Excursus On Myth: A Series of Notes

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EXCURSUS ON MYTH: A SERIES OF NOTES

Bart A. Mazzetti

Note 1. The meaning of the wor !m"th# a$$oring to $ertain $ontem%orar" fo&'&ore(i)t) an $&a))i$i)t):

n. 1.Stith Thompson, The Folktale(Berkeley, 1977, 1

st

ed. 1946), p. 9

!" all #ords $sed to distin%$ish the &lass o" prose narrati'e, mythis the most &on"$sin%. The

di""i&$lty is that it has een dis&$ssed too lon% and that it has een $sed in too many di"

"erent senses. The history o" s$&h dis&$ssion is interestin% $t in&on&l$si'e. As $sed in this

ook myth #ill e taken to mean a tale laid in a #orld s$pposed to ha'e pre&eded the present

order. *t tells o" sa&red ein%s and o" semidi'ine heroes and o" the ori%ins o" all thin%s, $s$ally thro$%h the a%en&y o" these sa&red ein%s. Myths are intimately &onne&ted #ith reli

%io$s elie"s and pra&ti&es o" the people. They may e essentially hero le%ends or etiolo%i&al

stories, $t they are systematized and %i'en reli%io$s si%ni"i&an&e. The hero is someho#

related to the rest o" the pantheon and the ori%in story e&omes an ori%in myth y atta&hment

to the ad'ent$res o" some %od or demi%od. +hether hero le%end and ori%in story %enerally

pre&eded myth or #hether they e&ame deta&hed "rom it, the "$ndamental di""eren&e et#een these "orms is reasonaly &lear.

n. *.Stith Thompson, Myth and -olktales (19//). *nMyth: A Symposium, ed. Thomas ASeeok (Bloomin%ton and 0ondon, 1974), p. 17

Most o" the #riters #hom #e read in this seminar do at least re"er, %enerally speakin%, to

stories that ha'e e&ome traditional. B$t o" those traditional stories, #hi&h ones shall e

&alled myth, #hi&h ones le%ends and traditions (the 2erman Sagen), #hi&h shall e &alled"olktales and #hi&h animal tales3all o" that ne'er seems 'ery &lear to the reader o" many

ooks o" mytholo%y. Amon% the #riters o" the present symposi$m, there seems, ho#e'er, to

e some a%reement. All a%ree that stories ao$t the %ods and their a&ti'ities in %eneral are

myths. B$t shall #e also in&l$de hero tales

n. +.Stith Thompson, ibid,p. 175

The pra&ti&al de"inition #hi&h * ha'e s$%%ested and #hi&h seems to e rather #ell a%reed

$pon is that myth has to do #ith the %ods and their a&tions, #ith &reation, and #ith the %en

eral nat$re o" the $ni'erse and o" the earth.

n. ,.hilip Mayerson, Classical Mythology in Literature, Art and Music (+altham, Mass.,1971), p. 17

p to this point, the #ords myth and le%end ha'e een $sed rather loosely to des&rie

those traditional narrati'es that ha'e &ome do#n to $s thro$%h 2reek and 8oman so$r&es.This &omes ao$t e&a$se s&holars, e'en #ithin the same dis&ipline, "ind it di""i&$lt to &ome

to a &ommon $nderstandin% on the de"inition o" terms and the means o" &lassi"yin% the o'er

#helmin% 'ariety o" tales that are s$s$med $nder the name o" mytholo%y. There is ho#

e'er, in&reasin% a&&eptan&e o" a road and &on'enient di'ision o" these stories into myth

(sometimes &alled myth proper), legendorsaga, andfolktale. B$t it m$st e re&o%nized "rom

the start that, more o"ten than not, no &lear line o" demar&ation eists et#een these di'i

sions: it is ;$ite possile "or one story to &ontain elements &ommon to t#o or all three o"

these narrati'e "orms.

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The British anthropolo%ist Sir ames 2eor%e -razer (1G/41941), perhaps est kno#n as

the a$thor o" The !olden Bough, to#ard the end o" his s&holarly &areer de"ined myths as

mistaken eplanations o" phenomena, #hether o" h$man li"e or o" eternal nat$re (19D 1

'ii). To Bronisla# Malino#ski (1GG4194D), #ho #as amon% the "irst anthropolo%ists to

demand etensi'e "ield #ork as a prere;$isite to rea&hin% any &on&l$sions ao$t a %i'en

&$lt$re, a myth is a pra%mati& &harter o" primiti'e "aith and moral #isdom (19/4 11).

The de"inition in a standard di&tionary o" mytholo%y p$lished a"ter +orld +ar ** is as

"ollo#s a myth is a story, presented as ha'in% a&t$ally o&&$rred in a pre'io$s a%e,

eplainin% the &osmolo%i&al and s$pernat$ral traditions o" a people, their %ods, heroes,&$lt$ral traits, reli%io$s elie"s, et&. (-+SE-M0, 77G). Fliade, #ho admitted the prolems

inherent in any de"inition o" myth, proposes that myth narrates a sa&red history: it relates ane'ent that took pla&e in primordial Time, the "aled time o" Ie%innin%s=. The a&tors in

myths are S$pernat$ral Bein%s (1965 /6). The Ameri&an ili&al s&holar T. ?. 2aster

s$%%ests that a myth may e de"ined as any presentation o" the a&t$al in terms o" the ideal

(19/4 1G/). -or the theolo%ian . 8i&oe$r, myths are traditional narrati'es #hi&h tell o"e'ents #hi&h happened at the ori%in o" time and #hi&h "$rnish the s$pport o" lan%$a%e to

rit$al a&tions (1969 11). And +. B$rkett, a proli"i& 2erman s&holar #hose analyses o"

myths ha'e "o$nd a #ide a$dien&e o" late, &on&l$des that myth is a traditional tale #ith

se&ondary, partial re"eren&e to somethin% o" &olle&ti'e importan&e (1979 D5).

F'en tho$%h an initial readin% o" these sele&ted de"initions mi%ht s$%%est somethin% like

&omplete disa%reement and hen&e &haos, there are in "a&t a n$mer o" elements #hi&h mosto" the de"initions share. These elements are three, or perhaps "o$r, in n$mer. To ;$ali"y as a

myth, s&holars are e%innin% to a%ree, the material has to e (1) a story, and (D) traditional,

that is, transmitted, $s$ally orally, #ithin a &omm$nal settin%: "$rther, these traditional

stories m$st (5) deal #ith a &hara&ter or &hara&ters #ho are more than merely h$man. *n li%ht

o" the apolo%eti& $se to #hi&h the older, 19th&ent$ry de"inition o" myth #as p$t (to deny the

presen&e o" myths in ili&al tet), note that this third &riterion &an e met y the presen&e o"

a sin%le s$perh$man ein% in a tale. *n addition, se'eral o" the ao'e de"initions s$%%est the

addition o" a "inal &riterion, that myths (4) treat e'ents in remote anti;$ity. That these threeor "o$r elements are the key &riteria is indi&ated y the &$rrent de"initions $pon #hi&h many

"olklorists rely. A sample o" t#o o" these #ill demonstrate this (1) myths are prose narra

ti'es #hi&h, in the so&iety in #hi&h they are told, are &onsidered to e tr$th"$l a&&o$nts o"

#hat happened in the remote past.... their main &hara&ters are not $s$ally h$man ein%s(Bas&om 196/ 4): and (D) myths are the traditional tales o" the deeds o" daimones %ods,

spirits, and all sorts o" s$pernat$ral or s$perh$man ein%s (-ontenrose 1966 /4//). Be

&a$se o" its re'ity and yet its &on&l$sion o" three o" the &riteria listed ao'e, -ontenrose=s

de"inition is perhaps the most ade;$ate and stands the %reatest &han&e o" &ommandin% #ide

assent.

nder the headin% o" the de"initional prolems here, one additional iss$e re;$ires treat

ment. This is the iss$e o" the possile distin&tion et#een myths on the one hand and

le%ends and "olktales on the other. This has lon% een a matter o" %reat interest to ili&al

s&holarship: many s&holars ha'e ar%$ed, "or eample, that it is 'ital to see a parti&$lar story

in the Bile as a le%end or a sa%a rather than a myth. 8e%rettaly, there is nothin% like a &on

sens$s amon% &$rrent st$dents o" myth on this iss$e. Some "olklorists "ind a &lear distin&tionet#een myths, "olktales (identi"ied y "olklorists #ith M$rchen in 2erman, contes popu%

laires in -ren&h), and le%ends (2erman Sagen, -ren&h traditions populaires). The distin&tions most o"ten proposed are that "olktales are re%arded less serio$sly than are myths,

and that le%ends are oth set in a less remote era than are myths and deal solely #ith h$man

&hara&ters (Bas&om 196/ 4, 16). !ther s&holars do$t that any s$&h distin&tions are at all

$se"$l or le%itimate (Hirk 197 5141: 19G4 //). B$rkert, "or eample, ar%$es that the distin&tion et#een myths and le%ends or sa%as so "a'ored y ili&al s&holars is p$rely a part

o" an apolo%eti& tradition and #ill not stand $p to the a'ailale e'iden&e (1979 D4).

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n. .-ritz 2ra", !reek Mythology: An &ntroduction, Thomas Marier trans. (Baltimore. 8e

print edition, 1996, 1sted. 19G7), pp. 15

*t is still di""i&$lt to de"ine myth satis"a&torily, "or all the intense s&holarly attention that theprolem o" de"inition has re&ei'ed in the &o$rse o" t#o and a hal" &ent$ries. Many sol$tions

ha'e een proposed, only to e re


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Bet#een the ei%hth and "o$rth &ent$ries B.>. a #hole series o" interrelated &onditions &a$sed

a m$ltipli&ity o" di""erentiations, reaks, and internal tensions #ithin the mental $ni'erse o"

the 2reeks that #ere responsile "or distin%$ishin% the domain o" myth "rom other domains

The &on&ept o" myth pe&$liar to &lassi&al anti;$ity th$s e&ame &learly de"ined thro$%h the

settin% $p o" an opposition et#een muthos and logos, hen&e"orth seen as separate and &on

trastin% terms.

n. 0.2re%ory a%y,(indar)s *omer: The Lyric (os%session of an +pic (ast(Baltimore,

199), &h. 1., P5

-rom an anthropolo%i&al standpoint, mythis indeedspecial speechin that it is a %i'en so&iety=s #ay o" a""irmin% its o#n reality thro$%h narrati'e.1*n ?omeri& di&tion, #e see that the

an&estor o" o$r #ord myth, 2reek mtho), a&t$ally desi%nates spee&ha&ts, s$&h as "ormal

oasts, threats, laments, in'e&ti'es, prophe&ies, prayers, and so on.D0et $s "or the moment

take as a %i'en, then, that the "$n&tion o" marked spee&h is to &on'ey meanin% in the &ontet

o" rit$al and myth.

2+3n1. !n the tr$th'al$e o" myth 0ea&h 19GD.D7.

2+3n*. Eetailed demonstration in J8i&hardK Martin 19G9.1D4D. !n the &on&ept o" speech%

act, see *ntro. P17.

n. 4. 8i&hard Martin, The Language of *eroes: Speech and (erformance in the &liad.

