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Definition: Greek mythology from Philip's Encyclopedia

Collection of stories mainly concerning the adventures of gods and heroes. In the myths, the gods are not wholly admirable figures: they have similar weaknesses to humans and are capable of great vindictiveness, revenge, and favouritism. Greek myths were often explanatory, offering answers to questions of human nature and the universe, clarifying abstract ideas, or explaining religious matters in a more rational manner. From the time of Homer (9th century BC), Greek polytheism formed a coherent system with a pantheon of 12 deities who dwelt on Mount Olympus: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares, Demeter, Hestia, and Hermes. Major religious centres included Delphi and Olympia.


Mythology

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The word ‘mythology’ comes from the Greek words mythos , a story or legend, and logos , a discourse. It is used to describe bodies of traditional stories about gods and superhuman beings, although many also include human heroes. However, it is extremely difficult to give a hard and fast definition; the boundaries between mythology, legend and folklore are blurred, and in many instances the words are used interchangeably – as can be seen in the body of modern folk tales that are known (among other things) as both ‘ urban legends ’ and ‘urban myths’. Humankind has always demonstrated a need to create such stories, whether as the basis of religion or simply to try to explain in human terms phenomena or events that seemed mysterious. In pre-literate societies these myths would be communicated orally and passed down from generation to generation, often being elaborated on and expanded as the need for more comprehensive accounts and explanations developed. Perhaps the earliest known examples…
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Full text Article mythology

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Literally, telling of stories, but usually collectively defined as the myths of a particular culture. A myth occurs in a timeless past, contains supernatural elements, and seeks to dramatize or explain such issues as the creation of the world (creation myth) and human beings, the institutions of…
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Full text Article Mythology

From The Classical Tradition
Translated by Jeannine Routier Pucci and Elizabeth Trapnell Rawlings Along with philosophy and politics, mythology is one of the major areas of influence of ancient culture on our own. In the most common sense of the word, mythology belongs to the classical tradition. Among ancient societies, it was…
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Full text Article mythology

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
[Greek,=the telling of stories], the entire body of myths in a given tradition, and the study of myths. Students of anthropology, folklore, and religion study myths in different ways, distinguishing them from various other forms of popular, often orally transmitted, literature. Much of that…
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Full text Article mythology

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Genre of traditional stories symbolically underlying a given culture. These stories describe gods and other supernatural beings with whom humans may have relationships, and are often intended to explain the workings of the universe, nature, or human history. Mythology is sometimes distinguished from…
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A girl playing with a doll. In his 1957 book...
Mythologies (1957) by Roland Barthes is a seminal, foundational work for the fields of semiotics (the study of signs) and cultural theory. It contains a collection of short essays analyzing various elements of popular French culture, followed by a longer, more theoretical essay explaining Barthes's…
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Full text Article mythology

From The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
is the field of scholarship dealing with myth but also a particular body of myths. Myth goes back to the Greek word mythos , which originally meant ‘word, speech, message’ but in the 5th cent. bc started to acquire the meaning ‘entertaining, if not necessarily trustworthy, tale’. The Romans used the…
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Full text Article Mythology

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The word ‘mythology’ comes from the Greek words mythos , a story or legend, and logos , a discourse. It is used to describe bodies of traditional stories about gods and superhuman beings, although many also include human heroes. However, it is extremely difficult to give a hard and fast definition; …
| 1,590 words
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Full text Article Greek mythology

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Oral and literary traditions of the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes and the nature and history of the cosmos. The Greek myths and legends are known today primarily from Greek literature, including such classic works as Homer ’s Iliad and Odyssey , Hesiod ’s Works and Days and…
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Full text Article Mesopotamian mythology

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Body of traditional stories and beliefs found in the ancient empires of Sumeria, Babylon, and Assyria. Babylonian and Assyrian traditions, concerning an extensive pantheon, drew partly on Sumerian mythology which covered the creation of the world, the organization of the universe, and the…
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Full text Article Teutonic mythology

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Body of traditional stories and beliefs held by the ancient peoples of Scandinavia and west Germany. The gods of its pantheon were divided into two groups: the Aesir , principal warrior gods headed by Odin or Wotan, father of the gods; and their original rivals the Vanir , gods of fertility and…
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