Did ancient Greeks believe their myths were real?
Did ancient Greeks believe their myths were real?
Learn more about the mythology, legends, and folktales of ancient Greece.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Stories about the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks are called Greek mythology.
Pious Greeks likely regarded the myths as true accounts, while the more critical recognized the stories as mostly fictional.
Greek mythology contains some of the most imaginative and intriguing accounts of gods, heroes, and monsters in Western history and has had extensive influence on Western literature, art, and culture since before the Common Era.
Religious myths, legends, and folktales all have a place in Greek mythology, though the Greeks didn’t distinguish between them.
Religious myths involve gods and goddesses, like the war goddess Athena or the wine god Dionysus; monsters, like Medusa or the Minotaur; and demigods, usually heroes with one human parent and one godly parent.
While myths were viewed as imparting useful—or even divine—lessons, legends were viewed more like historical fiction: ancient Greeks believed that the events in epic poems, like the Trojan War in the Iliad, while perhaps embellished, actually happened.
Greek folktales functioned for entertainment purposes, not to tell historical truths.
As in the civilizations that would follow them, the Greeks loved stories about lost people found, journeys to the land of the dead, and long-delayed victories.
Pious Greeks likely regarded the myths as true accounts, while the more critical recognized the stories as mostly fictional.
Greek mythology contains some of the most imaginative and intriguing accounts of gods, heroes, and monsters in Western history and has had extensive influence on Western literature, art, and culture since before the Common Era.
Religious myths, legends, and folktales all have a place in Greek mythology, though the Greeks didn’t distinguish between them.
Religious myths involve gods and goddesses, like the war goddess Athena or the wine god Dionysus; monsters, like Medusa or the Minotaur; and demigods, usually heroes with one human parent and one godly parent.
While myths were viewed as imparting useful—or even divine—lessons, legends were viewed more like historical fiction: ancient Greeks believed that the events in epic poems, like the Trojan War in the Iliad, while perhaps embellished, actually happened.
Greek folktales functioned for entertainment purposes, not to tell historical truths.
As in the civilizations that would follow them, the Greeks loved stories about lost people found, journeys to the land of the dead, and long-delayed victories.