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GREEK ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY – A REPLICA OF HUMAN LIFE VS THE LIFE

REFRACTION TO THE DELUSION

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The Explorer Islamabad: Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN: 2411-0132(E), 2411-5487(P)
Vol-2, Issue (4): 103-106
www.theexplorerpak.org

GREEK ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY – A REPLICA OF HUMAN LIFE VS THE LIFE REFRACTION

TO THE DELUSION
Syeda Samar Shahid Bokhari
Faculty of Department of Management Sciences, University of Wah, Wah Cantt

Corresponding Author:
Syeda Samar Bokhari
Faculty of Department of Management Sciences,
University of Wah, Wah Cantt
samar.bokhari@gmail.com

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to highlight various aspects of Greek Ancient Mythology, in relation to the
human life replication as well as its real mirror effects on human mind. Literature – literary means the artistic
writings depicting human life with close interaction. Human perceptions, emotions, sensations, ambiances are the
essence of literary work, produced in every era of literature evolution. From the psychological point of view if we
look back in ancient Greek mythology it seems to be like story-telling. An amusing aspect for restitution of grim
minds. Mythology takes us on a tour of gods and goddesses, their heroic adventures and expeditions otherwise
impossible to be enacted by the human beings. We have discovered through the process of writing this paper, that
it is claimed that mythological stories have exposed the real causes of diseases, ailments and natural calamities on
earth. Contrary to this traditional aspect of inclusion of Greek mythology in our literature, we have adopted the
reverse attitude towards it. According to the psychology, if human mind remains too much detached from the
reality, it losses the capacity to absorb the tough interims of real life. Hence it becomes too fragile to cope with
hard facts of life. The real cause of this mental incapacity is the delusionary effect of mythology where humans are
acting like gods and goddesses to achieve heroic emoluments. The present paper in hand will try further exploring
the adverse effects of hallucination upon easily impressed human mind.

Key Words: Greek mythology, Hallucination, Sensations, Grim minds.

INTRODUCTION beliefs and ideals. They believed every object in

Ancient Greek Mythology -How it all originated
Greek Mythology is the traditional folklore that
belongs to the ancient Greeks about their gods,
goddesses; they are their heroes, depicting how
the world was brought around, the origin and
significance of their rituals. These folklores had
religious connotations for those people at that
time. They were mesmerized by their gods and
goddesses having super human qualities moving
around in real life. They used to relate
themselves with them in their thoughts, running
never ending illusions.
The Greek mythology dates back to about 2000
BC. By the 700 BC these mythical stories became
the part of western culture. This mythology
probably (not confirmed by any source) was
originated from the primitive religions, from the
people of Crete, on the Island of Aegean Sea. It is
said the first civilization sprouted from here some
3000 BC. The people of Crete had their own
the universe had a spirit with specific magical
powers. As the time passed these beliefs adopted
tangible shapes and every object revealed its god,
goddess, every animal became sacred with
religious undertones. These set of legends
became permanent part of classical Greek
mythology later.
According to the ancient Greeks like Euhemerus,
a renowned mythographer of 300s BC, and the
writer of “the Scared History”, the myths are the
misrepresentation of actual historical events and
all gods and goddesses are those heroes or
heroines being glorified by men themselves. A
Ceos philosopher Prodicus in 400 BC imparted
that gods and goddesses were the personified
images of natural phenomenon e.g. sun, moon,
stars, winds, mountains, and waters etc. The
same has been recorded by Herodotus, ancient
Greek Historian, in 400 BC, but with the inclusion
of Egyptian rituals as biggest portion of Greek