(Myth and oetry) (*tha&a and 0ondon, 19G9)

There are only three %enres o" spee&h &alled muthosin the&liad &ommand, oast or ins$lt,and re&itation o" rememered e'ents, and the third $nderlies the "irst t#o. The %od or hero

#ho &ommands or oasts or ins$lts #ill rely on a narrati'e o" #hat has een, or &o$ld e, or

sho$ld e or not e, done. Sometimes he #ill $se %enealo%y to make his &ase. F'ery muthos

is a li'in%, po#er"$l spee&hper"orman&e.

n. 13.2. S. Hirk, The ature of !reek Myths(Middlese, 1974 Jen%$in BooksK), pp. DD

D4

The etymolo%y o" Imyth= re'eals, "rom one point o" 'ie#, 'ery little. -rom another, it dis

&loses #hat may t$rn o$t to e a &r$&ial, i" apparently anal, "a&t. *n 2reek, muthosasi&

ally means I$tteran&e=, somethin% one says. *t &ame to mean somethin% one says in the "orm

o" a tale, a story. That led to still narro#er appli&ations: "or eample it is Aristotle=s #ord in

the(oetics"or the plot o" a play.D *n a di""erent de'elopment o" its meanin% muthos#as

sometimes &ontrasted #ith logos. This latter term, #hi&h "orms one element o" the &ompo$nd mutho%logia, Imytholo%y=, implies somethin% like Ianalyti&al statement= or e'en

Itheory=. -rom this &ontrast arose the ea%%erated sense o" Imyth= as I$ntr$th=, a sense that

&an e "or%otten "rom no# on3#hi&h is not to deny that myths are predominantly "i&tional,

ima%inati'e &reations rather than "a&t$al re&ords. Muthoi, at all e'ents, &ame to &onnote

Istories= rather than Istatements=, and #hen the 2reeks themsel'es talked ao$t muthoitheymost o"ten meant,


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ot e'ery tale, e'en in a storytellin% and nonliterate so&iety, e&omes traditional Q is "o$nd

attra&ti'e or important eno$%h to e passed "rom %eneration to %eneration. A tale m$st ha'e

some spe&ial &hara&teristi& "or this JD7DGK to happen, some end$rin% ;$ality that separates it

"rom the %eneral r$n o" transient stories. RO

erhaps the &on&l$sion to e dra#n "rom the Boas position, #hi&h re&ent anthropolo%ists

are in&linin% (almost $n&ons&io$sly) to re'i'e, is that there is no 'iale distin&tion et#een

myths and "olktales.5Cet it is still $se"$l, * elie'e, e'en in the asen&e o" any hardand"ast

di'idin% line, to identi"y &ertain kinds o" moti", plot and treatment as elon%in% to a "olktale

tradition rather than to #hat most people mean y myths.

n. 1*.a&k 2oody and *an +att, The >onse;$en&es o" 0itera&y. *n a&k 2oody, ed., Literacy in

Traditional Societies(>amrid%e, 196G), Myth and history, p. 46

onliterate peoples, o" &o$rse, o"ten make a distin&tion et#een the li%hter "olktale, the

%ra'er myth, and the ;$asihistori&al le%end (e.%. the Troriands: Malino#ski J B. Malin

o#ski,Myth in (rimiti/e (sychology, 0ondonK 19D6 55). B$t not so insistently, and "or an

o'io$s reason. As lon% as the le%endary and do&trinal aspe&ts o" the &$lt$ral tradition are

mediated orally, they are kept in relati'e harmony #ith ea&h other and #ith the present needs

o" so&iety in t#o #ays thro$%h the $n&ons&io$s operations o" memory, and thro$%h the

ad". my pre&edin% paper =Somethin% Said= TheTraditional Story, or ITale=.

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?e&atae$s, "or eample, pro&laimed at ao$t the t$rn o" the &ent$ry, I+hat * #rite is the

a&&o$nt * elie'e to e tr$e. -or the stories the 2reeks tell are many and in my opinion

ridi&$lo$s= (a&oy J -. a&oy,ie Fragmente der !riechischen *istoriker, *, !enealogie

und Mythographie, Berlin, 19D5K), and o""ered his o#n rationalizations o" the data on "amily

traditions and linea%es #hi&h he had &olle&ted. Already the mytholo%i&al mode o" $sin% the

past, the mode #hi&h, in Sorel=s #ords, makes it Ia means o" a&tin% on the present= (?$lme

J T.F. ?$lme,0eflections on 1iolence, e# CorkK 1941 156: 8ed"ield J 8. 8ed"ield, The

(rimiti/e -orld and &ts Transformations, *tha&a, e# CorkK 19/5 1D/), has e%$n to

disappear.

That this trend o" tho$%ht had m$&h lar%er impli&ations &an e seen "rom the "a&t that thee%innin%s o" reli%io$s and nat$ral philosophy are &onne&ted #ith similar &riti&al depart$res

"rom the inherited traditions o" the past: as +.B. Ceats #rote, #ith another tradition in mind

IS&ien&e is the &riti;$e o" myths, there #o$ld e no Ear#in had there een no Book o"

2enesis= (?one J . ?one, -.B. 2eats, 0ondonK 194D 4/, o$r itali&s). Amon% the earlypreSo&rati&s there is m$&h e'iden&e o" the &lose &onne&tion et#een ne# ideas and the

&riti&ism o" the old. Th$s Uenophanes o" >olophon (fl. c. /4 B.>.) reorn"ord, !reek 0eligious Thought from *omer to the Age of Ale3ander,

0ondonK 19D5 ''i: B$rnet 19G 1). !n the one hand the poets &ontin$ed to $se the traditional le%ends "or their poems and plays: on the other the prose #riters attempted to #restle

#ith the prolems #ith #hi&h the &han%es in the &$lt$ral tradition had "a&ed them. F'en the

poets, ho#e'er, had a di""erent attit$de to their material. indar, "or eample, $sed mythoiin

the sense o" traditional stories, #ith the impli&ation that they #ere not literally tr$e: $t&laimed that his o#n poems had nothin% in &ommon #ith the "ales o" the past (1st !lym

pian !de). As "or the prose #riters, and indeed some o" the poets, they had set o$t to repla&e

myth #ith somethin% else more &onsistent, #ith their sense o" the logos, o" the &ommon and

allen&ompassin% tr$th #hi&h re&on&iles apparent &ontradi&tions.

J4K I*t #as in *onia that the "irst &ompletely rationalisti& attempts to des&rie the nat$re o" the

#orld took pla&e= (2.S. Hirk and .F. 8a'en, The (resocratic (hilosophers, >amrid%e,

19/7, p. 75). The #ork o" the Milesian philosophers, Thales, Anaimander and Anaimenes,

is des&ried y the a$thors as I&learly a de'elopment o" the %eneri& or %enealo%i&al approa&h

to nat$re eempli"ied y the ?esiodi& Theogony= (p. 75).

J/K ?ermann Eiels,ie Fragmente der 1orsokratiker (Berlin, 19/1), "r. **, D5: see also ohn

B$rnet,+arly !reek (hilosophy (Dnd ed. 0ondon, 19G), pp. 151, 141, and +erner ae%er,The Theology of the +arly !reek (hilosophers (!"ord, 1947), pp. 4D7: Hirk and 8a'en,

The (resocratic (hilosophers, pp. 165 "".J6K Eiels, Fragmente der 1orsokratiker, "r. 4, 4D, /6, /7, 16: see also -ran&is M.

>orn"ord,(rincipium Sapientiae: The 'rigins of !reek (hilosophical Thought(>amrid%e,

19/D), pp. 11D "".: Hirk and 8a'en, The (resocratic (hilosophers, pp. 1GD "".

n. 1+.-ritz 2ra", !reek Mythology, op. cit., pp. 57

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The &risis o" 2reek myth &ame at the moment #hen the &$lt$ral rele'an&e o" its narration

#as &alled into ;$estion y the &riti&al ad'o&ates o" the ne# rationalism3the moment #hen

the "l$id tradition, in #hi&h the myths #ere told o'er and o'er a%ain and, #ith ea&h retellin%,

#ere adapted to the &onditions o" the present, #ere ein% repla&ed in&reasin%ly y the poeti&

J54K 'ersion &omposed on&e and "or all time. The notion that myth #as 'eridi&al, ho#e'er,

s$r'i'ed the &risis. 8hetori&ians still de"ined a myth as a "i&titio$s story ill$stratin% a tr$th

(Theon,(rogymnasmata5), and alle%orists attempted, do#n to the end o" anti;$ity and e

yond, to "ind philosophi&al tr$ths and tr$ths ao$t the physi&al $ni'erse eneath the s$r"a&e

o" myth and in this #ay to $phold its &$lt$ral rele'an&e. F'en lato, #ho resol$tely e&l$dedmyths "rom the realm o" tr$th, elie'ed that, in the realm that &o$ld not e rea&hed thro$%h

diale&ti&al reasonin%, myths had at least some epressi'e po#er (see >hapter G).RO

lato dre# a distin&tion et#een %reater and lesser myths. The lesser #ere told y

mothers, %randmothers, and n$rses, the %reater y poets (0epublic577&). The di""eren&e

et#een the t#o kinds lay ao'e all in the o&&asion o" the tellin%. $rses and %randmothers

told stories pri'ately, #hene'er the opport$nity presented itsel", and #ere "ree to adapt them

as they #ished, #hereas the tr$ly rele'ant narration o" myth, $ntil the time o" F$ripides, #as

p$li& and took pla&e at times pres&ried y the reli%io$s &alendar th$s, only the %reater

myths #ere s$


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n. 1,.!n muthosin Aristotle, &". 8alph M&*nerny,A *istory of -estern (hilosophy(otre

Eame, 1965), Lol. 1, art ** The >lassi&al eriod, >hapter ***, Aristotle

0et $s "irst &onsider the term myth (mythos). *t is possile to tra&e the history o" this #ordin s$&h a #ay that a spe&ial $se o" it made y Aristotle in the (oetics&an &ast li%ht on the

di""i&$lty ". Flse, Aristotle)s (oetics, pp. D4D"".) The tra%edian takes the old stories (mythoi)

and imposes a plot (mythos) on them./(14/1D4 "".) The myth or plot o" the play is the

prin&iple o" intelli%iility o" the a&tions depi&ted: #hat is more, the plot not only eplains the

se;$en&e $t &a$ses admiration and a#e in the spe&tator. +e ha'e here the root o" Aris

totle=s "amo$s &omparison o" history and poetry a&&ordin% to #hi&h poetry is more philoso

phi&al and JmoreK serio$s than history. (&". 14/11 "".) oetry is not simply a narrati'e o"

#hat has happened: rather it in'ol'es a kind o" %eneralization o" a type o" o&&$rren&e. This

entails that poetry is more eplanatory than history. o# #hat #e ha'e done is to mo'e"rom a &omparison o" myth and philosophy to the $se o" the term myth in the (oeticso"

Aristotle, a mo'ement #hi&h s$%%ests not only a link et#een myth and poetry, $t a

similarity et#een poetry and philosophy in terms o" $ni'ersality and &onse;$ent eplanatory po#er. That is, #hile #e e%an y seekin% the meanin% o" philosophy y askin% #hatphilosophy is not, #e ha'e a&t$ally arri'ed at a ro$%h indi&ation o" #hat Aristotle tho$%ht

philosophy is.

n. 1-.-or others meanin%s, &". Mal&olm +ilson,Bryn Ma"r Classical 0e/ie"D.7.G,re'ie# o" 8i&hard B$ton (ed.), From Myth to 0eason4 Studies in the e/elopment of

!reek Thought(!"ord, 1999), on Thomas ohansen, Myth andLogosin Aristotle6

Thomas ohansen identi"ies three $ses o" mythos in Aristotle. -irst, it is a term o" a$se

a%ainst ?erodotos "or "an&i"$l stories.7Se&ond, it is a term "or a "alse eplanatory a&&o$nt.

