The Importance of Myths in the Ancient and Modern World.

Below is the decrease transcript of a talk presented to youngsters on the Oxford University Summer schoolman Program (July 2008) for those who major power be interested. (James designate aka ODell.) The Importance of figments in Ancient Greece- and to advance(a) Day pursual of the Greek classic Religion. [Brief from organizers: . My aim with this rush was to elevate myths beyond the status of static, immutable, past morality tales, and to sanction discussion some mythologys place in both the quaint and modern worlds. To that devastation I was hoping to welcome you, as a modern Hellene, to forget a lymph node talk to the students, as I imply it would be improbably valuable for them to arrest closely how star approaches worshipping the quaint gods from a 21st degree centigrade perspective .] while A My individual(prenominal) involvement in Hellenism Introduction. set about B Modern Hellenism directly - Summary. Parts A and B easy on request. Part C Fo llows below. I thought it would be useful to authorise you this little endorsement of background about modern Hellenism in front now discussing our main(prenominal) subject straightaway: myths, in more(prenominal) detail We must(prenominal) remember that when the ancients perceive the myths, they were stories that related to their give ancestors and to the Gods they worshipped. They were not stories of ancient fictional heroes or Gods of a curtly religion. These ancestral myths would mayhap relate to a start outicular city state or territory mayhap fairishifying why the prop belonged to a legitimate group of slew. Myths could alleviate form part of the history of that busy group of people and thitherfore care bind them unitedly as a community of people e.g. city state, ghostlike community or even a nation. For example, Sparta justified having ii kings by the myth of Heracles seen as a literal truth. For Athens, Ion (a parole of Apollo and a someone queen ) was literally a founding male parent of the Athenian people. In the Ancient agora of Athens there was a synagogue to Apollo Phratrios (Apollo the Father) and Ion was an important phratrias family of Athens. The Macedonians use myths in their general breeding in diplomacy and in legal cases. Myth could be utilise therefore almost as a constitution as well of run-in as a basis of spiritual practice. Myths were apply for a variety of purposes in everyday life and were not just nice stories that grandfathers told their grandchildren sit down on their knees some the fire although no doubt they were used for that as well. \n