Why Myth Matters
By Victoria Grossack & Alice Underwood
"She has the Midas touch." "That's his Achilles' heel." Phrases from the myths of the ancient Greeks have colored our language and literature from Homer to the present. It's extraordinary that these stories – conceived on the shores of the Mediterranean more than three thousand years ago – still mean so much today.
After all, the last few millennia have witnessed titanic advances in human understanding. We no longer believe that rainbows are bridges used by Iris, the messenger of the gods; we know the sun is not pulled across the sky by Helios and his fiery steeds. We have found concrete explanations for these and many other phenomena. So, what relevance can tales told around campfires by half-civilized warriors armed with swords of bronze possibly hold for people who have televisions and cell phones?
In many ways, our modern world of scientific reason gives us new grounds for turning to the ancient stories. Thanks to the ever-accelerating speed of change in the areas of technology, information, travel – even our shifting relationships with one another on both a personal and global scale – life often feels hopelessly chaotic. There's so much noise that it's hard to find meaning; there is literally so much happening that it's difficult to feel connected.
But shared experiences, through stories, offer a means of contact. The conquests of Alexander and Caesar brought the Greek myths into the common heritage of many peoples across the globe. These myths help to connect us across barriers of distance and culture, and make all of us who share this heritage part of a tradition that has endured for thousands of years.
Yet we don't treasure these stories only because they're old. They have been handed down for a reason. Over dozens of centuries, people of many cultures have found enough meaning in these legends to preserve them against fire, flood, invasion, change of language or ruler, and the very onslaught of time itself. Although worship of the Olympian gods has mostly faded away, their myths are still with us; the stories remain. The tales themselves, even in the absence of the religious tradition that brought them forth, have kept their power to enchant and to entertain.
Why should that be? What makes these stories so good?
One answer is that the ancient Greeks told of gods and heroes who were larger than life but still fundamentally human. Not for them the infallible, the unknowable, the omnipresent: the kings and queens of legend – and even the gods themselves – had human flaws and virtues. In the myths we see jealousy, anger, forgetfulness, cruelty, foolishness, betrayal – but also bravery, compassion, self-sacrifice, creativity, devotion and love. The heroes of myth struggle against tremendous obstacles, including their own personal failings; sometimes, as with Odysseus’ long journey or the twelve labors of Herakles, they must persevere for years. Such stories encouraged a culture in which the drive for achievement was respected and honored.
And the Greeks have long prized excellence. Herodotus recounts how King Xerxes of Persia was taken aback when he learned that the victor’s prize in the Olympic Games was only a wreath made of twigs and leaves: “What kind of men are these,” he exclaimed, “who compete among themselves for honor alone?” Contests in which the best story, song, or play took the honors have a long tradition in Greek history: the myths handed down to us have been tested against very high standards.
One aspect of the myths' merit is the enduring strength of their patterns. Human beings are relentless pattern seekers: in science, literature, and in life, pattern offers a way to sort out the chaos of our lives. And the patterns supplied by the ancient Greek stories have been used as templates by thinkers from Plato to Sigmund Freud to George Lucas, endlessly interpreted and reinvented. One may journey through the same myth over and over again, and each time discover something new.
Today's world can be a confusing and scary place – but every era has had its terrors. The mythological landscape was not a Disneyland full of rosy-cheeked nymphs and cheerful dryads. While there was great beauty, to be sure, danger was often present and could sometimes be overcome only through terrible sacrifice. The Greek myths tell us that we can't always count on a happy ending – and yet, even with all the evils of Pandora's Box loosed upon the world, we still have Hope. The legends show us men and women struggling against external challenges and with their own shortcomings: sometimes losing and sometimes winning, in patterns that have stood the test of time and that will outlast any mortal soul.
Over time, the best of these tales have been told and re-told in dozens of languages: in operas and comic books, in puppet shows and podcasts. The shared storylines give us common points of reference, a common set of symbols to draw upon. The ancient Greek myths connect us not only to those Bronze Age warriors of three thousand years ago but also to all those who came after, to each other today, and to the generations yet to come.
AUTHOR NOTES
Victoria Grossack & Alice Underwood are the authors of
NS Gill of About.com Ancient History has the following to say about the trilogy: “This smooth flow is one of
the virtues of the series, which I think comes from having two writers intimately involved in the entire process....The most amazing part of the series is how the authors retell the myths in such a way as to work for modern audiences... The 'Children of Tantalus' series is definitely worth reading by fans of fiction and Greek mythology.”
For more information about Grossack & Underwood and their work, visit
Tapestry of Bronze.