Be&a$se s$&h myths are eplanatory, they appear in his s&ienti"i& #ork and are part o" the

endo3a.G Third, in a&&ordan&e #ith Aristotle=s &y&li& theory o" history, they sometimes

preser'e (as, e.%., the idea that the "irst s$stan&es are %ods) the remnant o" the ad'an&ed

state o" s&ien&e #hi&h eisted e"ore the last &ata&lysm.9 JB$t "o$rth, it means plot

(B.A.M.)K

/*t #o$ld e more a&&$rate to say that o$t o" a (traditional) Istory= so $nderstood the poet &omposes a plot.6( httpVV&&at.sas.$penn.ed$Vm&rVDVD7G.html J/V11V4K)7This is the #ork o" the Istoryteller= or muthologos: &". Brander Matthe#s, The Short%Story: Specimens

&llustrating &ts e/elopment(e# Cork, 197), *ntrod$&tion, p. 4

Brie" tales o" another kind #ere kno#n to the an&ients, !riental in their ori%in, "or the most part, and

ao$ndin% in that likin% "or the s$pernat$ral #hi&h &hara&terizes the ma


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The 6ree')7 a %eo%&e mo)t %ro&ifi$ in the e8e&o%ment an e&a9oration of m"th)7 them(

)e&8e) too' the 8iew that there i) ne$e))ari&" )ome meaning in a m"th7 either an hi)tor"(

i$a& o$$5rren$e i)g5i)e an eaggerate or an o%eration of nat5re 8ei&e in an a&&e(

gor".Th$s Anaagora)re%arded the tr$e meanin% o" most o" the myths to e psy&holo%

i&al: Em%eo$&e), philosophi&al. E5hemer5)(;.'.) %a'e a rationalisti& t$rn to mytholo%y,

strippin% a#ay the element o" the s$pernat$ral alto%ether: tho$%h 2r$ppe takes the %ro$nd

that the #ork o" F$hemer$s is est re%arded as a #ork o" p$re "i&tion, #ith no $lterior mo

ti'e ehind it. TheStoi$) at 8ome tried to eplain all myths as alle%ori&al des&riptions o"

physi&al "a&ts, $t this "ailed to a&&o$nt "or


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or did the %5%i&) of So$rate)"ind it ne&essary to deny the eisten&e o" the pop$lar deities,

altho$%h @&atoheld that there #as a hi%her %od ao'e them #hose &reat$res and ser'ants

they #ere: and #e do not "ind that he #as atta&ked "or despisin% the pop$lar reli%ion. ?is

opinion o" the mytholo%i&al "ales may e s$""i&iently %athered "rom the "a&t that he

anishes "rom his ideal state the poets #ho ori%inated and &ir&$lated them: altho$%h he is not

at all opposed in itsel" to a mytholo%i&al "orm o" dis&o$rse $pon di'ine thin%s: indeed he

o"ten makes $se o" it to epress "i%$rati'ely #hat he &annot epress literally. Anti)thene)

too ass$med, like lato, only one s$preme deity, $t did not hesitate to make the m$ltit$de

o" pop$lar deities s$ordinate to him. ?e re%arded the mytholo%i&al "ales, at least in part, asalle%ories: and epressed in the se'erest manner his disappro'al o" the &on&epttions o" the

%ods #hi&h &orresponded to the literal sense o" the "ales.1Ari)tot&etook the same &o$rse11and #hat #e read o" his dis&iples, as "or eample Hera$&ie) of @ont5)or Theo(%hra)t5)

(>i&. at. Eeor. *, 15, 545/), sho#s only 'ie#s #hi&h, tho$%h "orei%n to the pop$lar

reli%ion, are still not irre&on&ilale #ith it. o more did Strato&ome into &ollision #ith the

pop$lar "aith in a&&eptin%, a&&ordin% to Ci$eroand others, a lind, $n&ons&io$s nat$ral "or&eas the e%innin% o" thin%s: "or he mi%ht ha'e deri'ed the %ods also "rom this "or&e, haos.

6See Uenophanis &arm. reli;$iae, ed. Harsten, p. 15, and 115 "".7See *amli&h. 'it. yth. /, 1, 1DD, 144, 1//. >omp. >i&. Ee 0e%. **, 11.G

See Uenophon, Mem. *, 1, D: **, 6, G: *L, 5, 1D: 7, 1. Ana. ***, 1, /. lat. haed. p. 11G A.9>ompare lat. haedr. p. DD9 >: 8ep$l. ***, 57G E.1$lian. !rat. L**, p. D9 A: D1/ >: D17 A. >lem. Ale. Strom. **, D, 17. >ompare also

0oe&k, A%laoph, p. 1/9.11>ompare >. @ell, Ee Aristotele patriar$m reli%ion$m aestimatore. ?eidel. 1G47. J N.>.

Sti&kney "ails to re&o%nize here that Aristotle ta$%ht a t#o"old "orm o" myth, as #e shall

eplain "$rther elo#.K

The relation then et#een the philosophers th$s "ar spoken o" and the pop$lar reli%ion #as,at the least, a pea&e"$l one: altho$%h they did not epressly de"end, they still did not atta&k

it: they easily kept on %ood terms #ith it, and allo#ed it all the in"l$en&e it &o$ld &ommand.

B$t the So%hi)t)took $p a hostile position: and the most noted amon% them, ho#e'er di""er

in% in other matters, had this in &ommon, that, as @rotagora)epressed it, they made manthe meas$re o" all thin%s: that is, they denied to the h$man mind the "a&$lty o" "ormin%

anythin% more than a s$


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The &ir&$mstan&e that he is spoken o" as an atheist m$st not e taken "or a proo" that he

entirely denied the eisten&e a deity: "or that term #as not $n"re;$ently applied to s$&h as

only de&lared their diselie" in the %ods o" the people. F$hemer$s had many "ollo#ers.

Amon% them #ere the theologi, mentioned y >i&ero, ***, D1, /5: "rom the same passa%e #e

learn that, in &onse;$en&e o" the many and &ontradi&tory "ales that #ere &$rrent ao$t ea&h

o" the %ods, it had een "o$nd ne&essary to distin%$ish se'eral persons o" the same name, in

order to remo'e the &ontradi&tions. -or this reason ohanne)the B"ian5e Mensibus &1,

678 &alls this 'ie# the heroic andseparatist 'ie#, ton h9roikon kai meristikon logon: the

"irst, e&a$se it eplained the %ods to e heroes o" the olden time, the se&ond, e&a$se itdistin%$ished the "ales in the manner i&. . E. *, 4D, 11G: lat. 0e%. U, p. GG9 F: >ritiae "r. ap. Set. Fmp. ad'. math. *U,

/4. Also oly. L*, /6.15

See the note on *, 45, 1D.

The Stoi$)maintained a 'ery di""erent attit$de to#ards the pop$lar elie": to a &ertain

de%ree at least they $ndertook to s$pport and de"end it. They distin%$ished at the o$tset a

threefo& theo&og": the %o&iti$a&7 the m"thi$a& or %oeti$a&7 an the %hi&o)o%hi$a& or

%h")i$a&.1,

By the "irst they $nderstood the reli%io$s ordinan&es re&o%nized in the 'ario$s states, and

pla&ed $nder the &ontrol o" the p$li& a$thority: that is, the traditional or le%ally estalished

re%$lations ao$t the deities to e #orshipped in the state, and the manner o" payin% this

#orship.

The se&ond head &omprised the "ales re&o$nted y the poets o" the %ods and their doin%s.So "ar as these pretended to e narrati'es o" a&t$al e'ents, they #ere entirely re


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They tho$%ht, ho#e'er, to "ind the key to the $nderstandin% o" the most important "ales in

the third part, the physi&al or philosophi& theolo%y: this not only $ndertook to pro'e in

%eneral the eisten&e o" di'ine ein%s and a di'ine order and %o'ernment o" the #orld, $t

also re&o%nized the deities proposed y the politi&al theolo%y as oompare s. l$tar&h Ee pla&. phil. *, 6, G. Larro and S&ae'ola made the same distin&

tions. See A$%$stine >. E. *L, D7: L*, /. >ompare also F$sei$s pr. e'an%. *L, 1, p. 15G,?eini&h. (emphasis added)

P

N.>.0et $s net &onsider more &losely the $nderstandin% o" myth des&endin% to $s "rom

&lassi&al so$r&es, e%innin% #ith the three "orms o" an&ient theolo%y

16


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Note *. The threefo& theo&og" of the 6enti&e) a$$oring to Mar$5) Darro:

n. 1.+ncyclopedia Americana, 'ol. D6, pa%e /16/1G, 1967 edition, s.'. Theolo%y

Mar&$s Terenti$s Larro J116 B> Q D7 B>K, proaly "ollo#in% the Stoi& philosopher

anaeti$s, di'ided theolo%y into three mythi&al, nat$ral (or physi&al), and &i'il (or politi&al).

Mythi&al theolo%y #as &on&erned #ith the myths ao$t the %ods and the do&trines implied in

them: politi&al theolo%y #ith the des&riptions o" the rites and o" the reli%io$s pra&ti&es o"

'ario$s &ities or states: and nat$ral theolo%y #as the s&ien&e o" di'inity, the propero&&$pation o" philosophers.

n. *.Latin Literature: A *istory, 2ian Bia%io >onte (trans. y . B. Solodo#), ohn ?opkins 1994 ed.

*n it Js&. theAnti#uitatesK Larro distin%$ished three #ays o" &on&ei'in% o" di'inity a "a

$lo$s theolo%y, in&l$din% the stories o" mytholo%y and their elaoration at the hands o" the

poets: a nat$ral theolo%y, that is, the philosophers= theories on di'inity, #hi&h m$st remain

e&l$si'ely in the possession o" the intelle&t$als o" the r$lin% &lass and not e spread amon%

the people, "or "ear that it #o$ld threaten the idea o" the sa&redness o" the state instit$tions:

and "inally, the &i'il theolo%y, #hi&h &on&ei'es o" di'inity in relation to a politi&al need and

th$s is $se"$l to the state.

Larro took this arran%ement o" reli%ion "rom Stoi& theolo%y $t adapted it to &ontemporary

&on&erns the politi&al ne&essity o" preser'in% the &$lt$ral inheritan&e o" 8oman reli%ion,

e'en #itho$t a&&eptin% its &redo. The 'ery str$&t$re o" the Anti#uitates, #hi&h p$ts 0es

*umanaee"ore0es i/inaesho#s ho# "or Larro reli%ion, #ith its &$lts and rit$als, #as a&reation o" men.

n. +.The three "orms o" theolo%y a&&ordin% to Larro

1. The nat$ral theolo%y o" the philosophers

D. The &i'il theolo%y (#hi&h has to do #ith the #orship o" idols in the temples)

5. The "a$lo$s theolo%y (#hi&h has to do #ith the "ales o" the poets)

n. ,.*n re%ard to these "orms, &". 8omans 1D5D/ (Eo$ay8heims).

1D5. And they &han%ed the %lory o" the in&orr$ptile 2od into the likeness o" the ima%e o" a

&orr$ptile man, and o" irds, and o" "o$r"ooted easts, and o" &reepin% thin%s.

1D4. +here"ore 2od %a'e them $p to the desires o" their heart, $nto $n&leanness, to

dishono$r their o#n odies amon% themsel'es.

