Myth and History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Myth and History - Essay Example However, other perspectives opine that myths do not always agree with history since most are branded as a discourse of fabricated stories while history aims to state true facts about things. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how certain Greek myths negotiate the relationship between myth and history and further elucidate whether the two terms oppose each other in the chosen myths. When dealing with cultural and social history of the Greek, scholars have proven that myth is an invaluable source of facts and information (Powell 89). Greek mythology served as a pathway of explaining the natural phenomena witnessed by humankind and the environment in which they lived from days, through months, seasons and years. Of particular interest, they were connected more intricately to the Greek world’s religion. However, whether a study focuses on Greek sexual customs and traditions or the rise of cities, the historical facts will always be engrained deeply in the Greek myths that are embodied explicitly in narrative collections and implicitly in arts. Speaking broadly, the imaginative myths created by the Greeks are an explanation of just about all aspects of life and the human condition (Woodward 14). This paper will examine how the Hesiod’s myth of Theogony, which is classified as cosmogonical myth, and the myth of Prometheus, a transformation myth, go abo ut the relationship between myth and history. Like most historical narratives, the Greek mythology typically begins with the myths of creation, attempting to make sense of the mysteries of life and imposing order and structure so as to define where the universe, races and individuals are placed (Powell 73). As a cosmogonical myth, the myth of Theogony is among the most important Greek myths as it seeks to explain the origins of heaven and earth. Viewed strictly from the perspective of the historical and/or religious origins of heaven and earth rather than