Perhaps the first thing people would think of if they were asked what they knew about the Ancient Greeks and Romans would be their polytheistic religion. The complex and elaborated myths of the gods served many functions, making the Greece and Rome very different from other Ancient Civilizations. The Greco-Roman mythology most prevalent in Archaic & Classical Greece and the Roman Republic served three major proposes: explaining the world, cultivating people’s values, and providing a reason for celebration. Mythology was derived from the word “mythos”, which means a tale or a story meant to be told aloud. Such was how mythology spread. The earliest ideas of mythology came from the Minoan Civilization (3000 – 1000 BCE) and the Mycenaean Civilization …show more content…
In the beginning, the earth was a confused mass of shapeless elements named Chaos, which separated into the sky and the earth ruled by Uranus and Gaea. They got married and had their children Oceanus, Aether, and Aër, each representing the ocean, atmosphere, and the air. Erebus and Nyx, or darkness and night, were the offsprings of Chaos, counterbalancing the already existing deities. These first-Dynasty gods gave life to the Olympian gods and other minor gods. Men sprung from the earth like the plants and flowers onto the earth and were taught the techniques essential to survival by the gods. Zeus let loose a great flood from the firmament to drown all mankind because they turned evil and degenerate overtime. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha were the only mortals that survived. They hid in a ship for nine days and when the flood was over, they were told by the oracle to throw stones over their shoulders. These stone turned into humans, who populated the earth again. These humans had souls that would enter the underworld after they …show more content…
Their stories cultivated the cultural values of the people. In Greece, Athena was the only goddess to hold the same authority as Zeus. The goddess of wisdom and armed resistance was born straight from the head of Zeus. Athena set an example for absolute virtue and purity as the patroness of learning, science and art. Her Roman self Minerva also held much authority, governing schools and teaching students to respect their teachers. Furthermore, the myth of king Midas and Apollo showed people greed is bad and mercy is good. King Midas loved gold so much that he cursed Apollo for scattering golden sunlight on everyone. Apollo punished him by making everything he touched turn to gold. Midas was delighted at first, but he could not eat or drink since all his food became gold. He begged Apollo to revoke the wish and promised he would never be greedy again. Apollo forgave him but left him a pair of donkey ears as a warning. When Midas’ servant exposed him of his donkey ears to the whole country, he remembered how Apollo forgave him and did not have his servant’s head cut off. Apollo then made his donkey ears disappear because he had learned to be merciful. Stories like this were told to the Greek and Roman children, teaching them how to be