1D/. +ho &han%ed the tr$th o" 2od into a lie: and #orshipped and ser'ed the &reat$re ratherthan the >reator, #ho is lessed "or e'er. Amen.

n. -.-or their &orrelation #ith the "ore%oin% di'ision o" St. a$l, &". St. Thomas A;$inas,

Commentary on St. (aul)s Letter to the 0omans (Super ad 0omanos, &ap. 1, le&t. 7) (tr.

B.A.M.)

17


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B$t the Apostle appears to to$&h $pon a three"old theolo%y o" the 2entiles. -irst, &i'il,

#hi&h $sed to e oser'ed y the priests in the adoration o" idols in the Temple: and #ith

respe&t to this he saysAnd changed the incorruptible glory of !od.

Se&ond, "a$lo$s Jor mythicalK theolo%y, #hi&h the poets $sed to hand on in the theatres:

and #ith respe&t to this he says -ho changed the truth of !od into a lie.

Third, nat$ral theolo%y, #hi&h the philosophers ha'e oser'ed in the #orld, #orshippin%

the parts o" the #orld: and #ith respe&t to this he says And they "orshipped and ser/ed thecreature rather than the Creator.

n. .-or the "o$ndational a&&o$nt, &". St. A$%$stine o" ?ippo, City of !odL*. /G

Chapter . %Concerning the Three ;inds of Theology According to 1arro, amely,

'ne Fabulous, the 'ther atural, the Third Ci/il.

o# #hat are #e to say o" this proposition o" his, namely, that there are three kinds o" theo

lo%y, that is, o" the a&&o$nt #hi&h is %i'en o" the %ods: and o" these, the one is &alled mythi&al, the other physi&al, and the third &i'il Eid the 0atin $sa%e permit, #e sho$ld &all the

kind #hi&h he has pla&ed "irst in orderfabular, $t let $s &all it fabulous, "or mythi&al is

deri'ed "rom the 2reek mu=qoj, a "ale: $t that the se&ond sho$ld e &alled natural, the$sa%e o" spee&h no# admits: the third he himsel" has desi%nated in 0atin, &allin% it ci/il.Then he says, they &all that kind mythical#hi&h the poets &hie"ly $se:physical, that #hi&h

the philosophers $se: ci/il, that #hi&h the people $se. As to the "irst * ha'e mentioned, says

he, in it are many "i&tions, #hi&h are &ontrary to the di%nity and nat$re o" the immortals.

-or #e "ind in it that one %od has een orn "rom the head, another "rom the thi%h, another

"rom drops o" lood: also, in this #e "ind that %ods ha'e stolen, &ommitted ad$ltery, ser'ed

men: in a #ord, in this all manner o" thin%s are attri$ted to the %ods, s$&h as may e"all, not

merely any man, $t e'en the most &ontemptile man.

?e &ertainly, #here he &o$ld, #here he dared, #here he tho$%ht he &o$ld do it #ith im

p$nity, has mani"ested, #itho$t any o" the haziness o" ami%$ity, ho# %reat in


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B$t someone may say, 0et $s distin%$ish these t#o kinds o" theolo%y, the mythi&al and the

physi&al,3that is, the "a$lo$s and the nat$ral,3"rom this &i'il kind ao$t #hi&h #e are

no# speakin%. Anti&ipatin% this, he himsel" has distin%$ished them. 0et $s see no# ho# he

eplains the &i'il theolo%y itsel". * see, indeed, #hy it sho$ld e distin%$ished as J"rom theK

"a$lo$s, e'en e&a$se it is "alse, e&a$se it is ase, e&a$se it is $n#orthy. B$t to #ish to

distin%$ish the nat$ral "rom the &i'il, #hat else is that $t to &on"ess that the &i'il itsel" is

"alse -or i" that e nat$ral, #hat "a$lt has it that it sho$ld e e&l$ded And i" this #hi&h is

&alled &i'il e not nat$ral, #hat merit has it that it sho$ld e admitted This, in tr$th, is the

&a$se #hy he #rote "irst &on&ernin% h$man thin%s, and a"ter#ards &on&ernin% di'ine thin%s:sin&e in di'ine thin%s he did not "ollo# nat$re, $t the instit$tion o" men.

0et $s look at this &i'il theolo%y o" his. The third kind, says he, is that #hi&h &itizens in

&ities, and espe&ially the priests, o$%ht to kno# and to administer. -rom it is to e kno#n

#hat %od ea&h one may s$italy #orship, #hat sa&red rites and sa&ri"i&es ea&h one may

s$italy per"orm. 0et $s still attend to #hat "ollo#s. The "irst theolo%y, he says, isespe&ially adapted to the theatre, the se&ond to the #orld, the third to the &ity. +ho does not

see to #hi&h he %i'es the palm >ertainly to the se&ond, #hi&h he said ao'e is that o" the

philosophers. -or he testi"ies that this pertains to the #orld, than #hi&h they think there is

nothin% etter. B$t those t#o theolo%ies, the "irst and the third,3to #it, those o" the theatre

and o" the &ity,3has he distin%$ished them or $nited them -or altho$%h #e see that the &ity

is in the #orld, #e do not see that it "ollo#s that any thin%s elon%in% to the &ity pertain tothe #orld. -or it is possile that s$&h thin%s may e #orshipped and elie'ed in the &ity,

a&&ordin% to "alse opinions, as ha'e no eisten&e either in the #orld or o$t o" it. B$t #here is

the theatre $t in the &ity +ho instit$ted the theatre $t the state -or #hat p$rpose did it

&onstit$te it $t "or s&eni& plays And to #hat &lass o" thin%s do s&eni& plays elon% $t to

those di'ine thin%s &on&ernin% #hi&h these ooks o" Larro=s are #ritten #ith so m$&h

aility

Chapter


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That theolo%y, there"ore, #hi&h they &all nat$ral, ein% p$t aside "or a moment, as it is a"ter

#ards to e dis&$ssed, #e ask i" any one is really &ontent to seek a hope "or eternal li"e "rom

poeti&al, theatri&al, s&eni& %ods erish the tho$%htY The tr$e 2od a'ert so #ild and sa&ri

le%io$s a madnessY +hat, is eternal li"e to e asked "rom those %ods #hom these thin%s

pleased, and #hom these thin%s propitiate, in #hi&h their o#n &rimes are represented o

one, as * think, has arri'ed at s$&h a pit&h o" headlon% and "$rio$s impiety. So then, neither

y the "a$lo$s nor y the &i'il theolo%y does any one otain eternal li"e. -or the one so#s

ase thin%s &on&ernin% the %ods y "ei%nin% them, the other reaps y &herishin% them: the

one s&atters lies, the other %athers them to%ether: the one p$rs$es di'ine thin%s #ith "alse&rimes, the other in&orporates amon% di'ine thin%s the plays #hi&h are made $p o" these

&rimes: the one so$nds aroad in h$man son%s impio$s "i&tions &on&ernin% the %ods, theother &onse&rates these "or the "esti'ities o" the %ods themsel'es: the one sin%s the misdeeds

and &rimes o" the %ods, the other lo'es them: the one %i'es "orth or "ei%ns, the other either

attests the tr$e or deli%hts in the "alse. Both are ase: oth are damnale. B$t the one #hi&h

is theatri&al tea&hes p$li& aomination, and that one #hi&h is o" the &ity adorns itsel" #iththat aomination. Shall eternal li"e e hoped "or "rom these, y #hi&h this short and temporal

li"e is poll$ted Eoes the so&iety o" #i&ked men poll$te o$r li"e i" they insin$ate themsel'es

into o$r a""e&tions, and #in o$r assent and does not the so&iety o" demons poll$te the li"e,

#ho are #orshipped #ith their o#n &rimesi" #ith tr$e &rimes, ho# #i&ked the demonsY i"

#ith "alse, ho# #i&ked the #orshipY

+hen #e say these thin%s, it may per&han&e seem to some one #ho is 'ery i%norant o" these

matters that only those thin%s &on&ernin% the %ods #hi&h are s$n% in the son%s o" the poets

and a&ted on the sta%e are $n#orthy o" the di'ine mai'il

theolo%y is there"ore not ;$ite dis&onne&ted "rom that o" the poets. e'ertheless, in another

pla&e, &on&ernin% the %enerations o" the %ods, he says that the people are more in&lined

to#ard the poets than to#ard the physi&al theolo%ists. -or in this pla&e he said #hat o$%ht to

e done: in that other pla&e, #hat #as really done. ?e said that the latter had #ritten "or the

sake o" $tility, $t the poets "or the sake o" am$sement. And hen&e the thin%s "rom the poets=

#ritin%s, #hi&h the people o$%ht not to "ollo#, are the &rimes o" the %ods: #hi&h,

ne'ertheless, am$se oth the people and the %ods. -or, "or am$sement=s sake, he says, the

poets #rite, and not "or that o" $tility: ne'ertheless they #rite s$&h thin%s as the %ods #illdesire, and the people per"orm.

Chapter =.%Concerning the Likeness and Agreement of the Fabulous and Ci/il Theologies.

That theolo%y, there"ore, #hi&h is "a$lo$s, theatri&al, s&eni&, and "$ll o" all aseness and

$nseemliness, is taken $p into the &i'il theolo%y: and part o" that theolo%y, #hi&h in itstotality is deser'edly


21/190

and one #hi&h, ein% alien to the #hole ody, #as $ns$italy atta&hed to and s$spended

"rom it, $t a part entirely &on%r$o$s #ith, and most harmonio$sly "itted to the rest, as a

memer o" the same ody. -or #hat else do those ima%es, "orms, a%es, sees, &hara&teristi&s

o" the %ods sho# *" the poets ha'e $piter #ith a eard and Mer&$ry eardless, ha'e not the

priests the same *s the riap$s o" the priests less os&ene than the riap$s o" the players

Eoes he re&ei'e the adoration o" #orshippers in a di""erent "orm "rom that in #hi&h he

mo'es ao$t the sta%e "or the am$sement o" spe&tators *s not Sat$rn old and Apollo yo$n%

in the shrines #here their ima%es stand as #ell as #hen represented y a&tors= masks +hy

are -or&$l$s, #ho presides o'er doors, and 0imentin$s, #ho presides o'er thresholds andlintels, male %ods, and >ardea et#een them "eminine, #ho presides o'er hin%es. Are not

those thin%s "o$nd in ooks on di'ine thin%s, #hi&h %ra'e poets ha'e deemed $n#orthy o"their 'erses Eoes the Eiana o" Z the theatre &arry arms, #hilst the Eiana o" the &ity is simply

a 'ir%in *s the sta%e Apollo a lyrist, $t the Eelphi& Apollo i%norant o" this art B$t these

thin%s are de&ent &ompared #ith the more shame"$l thin%s. +hat #as tho$%ht o" $piter

himsel" y those #ho pla&ed his #et n$rse in the >apitol Eid they not ear #itness toF$hemer$s, #ho, not #ith the %arr$lity o" a "aleteller, $t #ith the %ra'ity o" an historian

#ho had dili%ently in'esti%ated the matter, #rote that all s$&h %ods had een men and

mortals And they #ho appointed the Fp$lones as parasites at the tale o" $piter, #hat else

did they #ish "or $t mimi& sa&red rites. -or i" any mimi& had said that parasites o" $piter

#ere made $se o" at his tale, he #o$ld ass$redly ha'e appeared to e seekin% to &all "orth

la$%hter. Larro said it,not #hen he #as mo&kin%, $t #hen he #as &ommendin% the %odsdid he say it. ?is ooks on di'ine, not on h$man, thin%s testi"y that he #rote this,not #here

he set "orth the s&eni& %ames, $t #here he eplained the >apitoline la#s. *n a #ord, he is