"She has the Midas touch." "That's his Achilles' heel." Phrases from the myths of the ancient Greeks have colored our language and literature from Homer to the present. It's extraordinary that these stories – conceived on the shores of the Mediterranean more than three thousand years ago – still mean so much today.
After all, the last few millennia have witnessed titanic advances in human understanding. We no longer believe that rainbows are bridges used by Iris, the messenger of the gods; we know the sun is not pulled across the sky by Helios and his fiery steeds. We have found concrete explanations for these and many other phenomena. So, what relevance can tales told around campfires by half-civilized warriors armed with swords of bronze possibly hold for people who have televisions and cell phones?
In many ways, our modern world of scientific reason gives us new grounds for turning to the ancient stories. Thanks to the ever-accelerating speed of change in the areas of technology, information, travel – even our shifting relationships with one another on both a personal and global scale – life often feels hopelessly chaotic. There's so much noise that it's hard to find meaning; there is literally so much happening that it's difficult to feel connected.
But shared experiences, through stories, offer a means of contact. The conquests of Alexander and Caesar brought the Greek myths into the common heritage of many peoples across the globe. These myths help to connect us across barriers of distance and culture, and make all of us who share this heritage part of a tradition that has endured for thousands of years.
Yet we don't treasure these stories only because they're old. They have been handed down for a reason. Over dozens of centuries, people of many cultures have found enough meaning in these legends to preserve them against fire, flood, invasion, change of language or ruler, and the very onslaught of time itself. Although worship of the Olympian gods has mostly faded away, their myths are still with us; the stories remain. The tales themselves, even in the absence of the religious tradition that brought them forth, have kept their power to enchant and to entertain.
Why should that be? What makes these stories so good?
One answer is that the ancient Greeks told of gods and heroes who were larger than life but still fundamentally human. Not for them the infallible, the unknowable, the omnipresent: the kings and queens of legend – and even the gods themselves – had human flaws and virtues. In the myths we see jealousy, anger, forgetfulness, cruelty, foolishness, betrayal – but also bravery, compassion, self-sacrifice, creativity, devotion and love. The heroes of myth struggle against tremendous obstacles, including their own personal failings; sometimes, as with Odysseus’ long journey or the twelve labors of Herakles, they must persevere for years. Such stories encouraged a culture in which the drive for achievement was respected and honored.
And the Greeks have long prized excellence. Herodotus recounts how King Xerxes of Persia was taken aback when he learned that the victor’s prize in the Olympic Games was only a wreath made of twigs and leaves: “What kind of men are these,” he exclaimed, “who compete among themselves for honor alone?” Contests in which the best story, song, or play took the honors have a long tradition in Greek history: the myths handed down to us have been tested against very high standards.
One aspect of the myths' merit is the enduring strength of their patterns. Human beings are relentless pattern seekers: in science, literature, and in life, pattern offers a way to sort out the chaos of our lives. And the patterns supplied by the ancient Greek stories have been used as templates by thinkers from Plato to Sigmund Freud to George Lucas, endlessly interpreted and reinvented. One may journey through the same myth over and over again, and each time discover something new.
Today's world can be a confusing and scary place – but every era has had its terrors. The mythological landscape was not a Disneyland full of rosy-cheeked nymphs and cheerful dryads. While there was great beauty, to be sure, danger was often present and could sometimes be overcome only through terrible sacrifice. The Greek myths tell us that we can't always count on a happy ending – and yet, even with all the evils of Pandora's Box loosed upon the world, we still have Hope. The legends show us men and women struggling against external challenges and with their own shortcomings: sometimes losing and sometimes winning, in patterns that have stood the test of time and that will outlast any mortal soul.
Over time, the best of these tales have been told and re-told in dozens of languages: in operas and comic books, in puppet shows and podcasts. The shared storylines give us common points of reference, a common set of symbols to draw upon. The ancient Greek myths connect us not only to those Bronze Age warriors of three thousand years ago but also to all those who came after, to each other today, and to the generations yet to come.
AUTHOR NOTES
Victoria Grossack & Alice Underwood are the authors of
NS Gill of About.com Ancient History has the following to say about the trilogy: “This smooth flow is one of
the virtues of the series, which I think comes from having two writers intimately involved in the entire process....The most amazing part of the series is how the authors retell the myths in such a way as to work for modern audiences... The 'Children of Tantalus' series is definitely worth reading by fans of fiction and Greek mythology.”
For more information about Grossack & Underwood and their work, visit
Tapestry of Bronze.
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I think the myths almost form us - not always in a good way. I have to think that Homer's Iliad made many men believe that war can be glorious. I wonder what history would have been like without it? But for better or for worse, it is part of the fundament of Western civilization.