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mythology. However up till 323 BC this mythology
changed shapes, by outward influences, but the
original characteristics remained the same.
Principal gods, beliefs and sacred places
The Greeks believed the gods landed on mount
Olympus in Thessalia, Greece. They formed their
society on that mountain and were recognized by
the hierarchy of their power. Free to move
around these gods were specifically of sky, sea
and earth. The Olympians were 12 chief gods:
Zeus – the head god, protector of all gods and
people. Hera – wife of Zeus queen of all heavens
and protector of marriages too. Hephaestus –
god of heaven, metal works and fire. Athena –
goddess of wisdom and war. Apollo – god of
light, poetry and music. Artemis – goddess of
moon and wild life. Ares – god of war. Aphrodite
– goddess of love. Hestia – Hermes – Demeter
were other gods performing duties of heaven.
Poseidon – was the god – ruler of sea waters etc.
Greek mythology accentuated the weaknesses of
human beings against the powers of nature.
These immortal gods controlled the fates of
people, so their success and happiness was solely
dependent on the moods of gods. If they were
happy, he/she was rewarded hugely, if unhappy,
misfortune fell upon him / her. The main crimes
for these gods were extreme affluence, pride etc.
Generally the gods and people maintained
friendly terms in day to day matters.
Hence we find the mythology is interwoven with
Greek rituals, beliefs, thoughts, and every faucet
of Greek life. The conventional everyday
associations of heavenly powers made them
popular and played a vital part in shaping the
lives of Greeks.
Temples for specific gods were built in each city
of Greece to worship them. With all the religious
fervor festivals were organized by high officials of
the state, with offerings to the gods of their
acceptable things to honor and please them. In
these festivals stories were told about the gods,
singers used to sing songs hailing their gods’
heroism. Mostly these gods were known to
people by the poets and singers. So the same
words were repeated in the worships arranged at
every home of Greece. Different rooms and parts
of the homes were associated with the gods and
goddesses to honor them and bring good luck to
the family e.g. the altar of Zeus was built in the
middle of courtyard.
Greeks did not have any church but they built a
chain of temples and the places became holy for
those temples. In Delphi there was a temple to
honor Apollo, a prophet was stationed in that
temple, through oracles he used to tell the future
of people, who went to consult him about
matters of grave importance. There were priests
to take care of the temples. They also advised
people about the type of sacrifice at the altars to
please gods. These sacrifices were generally the
domestic animals like goats, but sometimes they
asked the people to sacrifice children or the
young ladies too for the excessive favor of gods.
“Individuals participated in rituals in a variety of
ways: handling sacred objects, walking in
Processions, dancing in choruses, eating sacrificial
meat, or simply watching (Calef and Simkins
2009).
The whole Greece was mapped according to the
significance of cities attached to different gods or
goddesses. It was mythological map and perhaps
very little of truth in it.
Myths for teaching about virtues
It is globally accepted notion that the mythology
plays very important roles in inculcating virtues in
people. They teach right from the wrong, so
according to literary circles these super human
stories are important aspect of man himself.
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRUTHS
Need of mythology
Generally it has been argued that we need to
teach Greek mythology in order to teach our
children the basic truths of evolution, and the
truths about the lives.
Human Psyche – Trace of Genealogy
During the research of the paper, we discerned
the true worth and place of mythology in our
lives. Mythology as Euhemerus, the
mythographer, puts it, is the distortion of
historical events and those heroes were actually
the men and women who did some good and
were transformed into heroes centuries later.
Some people argue that Buddha was a hero and
referred to as a hero too later in the history. But
we at least can trace the genealogy of Buddha, or
Mahatma Gandhi or Quaid –e- Azam. We know
these people and we know the people who have
seen them. Even if we have not seen, at least we
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can go back and verify the existence of the
person. The fact of the matter is that myths do
not have any solid footings anywhere. If we look
at the genealogy of these gods we are at a loss at
the futility of the research. They are born of some
parents, but if the first one was born the main
god from where his wife came.
If as in the words of Euhemerus, they were the
real people lived sometime back, they might not
be as mighty as they are told. The only source of
proof of their being having super human qualities
was the poets and singers who sang in hyperbolic
language the exploits of these people. No one
had seen such a man or woman with such
supernatural qualities. So we believe on that part
of history which never existed.
Secondly and the most importantly, many critics
justify the presence of myth in literature
necessary to teach humans how to act in general
socialization. We have been told time and again
that these are the fictitious roles, being given to
some people who might or might not exist and
they were super human. How can humans, being
fragile and having limited powers, emulate the
super human beings?
So these stories are just to satisfy human psyche
of being story teller, and the staunch listener of
the stories. The sorts who live in imagination;
they imagine themselves having those powers
which is a delusion in fact, leading to them
headlong into meta – misery.
Truths unveiled – myths of myths
The stories and fables are ubiquitous in every
region of the world. Every society has their own
forms of heroes, to which they attach their