&on;$ered, and &on"esses that, as they made the %ods #ith a h$man "orm, so they elie'ed

that they are deli%hted #ith h$man pleas$res. -or also mali%n spirits #ere not so #antin% to

their o#n $siness as not to &on"irm noio$s opinions in the minds o" men y &on'ertin%

them into sport. +hen&e also is that story ao$t the sa&ristan o" ?er&$les, #hi&h says that,

ha'in% nothin% to do, he took to playin% at di&e as a pastime, thro#in% them alternately #ith

the one hand "or ?er&$les, #ith the other "or himsel", #ith this $nderstandin%, that i" hesho$ld #in, he sho$ld "rom the "$nds o" the temple prepare himsel" a s$pper, and hire a

mistress: $t i" ?er&$les sho$ld #in the %ame, he himsel" sho$ld, at his o#n epense,

pro'ide the same "or the pleas$re o" ?er&$les. Then, #hen he had een eaten y himsel", as

tho$%h y ?er&$les, he %a'e to the %od ?er&$les the s$pper he o#ed him, and also the mostnole harlot 0arentina. B$t she, ha'in% "allen asleep in the temple, dreamed that ?er&$les

had had inter&o$rse #ith her, and had said to her that she #o$ld "ind her payment #ith the

yo$th #hom she sho$ld "irst meet on lea'in% the temple, and that she #as to elie'e this to

e paid to her y ?er&$les. And so the "irst yo$th that met her on %oin% o$t #as the #ealthy

Tar$ti$s, #ho kept her a lon% time, and #hen he died le"t her his heir. She, ha'in% otained a

most ample "ort$ne, that she sho$ld not seem $n%rate"$l "or the di'ine hire, in her t$rn made

the 8oman people her heir, #hi&h she tho$%ht to e most a&&eptale to the deities: and,

ha'in% disappeared, the #ill #as "o$nd. By #hi&h meritorio$s &ond$&t they say that she

%ained di'ine honors.

o# had these thin%s een rei%ned y the poets and a&ted y the mimi&s, they #o$ld #ith

o$t any do$t ha'e een said to pertain to the "a$lo$s theolo%y, and #o$ld ha'e een


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said o" all the rest o" this theolo%y. And, ne'ertheless, it is &alled the "a$lo$s theolo%y, and

is &ens$red, &ast o"", re1&&&

Eo yo$ see, then, ho# "rom the ri%ht and $se"$l dis&o'ery o" nat$ral phenomena a passa%e#as made in tho$%ht to ima%inary and "i&titio$s deities3a passa%e #hi&h %a'e rise to "alse

elie"s, and "ranti& errors, and s$perstitions #orthy almost o" a eldame. -or #e are made

a&;$ainted #ith the "orms, a%e, dress, and e;$ipment o" the %ods, as also #ith their des&ents,

marria%es, relationships, and e'erythin% in them that has een red$&ed to the likeness o" h$man "railty. Th$s, they are ro$%ht e"ore $s #ith their minds a prey to dist$ran&e, "or #e

hear o" their desires and sorro#s and an%ers, and they ha'e e'en, as the stories relate, had

eperien&e o" #ars and attles, not only, as in ?omer, #hen they prote&ted on one side or the

other t#o opposin% armies, $t they ha'e also #a%ed their o#n personal #ars, as #ith the

Titans and 2iants. These are thin%s to #hi&h it is in the hi%hest de%ree "oolish to %i'e either

$tteran&e or &redit, and they ao$nd in "$tility and the most $tter tri'iality. e'ertheless,

#hile #e s&orn and reeres thro$%h the earth,

ept$ne thro$%h the sea, one %od thro$%h one thin%, and another thro$%h another, to%ether#ith the name y #hi&h &$stom has desi%nated them, and it is these %ods #hom #e o$%ht to

re'eren&e and #orship.

n. 0.ote ho# >i&ero, #hile &ondemnin% them i" taken literally, $nderstands the #orks o"

theolo%i&al poets to &ontain the eni%mati& or alle%ori&al sort o" myth, an eample o" #hi&h

is theBattle of the !odsin ?omer (&l. ). !n this matter, &". also St. A$%$stine o" ?ippo,

City of !odL*. 6

D5


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A%ain, i" these sa&red rites Jelon%in% to the &i'il theolo%y o" LarroK, #hi&h are pro'ed to e

"o$ler than s&eni& aominations, are e&$sed and e&ie8e me now7 O 6ree')7 an o not re)o&8e "o5r m"th) an go) into a&&egor".*" yo$

attempt to do this, the di'ine nat$re as held y yo$ is o'erthro#n y yo$r o#n sel'es: "or, i"

the demons #ith yo$ are s$&h as they are said to e, they are #orthless as to &hara&ter: or, i"

re%arded as symols o" the po#ers o" nat$re, they are not #hat they are &alled. >5t I $annot9e %er)5ae to %a" re&igio5) homage to the nat5ra& e&ement)7 nor $an I 5nerta'e to

%er)5ae m" neigh9o5r.

And Metrodor$s o" 0ampsa&$s, in his treatise &on&ernin% ?omer, has ar%$ed 'ery "oolishly,

t$rnin% e'erythin% into alle%ory. -or he says that neither ?era, nor Athene, nor @e$s are

#hat those persons s$ppose #ho &onse&rate to them sa&red en&los$res and %ro'es, $t parts

o" nat$re and &ertain arran%ements o" the elements. ?e&tor also, and A&hilles, and A%amem

non, and all the 2reeks in %eneral, and the Bararians #ith ?elen and aris, ein% o" the

same nat$re, yo$ #ill o" &o$rse say are introd$&ed merely "or the sake o" the ma&hinery o"

the poem, not one o" these persona%es ha'in% really eisted. B$t these thin%s #e ha'e p$t"orth only "or ar%$ment=s sake: "or it is not allo#ale e'en to &ompare o$r notion o" 2od

#ith those #ho are #allo#in% in matter and m$d. (emphasis added)

n. 13.-or the literal readin% o" s$&h tales &hara&teristi& o" the ordinary man, &". Helley 0.

8oss, >omments on the+uthyphro1D

-e(a. F$thyphro no# la$n&hes o"" into a spee&h &itin% 2reek mytholo%y as a


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%ods). O5rano), -ather ?ea'en, #ho #as the son as #ell as the h$sand o" 6aia,

Mother Farth, didn=t like the &hildren she #as %i'in% irth to (the Titan)), so he re"$sed to

let them e orn, "or&in% them a&k into her #om. She didn=t like this too m$&h, and so she

e;$ipped the eldest son, rono), #ith a s&ythe (a lon% pole #ith a #i&ked lade "or

har'estin% %rain Q it m$st ha'e een 'ery &ro#ded in her #omY). +hen !$ranos net

approa&hed 2aia "or se, Hronos &$t o"" his %enitals. Th$s Hronos e&ame kin% o" the %ods.

B$t there #as then an omino$s prophe&y Hronos #o$ld e o'erthro#n y his son rete. ?e %re# $p and married his &o$sin Meti), #ho then s$%%ested %i'in% Hronos

somethin% that #o$ld make him thro" upthe other &hildren. They did, and he did: and, a"ter

%ro#in% $p, e'idently $nharmed, in their "ather=s stoma&h, @e$s=s silin%s


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The #orld is spheri&al: the ori&$lar hath the preeminen&e ao'e all other "i%$res, "or ein%

ro$nd itsel" it hath its parts like itsel". (!n this a&&o$nt, a&&ordin% to lato, the $nder

standin%, #hi&h is the most sa&red part o" man, is in the head.) The &olor o" it is most ea$te

o$s: "or it is painted #ith l$e: #hi&h, tho$%h little la&ker than p$rple, yet hath s$&h a

shinin% ;$ality, that y reason o" the 'ehement e""i&a&y o" its &olor it &$ts thro$%h s$&h a

spa&e o" air: #hen&e it is that at so %reat a distan&e the hea'ens are to e &ontemplated. And

in this 'ery %reatness o" the #orld the ea$ty o" it appears. Lie# all thin%s that #hi&h &on

tains the rest &arries a ea$ty #ith it, as an animal or a tree. Also thin%s #hi&h are 'isile to

$s a&&omplish the ea$ty o" the #orld. The oli;$e &ir&le &alled the @odia& in hea'en is #ithdi""erent ima%es painted and distin%$ished3

There=s >an&er, 0eo, Lir%o, and the >la#s:

S&orpio, Ar&itenens, and >apri&orn:

Amphora, is&es, then the 8am, and B$ll:

The lo'ely pair o" Brothers net s$&&eed. (-rom Arat$s.)

There are a tho$sand others that %i'e $s the s$itale re"le&tions o" the ea$ty o" the #orld.

Th$s F$ripides3

The starry splendor o" the skies,

The ea$ti"$l and 'aried #ork o" that #ise>reator, Time.

-rom this the kno#led%e o" a %od is &on'eyed to man: that the s$n, the moon, and the rest o"

the stars, ein% &arried $nder the earth, rise a%ain in their proper &olor, ma%nit$de, pla&e, and

times. Therefore the" who 9" traition e&i8ere to 5) the 'now&ege an 8eneration of

the go) i it 9" the)e three manner of wa"):G first, from Nature; secondly, from

fables; thirdly, from the testimony supplied by the laws of commonwealths. Philosophers

taught the natural way; poets, the fabulous; and the political way is to be had from the

constitutions of each commonwealth. All sorts of this learning are distinguished into these

seen parts.

The "irst is "rom thin%s that are &onspi&$o$s, and the oser'ation o" those odies #hi&h arein pla&es s$perior to $s. To men the hea'enly odies that are so 'isile did %i'e the kno#

led%e o" the deity: #hen they &ontemplated that they are the &a$ses o" so %reat an harmony,

that they re%$late day and ni%ht, #inter and s$mmer, y their risin% and settin%, and like#ise

&onsidered those thin%s #hi&h y their in"l$en&es in the earth do re&ei'e a ein% and do

like#ise "r$&ti"y. *t #as mani"est to men that the ?ea'en #as the "ather o" those thin%s, and

the Farth the mother: that the ?ea'en #as the "ather is &lear, sin&e "rom the hea'ens there is

the po$rin% do#n o" #aters, #hi&h ha'e their spermati& "a&$lty: the Farth the mother,

e&a$se she re&ei'es them and rin%s "orth. 0ike#ise men &onsiderin% that the stars are

r$nnin% (2reek omitted) in a perpet$al motion, that the s$n and moon %i'e $s the stim$l$s to

'ie# and &ontemplate (2reek omitted), they &all them all %ods (2reek omitted).

*n the se&ond and third pla&e, they th$s distin%$ished the deities into those #hi&h areene"i&ial and those that are in


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?yperion, >oe$s, and *apet$s,

+ith >rei$s

(?esiod, Theo%ony, 154.)

