To begin with different scholars or writers are presenting
different versions of the same myth and, most of the time, each one of them
support their version as the original version. Moreover a lot of people, who
are trying to analyse the myths and discover their inner messages and meanings,
are giving away different conclusions based on their, usually, limited
researches. And finally let's not forget that time changes facts! The older the
myth/story the biggest the chasm between the original version and the present
version!
Now we need to keep in mind that Mythology have always served one
purpose; teaching, in a very creative, interesting and exciting way, the
youngsters the principles of life! The ancient Hellenes had achieved what each
country's educational system is trying to do today! So when you are studying a
myth don't face it as a historical event but try to see behind the words and
discover what the ancients are trying to teach us with it!
Another fact of vast
importance is that "Hellenic Religion" does not include Mythology. The connection within the Mythology and the religion of the ancients is negligible. A small amount of the information coming from Mythology is accepted, even as symbolisms, from the Hellenic religion. Like I said before Mythology has scholastic character after all. The fact that a lot people nowadays think them as one is a misunderstand that came along with the views of some modern scholars and
their studies on the ancient Hellenes and their ways. So I think that Mythology is fundamentally part of the Hellenic Philosophy and not an integral part of the Hellenic religion as most people think. At first I caught into the trap of my primal understanding on such subjects (I started studying these subjects not long ago after all) and thought that Hellenic religion is actually Hellenic philosophy and it is not a religion at all. Then after discussing it with a friend, who is one of the very few people I know who knows a great deal about that subject, and sleeping on it I came to understand that these are two completely different things that share a lot common points.
Now let's return to Mythology! Everything in the Hellenic Mythology (names, places, stories,
plots, heroes etc.) is nothing more than coded information about the creation
of our world, evolution, humanity, nature, life etc. For example due to
representing family, wisdom and nature, principles that cannot be violated,
Hestia, Athena and Artemis, are virgin goddesses. Another very interesting
example that proves my statement is the names of the deities. Let's talk about
the Titans Cronus and Rhea! The name Cronus comes from the Hellenic word Chronos
(Χρόνος), which means Time! Now Rhea means the flowing one (from the ancient
Hellenic word Ροή which means flow). So the couple Cronus and Rhea is actually
the Flow of Time or we can say that it represent the fourth dimension of our
universe...!!! Space and time!
The world Mythology comes from
three other Hellenic words: Μύω [Mio], which means shrinking, Θέω [Theo], which means moving with
great speed and Λέγω [Lego],
which means I say. So Mythology is actually passing the Myths (along with the
knowledge that is hidden into them) to the future generations in a very fast
and immediate way…! Here I would like to
point out that the word Myth means a fictional story with a true meaning and
teaching.
In conclusion I think that by
studying the Hellenic Mythology we can discover great things about our world, the
way it was created and ourselves. The Ancient Hellenes have given answers to
the greatest questions of humanity! In the same Myths we can find all the
principles of life, nature and humanity as well! Every day I spend studying the
Hellenic Heritage, my heritage, I feel more and more proud of my ancestors and
I totally believe that everyone on this planet should spend some time to study
even the basics of the Hellenic Philosophy!
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