mars, the God of war in Roman mythology (Ares in Greek mythology, who was Athena’s brother), is now a planet and a month. The Roman Venus / the Greek Aphrodite was the Goddess of love and beauty and many men would fall in love with her. She now has a planet named after her. Apollo (both in Greek and Roman mythologies), the God many women admire because he was considered the most beautiful of them all, was the God of the sun, healing, archery, music, and prophecy. He has nothing named after him.
Norse mythology was the ground of Vikings’ religion. Thor, Odin, and Loki are characters of this mythology. Thor is Odin’s son and he has a magical hammer, which makes him very powerful. Loki is his faithful companion, but he is very mischievous and is the father of Thor’s fatal enemy, who will kill and be killed by Thor in the end of the world (the Ragnarök). As in the case of the previously mentioned mythologies, relationships here are complicated and confused.
In Asia, mythological tales have many animals and dragons, especially in China. Dragons are benevolent creatures, protecting the people against all kinds of dangers. They are important for agriculture, as they can control the weather and help farmers with their crops, and are tokens of fortune and good luck. It is said that China was founded when the emperor at the time connected himself telepathically with a dragon to re-established peace and prosperity to the country.
Mythological stories were created to be believed. They explained why the world is as it is. However, those explanations had to portrait Gods and Goddesses as human beings, with the same good and bad feelings, so people could relate to them and understand what was being conveyed. For example, thunder was Zeus’ or Thor’s doing. People would imagine individuals like themselves up in the sky throwing lightning bolts down to earth for whatever reason. The God of the Seas was short-tempered because the sea was unpredictable. They also had to include love and marriage, war and conflicts, hunting and fishing as these were daily events of everyone’s lives.
Today’s fictional stories are not mythologies. They aim to entertain and not to provide an explanation for unknown phenomena (we have science for that now). Some stories aim to raise awareness of social problems, make us see situations in a different perspective. There is a trend for fictional stories to replicate reality and for writers to do extensive research to get it right. One of the “rules” is that writers should only write about what they know. Therefore, no writing about God, no writing about crime (unless you are a criminal), no writing about parallel universes. In a nutshell: no room for wild imagination.
Epic stories are old, but they still fascinate us. They used to be connected to a religion, hence the characters being Gods. Yet, it was more than that. They would transform our reality into something exotic and exciting. But they would also convey precious lessons, as, for example, that we all have a weak point (Achilles’ was his heel) and we all need friends and allies to succeed (Frodo couldn’t save Middle Earth by himself).
** YOUR WORDS AND IDEAS **
By Isabella Muir | On 19 May 2025 at 09:25
Your post has provided a wonderful journey through mythology with imagination at its heart. It seems to me that everyone needs something ‘other’ to take themselves out of their day-to-day life, whether that a belief in the divine, or a chance to join Frodo on his magical journey. Through our imagination we can travel far and wide without ever leaving our comfortable chair!
By Words in Ideas | On 20 May 2025 at 16:18
Very well said!
WORDS IN IDEAS 