$pon #hi&h a&&o$nt this is &alled the "a$lo$s. The se'enth rank o" the deities added to the

rest are those #hi&h, y their ene"i&en&e to mankind, #ere honored #ith a di'ine #orship,

tho$%h they #ere orn o" mortal ra&e: o" this sort #ere ?er&$les, >astor and oll$, and

Ba&&h$s. These are rep$ted to e o" a h$man spe&ies: "or o" all ein%s that #hi&h is di'ine ismost e&ellent, and man amon%st all animals is adorned #ith the %reatest ea$ty, is also the

est, ein% adorned y 'irt$e ao'e the rest e&a$se o" the %i"t o" intelle&t there"ore it #astho$%ht that those #ho #ere admirale "or e&ellen&e sho$ld resemle that #hi&h is the est

and most ea$ti"$l. (emphasis added)

P

N.>. +ith these matters in hand, let $s net &onsider Aristotle=s prin&ipal statements

&on&ernin% myth

D7


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29/190


30/190

Note ,. M"thi$a& )59e$t) ea&t with 9" Ari)tot&e:

n. 1.!n those #ho rei%n and r$le, &". Aristotle,Metaphysics, U*L. 4 (191 41D) (tr. +.

E. 8oss)

The old poets a%ree #ith this inasm$&h as they say that not those #ho are "irst in time, e.%.

i%ht and ?ea'en or >haos or !&ean, rei%n and r$le, $t @e$s. These poets, ho#e'er, are

led to speak th$s only e&a$se they think o" the r$lers o" the #orld as &han%in%: "or those o"

them #ho &omine the t#o &hara&ters in that they do not $se mythi&al lan%$a%e thro$%ho$t,

e.%. here&ydes and some others, make the ori%inal %eneratin% a%ent the Best, and so do the

Ma%i, and some o" the later sa%es also, e.%. oth Fmpedo&les and Anaa%oras, o" #hom one

made lo'e an element, and the other made reason a prin&iple.

n. *.!n the o$termost hea'en and Aither, &". Aristotle,e Caelo, *. 5 (D7 1D/) (tr. . 0.

Sto&k)

JD7 1K The reasons #hy the primary ody is eternal and not s$


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32/190


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Eepri'ed o" the &are o" 2od, #ho had possessed and tended them, they #ere le"t helpless

and de"en&eless, and #ere torn in pie&es y the easts, #ho #ere nat$rally "ier&e and had

no# %ro#n #ild. And in the "irst a%es they #ere still #itho$t skill or reso$r&e: the "ood

#hi&h on&e %re# spontaneo$sly had "ailed, J&K and as yet they kne# not ho# to pro&$re it,

e&a$se they had ne'er "elt the press$re o" ne&essity. -or all these reasons they #ere in a

%reat strait: #here"ore also the %i"ts spoken o" in the old tradition #ere imparted to man y

the %ods, to%ether #ith so m$&h tea&hin% and ed$&ation as #as indispensale:

1. "ire #as %i'en to them y romethe$s, JdKD. the arts y ?ephaest$s and his "ello##orker, Athene,

5. seeds and plants y others.

-rom these is deri'ed all that has helped to "rame h$man li"e: sin&e the &are o" the 2ods, as *

#as sayin%, had no# "ailed men, and they had to order their &o$rse o" li"e "or themsel'es,

and #ere their o#n mastersR.

*. Some an$ient traition) a$$oring to Ari)tot&e7 %n Philosophy7 fr. 0.

n. 1.ohn hilopon$s,&n icom. &sagogen*. 1 J Aristotle, 'n (hilosophy"ra%. G, 8DD, 85

15, + G, tr. ed. +. E. 8oss, The -orks of Aristotle, 1ol. >&&, Select Fragments , pp. G3

GDK)

+isdom (sofi/a) #as so &alled as ein% a sort o" &learness ( sa/feia), inasm$&h as itmakes all thin%s &lear. This &learness ein%, as it #ere, somethin% li%ht, has a&;$ired its

name "rom that o" li%ht, e&a$se it rin%s hidden thin%s to li%ht. Sin&e, then, as Aristotle

says, thin%s intelli%ile and di'ine, e'en i" they are most &lear in their o#n nat$re, seem to

$s dark JGG1K and dim e&a$se o" the mist o" the ody #hi&h han%s o'er $s, men nat$rally

%a'e to the kno#led%e #hi&h rin%s these thin%s into the li%ht "or $s the name o" #isdom.

B$t sin&e #e $se the #ords I#isdom= and I#ise= in a %eneral #ay, it m$st e realized that

these #ords are ami%$o$s. They ha'e een taken y the an&ients in "i'e #ays, #hi&h

Aristotle mentions in his ten ooks 'n (hilosophy.

-or yo$ m$st kno# that men perish in di'erse #ays3oth y pla%$es and "amines and

earth;$akes and #ars and 'ario$s diseases and y other &a$ses, $t ao'e all y more'iolent &ata&lysms, s$&h as that in the time o" Ee$&alion is said to ha'e een: it #as a %reat

&ata&lysm $t not the %reatest o" all. -or herdsmen and those #ho ha'e o&&$pation in the

mo$ntains or "oothills are sa'ed, #hile the plains and the d#ellers in them are en%$l"ed: so,

at least, they say that Eardan$s #as s#ept y the "lood "rom Samothra&e to #hat #as

a"ter#ards &alled Troy, and th$s #as sa'ed. Those #ho are sa'ed "rom the #ater m$st li'e

on the $plands, as the poet sho#s #hen he says I-irst @e$s the &lo$d%atherer e%at

Eardan$s, and he estalished Eardania, "or not yet #as holy *lios $ilt $pon the plain to e a

&ity o" mortal men, $t they still d#elt on slopes o" many"o$ntained *da.= 1The #ord Istill=

sho#s that they had not yet the &o$ra%e to li'e in the plains. These s$r'i'ors, then, not

ha'in% the means o" s$stenan&e, #ere "or&ed y ne&essity to think o" $se"$l de'i&es3the

%rindin% o" &orn, so#in%, and the like3and they %a'e the name o" #isdom to s$&h tho$%ht,tho$%ht #hi&h dis&o'ered #hat #as $se"$l #ith a 'ie# to the ne&essities o" li"e, and the

name o" #ise to anyone #ho had had s$&h tho$%hts.

A%ain, they de'ised arts, as the poet says, Iat the promptin% o" Athene=3arts not limited tothe ne&essities o" li"e, $t %oin% on to the prod$&tion o" ea$ty and ele%an&e: and this a%ain

men &alled #isdom, and its dis&o'erer #ise, as in the phrase IA #ise &ra"tsman "ramed it,= D

Ikno#in% #ell y Athene=s promptin%s o" #isdom=.5-or, e&a$se o" the e&ellen&e o" the

dis&o'eries, they as&ried the tho$%ht o" these thin%s to 2od.

55


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A%ain, they t$rned their attention to politi&s, and in'ented JG1GDK la#s, and all the thin%s

that hold a state to%ether: and s$&h they also &alled #isdom: "or s$&h #ere the Se'en +ise

Men3men #ho attained politi&al 'irt$es.

Then they #ent "arther and pro&eeded to odies themsel'es and the nat$re that "ashions

them, and this they &all y the spe&ial name o" nat$ral s&ien&e, and its possessors #e

des&rie as #ise in the a""airs o" nat$re.

-i"thly, men applied the name in &onneion #ith thin%s di'ine, s$pram$ndane, and

&ompletely $n&han%eale, and &alled the kno#led%e o" these thin%s the hi%hest #isdom.

1?om.,&l.D. D1/1G.D>". iid. D5, 71D.5>". iid. 14. 41D, 'd. 16. D55.

+. Ari)tot&e#) i8i)ion of thing) $a&&e !wi)om# in %n Philosophy7 fr. 0:

1. art(a) $se"$l (1)

() "ine (D)

D. pr$den&e (pra&ti&al or politi&al #isdom) (5)5. s&ien&e (4)

4. #isdom (theoreti&al, i.e. spe&$lati'e or &ontemplati'e) (/)

,. In )5m:

(1) the $se"$l arts pro'idin% the ne&essities o" li"e

(D) arts aimed at the prod$&tion o" ea$ty and ele%an&e(5) la#s, and all thin%s that hold a state to%ether

(4) nat$ral s&ien&e, &on&erned #ith odies and the nat$re that "ashions them

(/) the hi%hest #isdom, applied in &onne&tion #ith thin%s di'ine, s$pram$ndane, and&ompletely $n&han%eale

-. E&a9oration) on the foregoing i8i)ion:

(D) ("ine art) in its poeti& part emra&es the #ork o" the theologoi, &ertain Ipoet theo

lo%ians=, or the Ian&ient poets=, s$&h as !rphe$s, M$sae$s, 0in$s, ?omer, and ?esiod: $t

their #ork is a&t$ally a mit$re o" poetry and diale&ti&, the latter ein% a spe&$lati'e art(5) (pr$den&e, i.e. pra&ti&al or politi&al #isdom) emra&es the #ork o" the "irst politi&al

thinkers, espe&ially that o" the Se'en +ise Men (&". the priests and la#%i'ers), #ho pro

d$&ed the reli%io$s "ales aimed at ind$&in% 'irt$e in the m$ltit$de thro$%h "ear o" eternalp$nishment and the like

(4) (s&ien&e) emra&es the #ork o" the phusiologoi, s$&h as Thales, Fmpedo&les, and the

other reSo&rati& philosophers &on&erned #ith nat$re

(/) (#isdom, i.e. spe&$lati'e #isdom, or #isdom simply speakin%) emra&es the #ork o"thesophoi#ho #ere "irst philosophers, s$&h as ytha%oras and lato ($t note that the "irst

three also in&l$de #isdom in some #ay inso"ar as they to$&h on the "irst prin&iples o"

thin%s)

. Some an$ient traition) in the form of m"th a$$oring to @&ato7 Timaeus **a(

$tatesman7 */,$:

54


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horone$s, the "irst man

ioe J the le%endary so$r&e o" the ri'er A&helo$sK

a"ter the Eel$%e, the s$r'i'al o" Ee$&alion and yrrha

haethon, the son o" ?elios

the destr$&tion o" mankind y periodi& &atastrophes, s$&h as the "loodin% o" the

ile

"ire %i'en to men y romethe$s, the arts y ?ephaest$s and his "ello##orker,

Athene, seeds and plants y others

/. Some an$ient traition) a$$oring to Ari)tot&e7 %n Philosophy7 fr. 0:

more 'iolent &ata&lysms, s$&h as that in the time o" Ee$&alion is said to ha'e een

Eardan$s s#ept y the "lood "rom Samothra&e to #hat #as a"ter#ards &alled Troy,

and th$s #as sa'ed

arts de'ised at the promptin% o" Athene

0. S5r8i8a&) from the e%o$h %rior to the &a)t $ata$&")m =ta5ght 9" that age#)

eJ5i8a&ent to Ari)tot&e?.

that the "irst s$stan&es are %ods ( that the &elestial odies are di'ine: &". the

separated s$stan&es that are their &on


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the rest. -or had they een &ertainly the prod$&tion o" that a%e and o" those a$thors y #hose

report they ha'e &ome do#n to $s, * sho$ld not ha'e tho$%ht o" lookin% "or anythin% %reat or

lo"ty "rom s$&h a so$r&e. B$t it #ill appear $pon an attenti'e eamination that they are deli'

ered not as ne# in'entions then "irst p$lished, $t as stories already re&ei'ed and elie'ed.

And sin&e they are told in di""erent #ays y #riters nearly &ontemporaneo$s, it is easy to see

that #hat all the 'ersions ha'e in &ommon &ame "rom an&ient tradition, #hile the parts in

#hi&h they 'ary are the additions introd$&ed y the se'eral #riters "or emellishment Q a

&ir&$mstan&e #hi&h %i'es them in my eyes a m$&h hi%her 'al$e "or so they m$st e re

%arded as neither ein% the in'entions nor elon%in% to the a%e o" the poets themsel'es, $tas sa&red reli&s and li%ht airs reathin% o$t o" etter times, that #ere &a$%ht "rom the tradi

tions o" more an&ient nations and so re&ei'ed into the "l$tes and tr$mpets o" the 2reeks.