feelings. But there are some myths relatively
more the myths of the whole part of the story.
Today we have laptops, smart phones, tablets
and such technology. The whole world is on our
finger tips. We have learned from our forefathers
the knowledge of Enlightenment. Our approach
towards lives has become so very practical. We
find the solutions of every problem within the
short circle of our own lives, as where there is
problem there lies a solution around somewhere;
we have to have practical perceiving eye to find
it.
The world has been plated before us and we are
presented to the world with the click of a button.
In such a world where high - technology is
quotidian, the old – fictitious stories are of no
benefit in true sense of the word.
Myth 1 – Reading Greek Mythology amplifies
the horizon
In the techno-world today do we need to widen
our horizon with mythical characters? Real
characters are enough to be found to be
emulated. There are existent historical examples
of Religion, Military bravado, ingenuous pioneers
of truth and honesty. The question here to be
asked is why we should go through the super
human characters to shuffle and reshuffle our
lives, when we have examples of real heroes
before us, if we ever want to learn something
anew.
Myth 2 – Greek Mythology encourages
responsiveness by putting us in the shoes of
others who practiced them.
Feelings like sympathy, empathy, and being
responsive to the miseries of others are the result
of inner sensitivity. Dramatis personae of real life
cannot have all these feelings at one and the
same time, if he has them he is super hero then.
Only in imagination a person can be with super
soft heart and super human temperaments.
Being a simple human is difficult these days let
alone having super human qualities.
Myth 3 – we can have a glimpse of the wisdom
of our ancestors through mythology.
It is just as absurd as learning your lessons from
the cartoon strips. Our super practical lives have
super practical examples before us to follow, and
if ever we learn, those real sources are enough to
teach us the lessons of life. We don’t have to
grope into the unreal world to learn how to
tackle our real time problems. “Myths are tied to
a specific time, a place, and a people (Sailors
2007).
Myth 4 – you can find your true self by
contemplating on the mythology
Contemplation sure opens up the new directions
of knowledge. Throughout the paper we have
talked enough about the real time examples and
age – old fables. These folktales do end with
some moral lessons. Nevertheless, these do not
make us contemplate on the natural
phenomenon. They differ so much from our
world. In the old stories the protagonist had to
travel half a mile in days on horseback, we cannot
do such a thing when we have better option, a
105
 vehicle. Contemplation on the fictional characters
is not worth spending our precious time upon.
Myth 5 – what if I don’t read and apply
mythology in my age
That is something very important. What if I don’t
read the mythology and later don’t apply it on my
life. What is the loss ensuing? Greek mythology
has been fascinating humankind for ages. These
stories of gods and monsters and the human
population living together have been the focus of
children and adults for generations. They are
captivating but they are posing some dire
problems to the historians (Sailors 2007). Thus
the fables of Greek mythology are just the
fascinating stories. Their function is to please the
human mind as just stories. No other practical
function can be found. Myth evokes further
myths, it is a daisy-chain of fables with syuzhets
to create DE familiarization to make them
different from each other.
CONCLUSION
After a long research upon the need of mythology
in our lives, we are still not easy with the
presence of mythical world parallel to our real
world. We have found not a “single writing”
against mythology. But all of the writings are
based upon “single undertone” – the people
want to satisfy themselves by relating their lives
with the anecdotal role – plays. Where the
religion is and what are the virtues taught!
Indeed Greek mythology is just the fantastic
narrative told to amuse people. For centuries
these have been functioning the same. When
something is viral, it is quite different in the end
from the reality. The crimson red becomes the
blood red when the word travels from several
mouths, hence such with the Greek mythology.
The stories have been travelling for centuries,
changing shapes with addition and subtraction in
every age, that the simple human beings have
become incorrigible monsters or the gods with
supernatural potentials.
alarmingly increasing these days. When people
do not find the self – created pleasing world
everlasting they fall into yet another miserable
state – psychological break downs. Living in
imagination becomes too lethal for them, when
the utopia vanishes, brings them back to the
bitter realities of the world, they either commit
suicide, or resort to drugs in desperation.
The need of the hour is not to indulge our
children into the mythical world, rather they
should be taught how to be sober in the face of
austerity. They should be taught to muster their
own strength and exercise their own judgement,
the wiser aspect, more practical when the
problems arise; because these problems are
recurrent, they are sure to be in a man’s life,
sooner or later. No one can escape the REALITY.
REFERENCES
Sailors, Cara L.
2007 The Function of Mythology and
Religion in Greek Society. Phd diss.,
East Tennessee State University.
Calef, Susan, and Ronald A. Simkins
2009 Women, Gender, and Religion.
Journal of Religion and Society 5: 1-6.
Publication Date: May-06 -2016
© 2016 “The Explorer Islamabad” Journal of Social Sciences-Pakistan

These fictional characters are the cause of

distress and depression to the people. When
sadness worries and woes are the order of the
day, people naturally want to escape from the
reality. In their attempt to escape, they create
utopia, woven by myths. Suicides and self –
inflicting injuries, nervous break downs, are

106

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