"We also only have the myths that survived. Most of the popular stories probably had hundreds of different ways they were told, with local versions that were unique to an area."
Certainly! humans are creative and changes happen.
I don't agree that the gods were tropes or machinations. Although I don't believe the stories were thought of as literal [although we didn't exactly make that distinction until the Enlightenment] [Sorry, I'm realizing that wasn't overly coherent and might require a full post lol] But Joseph Campbell said that myths illustrated the values of a culture and were a way of passing those to the next generation. They were more than entertainment, although if we didn't like them, there was no reason to pass them on. Jordan Peterson's argument is that we passed them on BECAUSE they illustrated deep truths about what it is to be human, and to be human in that particular culture from which the myth originated.
As you said at first myths tell us about the culture they came from. [took a class on the years ago and it's taken me this long to get what the teacher was trying to tell me] The ancient Greeks were um... ambivalent about my half of the species. lol
I don't think any of these stories would have come this far if they didn't have a great deal of meaning embedded in them.
I really enjoyed reading this as well as the discussion it inspired.
"We also only have the myths that survived. Most of the popular stories probably had hundreds of different ways they were told, with local versions that were unique to an area."
Certainly! humans are creative and changes happen.
I don't agree that the gods were tropes or machinations. Although I don't believe the stories were thought of as literal [although we didn't exactly make that distinction until the Enlightenment] [Sorry, I'm realizing that wasn't overly coherent and might require a full post lol] But Joseph Campbell said that myths illustrated the values of a culture and were a way of passing those to the next generation. They were more than entertainment, although if we didn't like them, there was no reason to pass them on. Jordan Peterson's argument is that we passed them on BECAUSE they illustrated deep truths about what it is to be human, and to be human in that particular culture from which the myth originated.
As you said at first myths tell us about the culture they came from. [took a class on the years ago and it's taken me this long to get what the teacher was trying to tell me] The ancient Greeks were um... ambivalent about my half of the species. lol
I don't think any of these stories would have come this far if they didn't have a great deal of meaning embedded in them.
I’d like to think you’re right :) and your point about math is well said.
I've mostly been focusing on Greek mythology, but I should look at more Mesopotamian.
From my other blog
https://substack.com/home/post/p-144102024