1/. On ta&e) that are new:

>". . 8. 8. Tolkien, The Letters of . 0. 0. Tolkien , -rom 0etter \151 to Milton +aldman

(19/1) (Boston, D: 1sted. 19G1), p. 147

*n the &osmo%ony Js&. o" MiddleearthK there is a "all a "all o" An%els #e sho$ld say.

Tho$%h ;$ite di""erent in "orm, o" &o$rse, to that o" >hristian myth. These tales are Ine#=,

they are not dire&tly deri'ed "rom other myths and le%ends, $t they m$st ine'italy &ontain

a lar%e meas$re o" an&ient #idespread moti'es or elements. A"ter all, * elie'e that le%ends

and myths are lar%ely made o" Itr$th=, and indeed present aspe&ts o" it that &an only e

re&ei'ed in this mode: and lon% a%o &ertain tr$ths and modes o" this kind #ere dis&o'ered

and m$st al#ays reappear.

P

S5%%&ement. On Ari)tot&e#) 8iew of the go):

n. 1.Arth$r Madi%an, S.., Bryn Ma#r >lassi&al 8e'ie# D1.D.D9. re'ie# o" 8i&hard

Bod]s,Aristotle and the Theology of the Li/ing &mmortals. Alany State ni'ersity o"e# Cork ress

(5) +hile re&o%nizin% that the pop$lar narrati'es ao$t the %ods in&l$de "antasti& elements,Aristotle elie'es that the &ore o" pop$lar elie" ao$t the %ods is so$nd, in&l$din% (a) the

%ods are li'in% immortals: () they are s$premely happy: (&) they are ene"i&ent: (d) they

re#ard %ood h$man ein%s: and (e) #e o#e them the d$ties o" piety. Th$s the ;$estion ao$t

Aristotle=s &ommitment to traditional elie"s is really a series o" ;$estions ao$t his

&ommitments to parti&$lar elie"s. >ommitment to (5a) and (5), #hi&h are &ompatile #ith

the nat$ral theolo%y traditionally as&ried to Aristotle, does not entail &ommitment to (5&),

(5d), or (5e). That Aristotle $sed (5a) and (5) oth in theoreti&al and in pra&ti&al philosophy

stron%ly s$%%ests that he elie'ed them. The &ase "or his elie" in (5&) and (5d) is more

di""i&$lt to assess. Bod]s &ites a n$mer o" rie" re"eren&es as #ell as the lon%er dis&$ssionin++L** 14, $t the silen&e o"(hysics** 46 ao$t di'ine a&ti'ity is tellin%.

P

5G


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S5%%&ement. On what ha) 9een hane own in the form of m"th: The Timaeus:

n. 1.lato, TimaeusDdD5d (tr. 8. B. B$ry)

>ritias 0isten then, So&rates, to a tale #hi&h, tho$%h passin% stran%e, is yet #holly tr$e, as

Solon, JDeK the #isest o" the Se'en, on&e $pon a time de&lared.

o# Solon3as indeed he o"ten says himsel" in his poems3#as a relati'e and 'ery dear

"riend o" o$r %reat%rand"ather Eropides: and Eropides told o$r %rand"ather >ritias as the oldman himsel", in t$rn, related to $s3that the eploits o" this &ity in olden days, the re&ord o"

#hi&h had perished thro$%h time and the destr$&tion o" its inhaitants, #ere %reat andmar'ello$s, the %reatest o" all ein% one #hi&h it #o$ld e proper JD1aK "or $s no# to relate

oth as a payment o" o$r det o" thanks to yo$ and also as a tri$te o" praise, &hanted as it

#ere d$ly and tr$ly, in honor o" the 2oddess on this her day o" -esti'al.

So&rates F&ellentY B$t &ome no#, #hat #as this eploit des&ried y >ritias, "ollo#in%

Solon=s report, as a thin% not 'erally re&orded, altho$%h a&t$ally per"ormed y this &ity

lon% a%o

>ritias * #ill tell yo$ it is an old tale, and * heard it "rom a man not yo$n%.

-or indeed at that time, as he said himsel", JD1K >ritias #as already &lose $pon ninety years

o" a%e, #hile * #as some#here ao$t ten: and it &han&ed to e that day o" the Apat$ria #hi&h

is &alled >$reotis. The &eremony "or oys #hi&h #as al#ays &$stomary at the "east #as

held also on that o&&asion, o$r "athers arran%in% &ontests in re&itation. So #hile many poemso" many poets #ere de&laimed, sin&e the poems o" Solon #ere at that time ne#, many o" $s

&hildren &hanted them. And one o" o$r "ello# triesmen#hether he really tho$%ht so at the

time or #hether he #as payin% a &ompliment JD1&K to >ritias3de&lared that in his opinion

Solon #as not only the #isest o" men in all else, $t in poetry also he #as o" all poets thenolest. +hereat the old man (* rememer the s&ene #ell) #as hi%hly pleased and said #ith

a smile, *" only, Amynander, he had not taken $p poetry as a yplay $t had #orked hard

at it like others, and i" he had &ompleted the story he ro$%ht here "rom F%ypt, instead o"

ein% "or&ed to lay it aside o#in% to the seditions and all the other e'ils he "o$nd here on hisret$rn, 3JD1dK #hy then, * say, neither ?esiod nor ?omer nor any other poet #o$ld e'er

ha'e pro'ed more "amo$s than he.

And #hat #as the story, >ritias said the other. *ts s$ritias, #as a 'ery

%reat eploit, #orthy indeed to e a&&o$nted the most notale o" all eploits, #hi&h #as

per"ormed y this &ity, altho$%h the re&ord o" it has not end$red $ntil no# o#in% to lapse o"

time and the destr$&tion o" those #ho #ro$%ht it.

Tell $s "rom the e%innin%, said Amynander, #hat Solon related and ho#, and #ho #ere

the in"ormants #ho 'o$&hed "or its tr$th.

JD1eK *n the Eelta o" F%ypt, said >ritias, ^#here, at its head, the stream o" the ile parts int#o, there is a &ertain distri&t &alled the Saiti&. The &hie" &ity in this distri&t is Sais3the

home o" Hin% Amasis,3the "o$nder o" #hi&h, they say, is a %oddess #hose F%yptian name

is eith, and in 2reek, as they assert, Athena. These people pro"ess to e %reat lo'ers o"

Athens and in a meas$re akin to o$r people here. And Solon said that #hen he tra'elled

there he #as held in %reat esteem amon%st them: moreo'er, #hen he #as ;$estionin% s$&h o"

their priests JDDaK as #ere most 'ersed in an&ient lore ao$t their early history, he dis&o'ered

that neither he himsel" nor any other 2reek kne# anythin% at all, one mi%ht say, ao$t s$&h

matters. And on one o&&asion, #hen he #ished to dra# them on to dis&o$rse on an&ient

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history, he attempted to tell them the most an&ient o" o$r traditions, &on&ernin% horone$s,

#ho #as said to e the "irst man, and ioe: and he #ent on to tell the le%end ao$t

Ee$&alion and yrrha a"ter the -lood, and ho# they s$r'i'ed it, and to %i'e the %eneolo%y o"

their des&endants: JDDK and y re&o$ntin% the n$mer o" years o&&$pied y the e'ents

mentioned he tried to &al&$late the periods o" time.

+here$pon one o" the priests, a prodi%io$sly old man, said, ! Solon, Solon, yo$ 2reeks are

al#ays &hildren there is not s$&h a thin% as an old 2reek. And on hearin% this he asked,

+hat mean yo$ y this sayin%

And the priest replied, Co$ are yo$n% in so$l, e'ery one o" yo$. -or therein yo$ possess nota sin%le elie" that is an&ient and deri'ed "rom old tradition, nor yet one s&ien&e that is hoary

#ith a%e. JDD&K And this is the &a$se thereo" There ha'e een and there #ill e manyand di'ers destr$&tions o" mankind, o" #hi&h the %reatest are y "ire and #ater, and

lesser ones y &o$ntless other means. -or in tr$th the story that is told in yo$r &o$ntry as#ell as o$rs, ho# on&e $pon a time haethon, son o" ?elios, yoked his "ather=s &hariot, and,

e&a$se he #as $nale to dri'e it alon% the &o$rse taken y his "ather, $rnt $p all that #as

$pon the earth and himsel" perished y a th$nderolt,3that story, as it is told, has the"ashion o" a le%end Jor the "orm o" a mythK, $t the tr$th o" it lies in JDDdK the o&&$rren&e

o" a shi"tin% o" the odies in the hea'ens #hi&h mo'e ro$nd the earth, and a destr$&tion o"

the thin%s on the earth y "ier&e "ire, #hi&h re&$rs at lon% inter'als.

At s$&h times all they that d#ell on the mo$ntains and in hi%h and dry pla&es s$""er

destr$&tion more than those #ho d#ell near to ri'ers or the sea: and in o$r &ase the ile, o$r

Sa'io$r in other #ays, sa'es $s also at s$&h times "rom this &alamity y risin% hi%h. And

#hen, on the other hand, the 2ods p$r%e the earth #ith a "lood o" #aters, all the herdsmen

and shepherds that are in the mo$ntains are sa'ed, JDDeK $t those in the &ities o" yo$r land

are s#ept into the sea y the streams: #hereas in o$r &o$ntry neither then nor at any other

time does the #ater po$r do#n o'er o$r "ields "rom ao'e, on the &ontrary it all tends

nat$rally to #ell $p "rom elo#. ?en&e it is, "or these reasons, that #hat is here preser'ed is

re&koned to e most an&ient: the tr$th ein% that in e'ery pla&e #here there is no e&essi'e

heat or &old to pre'ent it there al#ays eists some h$man sto&k, no# more, no# less in

n$mer.

JD5aK And i" any e'ent has o&&$rred that is nole or %reat or in any #ay &onspi&$o$s, #he

ther it e in yo$r &o$ntry or in o$rs or in some other pla&e o" #hi&h #e kno# y report, alls$&h e'ents are re&orded "rom o" old and preser'ed here in o$r temples: #hereas yo$r people

and the others are $t ne#ly e;$ipped, e'ery time, #ith letters and all s$&h arts as &i'ilized

States re;$ire and #hen, a"ter the $s$al inter'al o" years, like a pla%$e, the "lood "rom

hea'en &omes s#eepin% do#n a"resh $pon yo$r people, JD5K it lea'es none o" yo$ $t the

$nlettered and $n&$lt$red, so that yo$ e&ome yo$n% as e'er, #ith no kno#led%e o" all that

happened in old times in this land or in yo$r o#n. >ertainly the %enealo%ies #hi&h yo$

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n. *.ro&l$s, Commentaries of (roclus on the Timaeus of (lato , tr. Thomas Taylor, 'ol. 1

(1GD, rpt. Hessin%er $lishin%, n.d.), pp. 1G19

A%ain, ho#e'er, #e sho$ld remind o$rsel'es respe&tin% the #hole deed o" the Athenians,that it is neither &alled a "ale, nor a mere history: some indeed re&ei'in% #hat is narrated as

a history, $t others, as a "ale. And some assertin%, that, in the "irst pla&e, the de'elopment

o" these, and s$&h like narrations, appeared to lato himsel" to e the pro'in&e o" a &ertain

laorio$s and not 'ery "ort$nate man.1And in the se&ond pla&e, that #hat is deli'ered y

lato is not a thin% o" s$&h an eni%mati&al nat$re, as the do&trine o" here&ydes, $t that hetea&hes #ith perspi&$ity &on&ernin% most o" his do%mas. either, there"ore, say they, sho$ld

#e "or&e him to analyse, sin&e the man proposes to instr$&t $s #itho$t ami%$ity. They also

add, in the third pla&e, that neither is a de'elopment in the present instan&e ne&essary. -or

the &a$se o" the insertion o" this narration is kno#n to e the deli%ht and all$rement o" the

reader. And in the "o$rth pla&e, that i" #e analyse all thin%s, #e shall s$""er the same as

those #ho in a slippery manner are &on'ersant #ith ?omer. Other) again thin' that the

e8e&o%ment of thi) hi)tor" )ho5& 9e referre to %h")i$a& harmon"7 from what @&ato

)a") of the narration a9o5t @haeton7 that it indeed has the form of a fable 7 95t that it

manife)t) a $ertain nat5ra& e8ent )in$e the Eg"%tian) a&)o7 who7 a) @&ato )a")7 were the

father) of thi) re&ation7 o9)$5re&" )ignifie the ar$ana of nat5re thro5gh fa9&e. So that

the de'elopment o" this narration J1G19K

1lato says this in the haedr$s o" the man #ho does not adapt the epli&ations o" "ales todi'ine &on&erns, $t interprets them physi&ally.

