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What is mythology
A mythology, which is a collection of anonymous tales, many contain the story o the origin of the world, the creation of mankind, the feats of gods or heroes, or the tragedies which befell ancient families. Every country and literature has its mythology; the best know to English readers are those of Greece, Rome and Norse.
Greek and Roman mythology is quite generally supposed to show us the way the human race thought and felt untold ages ago. Through it, according to this view, we can retrace the path from civilized man who lives so far from nature, to man who lived in close companionship with nature; and the real interest of the myths is that they lead us back to a time when the world was young and people had a connection with the earth, with trees and seas and flowers and hills, unlike anything we ourselves can feel. When the stories were being shaped, we are given to understand, little distinction had as yet been made between the real and the unreal.
For the primitive mentality, mythology provided explanations of natural phenomena, the meaning of existence and death, and the adventures of racial heroes. With an increase in scientific knowledge, however, the function is often supplanted and mythology survive simply as stories.
For me, the three most interesting mythological figures are Medea, Odysseus and Clytemnestra.
Firstly, Medea, a daughter of Aeetes, king of Colchis, was a powerful enchantress. In Medea¡¦s story, Medea is fascinated by Jason deeply; and for love, she can do anything to ingratiate Jason. What¡¦s the worst, she even kills her brother and uses the brutal and cruel way to slaughter Jason¡¦s
enemies. Medea and Jason don¡¦t seem to get married, though the get along with ten years and have two children. However, Jason betrays Medea just for the throne and the luxurious life ¡V he intends to marry the daughter of the King of Corinth. It makes Medea be crazy so that she determined to kill Jason¡¦s bride, the king, and terribly--her two children. Serves as a tragic heroine o violence, pride and ferocity, Medea succeeds in fight against the patriarchy. As a woman and foreigner who has no rights at all in Athenian society and finds no readdress for her wrongs, Medea is driven by her passion to violate that society¡¦s most sacred law in rebellion against its typical representative, Jason her husband.
Secondly, Odysseus, king of Ithaca and husband of Penelope, is a hero prototype of mature intelligence with craft, shrewdness and stability. And his life is just as a struggle. The trials of his voyage home are not only physical obstacles but also temptations. To stay alive, he has to use his resourcefulness and courage with long experience to overcome various difficulties facing him. For example, the wise Odysseus call himself ¡§Nobody,¡¦and then blinds the wheel-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus with a sharpened olive pole to escape from the [next page]