#ill e adapted to him, #ho speaks in the person o" the F%yptians. -or as Timae$s himsel",

&on"ormaly to the philosophy o" the ytha%oreans, makes his dis&$ssion "rom n$mers and

"i%$res, as interpretin% nat$re thro$%h ima%es: th$s, also, the F%yptian priest #ill tea&h the

tr$th o" thin%s thro$%h symols adapted to himsel". To #hi&h may e added, that lato

himsel" else#here a&&$ses those #ho speak e'erythin% "rom #hat is at hand, in order, says

he, that they may render their #isdom mani"est, e'en to shoemakers. So that he #ho deli'ers

tr$e assertions thro$%h eni%mas, is not "orei%n "rom the mind o" lato. And s$&h are the

ar%$ments o" ea&h.

+e, ho#e'er, say, that all these parti&$lars are a history, and also an indi&ation o" the m$ndane &ontrariety, and the #hole order o" thin%s: the history, indeed, narratin% past trans

a&tions o" men, $t symoli&ally &omprehendin% in itsel" those thin%s #hi&h are &ompre

hended in the $ni'erse, and the m$ndane &ontrariety. (emphasis added)

n. +.eremiah 2enest, la&es o" ote The S$n >hamer14

lato &on"irms this in his o#n 'ersion o" the &risis, %i'en in TimaeusDD >F. The F%yptian

priest talkin% #ith Solon states that the le%end o" haethon has the air o" a "ale: $t the

tr$th ehind it is a de'iation (paralla3is) o" the odies that re'ol'e in hea'en aro$nd the

earth, and a destr$&tion, o&&$rrin% at lon% inter'als, o" thin%s on earth y a %reat &on"la%

ration. (emphasis added)

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14 (httpVV###.%eo&ities.&omVTimesS;$areV0ayrinthVD59GVoo&in"oVprimerVs$n.html J/V/V5K)

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Note -. @rimar" 9e&ief) $oming 5ner the traition Ari)tot&e e%&ain) a) 9eing in theform of m"th: That the )5n7 the moon7 an the )tar) were tho5ght 9" the an$ient) to

9e go):

n. 1.lato, Crat., 597d (tr. Ben8ATFS. My notion #o$ld e somethin% o" this sort * s$spe&t that the s$n, moon, earth,stars, and hea'en, #hi&h are still the 2ods o" many ararians, #ere the only 2ods kno#n to

the aori%inal ?ellenes. Seein% that they #ere al#ays mo'in% and r$nnin%, "rom their r$n

nin% nat$re they #ere &alled 2ods or r$nners (qeou/j, qe/ontaj): and #hen men e&ame a&

;$ainted #ith the other 2ods, they pro&eeded to apply the same name to them all. Eo yo$

think that likely

n. *.Eiodor$s Si&$l$s, Library of *istory, Bk *

The "irst men lookin% $p to the #orld ao'e them, and terri"ied and str$&k #ith admiration at

the nat$re o" the $ni'erse, s$pposed the s$n and moon to e the prin&ipal and eternal %ods.

n. +.F$hemer$s, in Eiodor$s Si&$l$s,Library of *istory, Bk. L*. 1, tr. >. ?. !ld"ather)

>ertain o" the %ods, they say, are eternal and imperishale, s$&h as the s$n and the moon andthe other stars o" the hea'ens, and the #inds as #ell and #hate'er else possesses a nat$re

similar to theirs: "or ea&h o" these the %enesis and d$ration are "rom e'erlastin% to e'er

lastin%.

n. ,.F$sei$s o" >aesarea,(raeparatio +/angelica((reparation for the !ospel), Book *,>hapter L* (195) (tr. F.?. 2i""ord)

*t is reported then that hoeni&ians and F%yptians #ere the "irst o" all mankind to de&lare the

s$n and moon and stars to e %ods, and to e the sole &a$ses o" oth the %eneration and de

&ay o" the $ni'erse, and that they a"ter#ards introd$&ed into &ommon li"e the dei"i&ations

and theo%onies #hi&h are matters o" %eneral notoriety.

n. -.F$sei$s o" >aesarea, ibid., Book *, >hapter *U (195) (tr. F.?. 2i""ord)

Co$ "ind, too, in the hoeni&ian theolo%y, that their "irst Iphysi&al philosophers kne# no

other %ods than the s$n, the moon, and esides these the planets, the elements also, and the

thin%s &onne&ted #ith them=: and that to these the earliest o" mankind I&onse&rated theprod$&tions o" the earth, and re%arded them as %ods, and #orshipped them as the so$r&es o"

s$stenan&e to themsel'es and to "ollo#in% %enerations, and to all that #ent e"ore them, and

o""ered to them drinko""erin%s and liations.= B$t pity and lamentation and #eepin% they

&onse&rated to the prod$&e o" the earth #hen perishin%, and to the %eneration o" li'in%&reat$res at "irst "rom the earth, and then to their prod$&tion one "rom another, and to their

end, #hen they departed "rom li"e. These their notions o" #orship #ere in a&&ordan&e #ith

their o#n #eakness, and the #ant as yet o" any enterprise o" mind.=

n. .See also the e&erpts "rom Aristotle=s dialo%$e 'n (hilosophy&ited o$t o" Set$sFmpri&$s elo#.

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S5%%&ement. The rationa&e of E5hemer5):

n. 1.F$hemer$s o" Messene, ap$d Eiodor$s Si&$l$s,Bibliotheca(0irary o" ?istory), L*.

1

As re%ards the %ods, then, men o" an&ient times ha'e handed do#n to later %enerations t#o

di""erent &on&eptions >ertain o" the %ods, they say, are eternal and imperishale, s$&h as the

s$n and the moon and the other stars o" the hea'ens, and the #inds as #ell and #hate'er else

possesses a nat$re similar to theirs: "or ea&h o" these the %enesis and d$ration are "rom e'er

lastin% to e'erlastin%. B$t the other %ods, #e are told, #ere terrestrial ein%s #ho attained to

immortal honor and "ame e&a$se o" their ene"a&tions to mankind, s$&h as ?erakles,

Eionys$s, Aristae$s, and the others #ho #ere like them.R

o# F$hemer$s, #ho #as a "riend o" Hin% >assander Ja s$&&essor o" Aleander the 2reat,

r$lin% Ma&edon "rom 51 to D97 B.>.F.K and #as re;$ired y him to per"orm &ertain a""airs

o" state and to make %reat . ?. !ld"ather, 'ol$me

5, >amrid%e 197.

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S5%%&ement. Men who ha8e 9een eifie a) !heroe)#:

n. 1.Aristotle,ic. +th., L**. 1 (114/a 1/D6) (tr. +. E. 8oss)

J1/K 0et $s no# make a "resh e%innin% and point o$t that o" moral states to e a'oided there

are three kinds3'i&e, in&ontinen&e, r$tishness. The &ontraries o" t#o o" these are e'ident,

3one #e &all 'irt$e, the other &ontinen&e: to r$tishness it #o$ld e most "ittin% JDK to

oppose s$perh$man 'irt$e, a heroi& and di'ine kind o" 'irt$e, as ?omer has represented

riam sayin% o" ?e&tor that he #as 'ery %ood,

-or he seemed not, he,The &hild o" a mortal man, $t as one that o" 2od=s seed &ame. (&l. i'. D/G ".)

There"ore i", as they say, men e&ome %ods y e&ess o" 'irt$e, o" this kind m$st e'idently

e the state opposed to the r$tish state: "or as a r$te has no 'i&e or 'irt$e, so neither has a

%od: his state JD/K is hi%her than 'irt$e, and that o" a r$te is a di""erent kind o" state "rom

'i&e.

n. *.St. Thomas A;$inas,&n 1&& +thic. le&t. 1, n. 7 (tr. B.A.M.)

-or the %entiles $sed to &all Iheroes= the so$ls o" &ertain distin%$ished dead men, #hom they

also $sed to &all Idei"ied=.

n. +.eter o" A$'er%ne,&n (olit. Contin., li. ***, le&t., 15, n. 9 (tr. B.A.M.)

And they $sed to &all the leaders Iheroes=, as meanin% those attainin% to per"e&t 'irt$e and its

a&t eyond the &ommon state o" menR.

n. ,. ean Sezne&, Myth in the Middle A%es and the 8enaissan&e, ictionary of the*istory of &deas

The essential ;$estion, ho#e'er, is not ho# $t #hy did the le%ends and "i%$res o" the %ods&ontin$e to osess men=s minds and ima%inations sin&e the end o" the pa%an era. The &a$se

is to e "o$nd in the interpretations #hi&h anti;$ity itsel" had proposed on their ori%in and on

their nat$re. These interpretations &an ro$%hly e red$&ed to three. The "irst, and the mostprosai&, is e$hemerism the %ods #ere only men, "amo$s or po#er"$l men, #ho had een

dei"ied a"ter their death thro$%h the ad$lation o" their &ontemporaries. This theory is ea%erly

seized $pon y the >hristian apolo%ists, #ho $se it as a #eapon a%ainst pa%anism: $t it is a

do$leed%ed #eapon. +hile it deases the %ods y settin% them on a le'el #ith mortal

ein%s, it also &on"irms their past eisten&e it makes them part o" history. +hat !rosi$s,

*sidore o" Se'ille, and their "ollo#ers3s$&h as etr$s >omestor in the t#el"th &ent$ry3

attempt to do is to assi%n to the %ods a pla&e in time, in relation #ith the %reat "i%$res o" the

Bile: the res$lt o" these syn&hronisms is to restore their presti%e, y pla&in% them on the

same "ootin% as the atriar&hs. And indeed they seem to deser'e this rehailitation, i" theyhad een dei"ied, to start #ith, "or their 'irt$es, their #isdom, a%e DG7, Lol$me 5 or their

ser'i&es to mankind. >i&ero oser'ed in thee natura deorum:

Many di'inities ha'e #ith %ood reason een re&o%nized and named oth y the #isest

men o" 2ree&e and y o$r an&estors "rom the %reat ene"its that they esto#. -or it #

Excursus On Myth: A Series of Notes

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