Belief in unbelievable myths

[Phlegmak]

It has been said that the ancient Greeks didn't believe all the silly stories that were part of their religion. For example, Theseus's battle against Minotaur or Daedalus's and Icarus's flight. The ancient Greeks knew that those stories were false and they considered the stories to simply be allegory.

I am recently of the opinion that that is false. The Greeks actually believed the stories. The reason why I am saying this can be understood if you look at the world today. People today believe all sorts of ridiculous crap (Bible literalists, New Agers) so, it's entirely possible that ancient peoples really believed all manner of stupid garbage. I considered the world today to be the age of the Educated person, and 2000 years ago, people were much less educated. So, in this age of education, people still believe insane stories, such as the flood story in the Bible. The flood story is OBVIOUSLY insane and OBVIOUSLY nonsensical, yet people still believe it. I was taught it in grammar school and I was taught that it was a real event.

So what do you think?

 

[Tee Kay]

I think it's fine as long as you don't go out of your way to impose your beliefs on others.

 

[holy king]

who said the greeks didnt believe in their myths?

 

[thomas.berubeg]

who said the greeks didnt believe in their myths?

My Classical myth teacher maintained that the greek intelegencia did not really beleive the myths, but the average peasant did...

 

[Perfection]

Maybe some greeks thought they were true and others didn't.

I don't know either way, but if someone as cool as Mobby can believe that religious stuff then anyone can believe anything.

 

[LesCanadiens]

Zomg Teh Religionists R Teh Stoopid

They Beleieeve In Teh Fairy Tale

Y Cnt They Be Smrt Like Us?

So what do you think?

I think you're full of yourself and that you think anyone who isn't an athiest is a delusional subhuman to be made fun of. People like you are what makes athiest look bad to the 98% of the human race that is religious.

 

[Phlegmak]

who said the greeks didnt believe in their myths?

I've heard that stated a few times. I think it was even said by the Skeptic Magazine writers like James Randi or Michael Shermer.

A book I recently read (written by an acquaintance of mine) that discussed the Egyptians and the Egyptian stories repeated that exact same sentiment regarding the Egyptians. Inferring from our modern world, the author of the book in question was totally wrong and the Egyptians did indeed believe all those crazy stories.

 

[raketooy]

It highly depends on the culture. Christian fundamentalism is relatively common in the US, but here in Finland virtually non-existent. And the education in the States is not that much worse. So IMO it is more about the environment in which one is brought up, and it might or might not have been fundamental amongst ancient Greeks. For example, at our schools on the first grades we are told all this biblical stuff of Noah's flood and creation etc, but not as truth; we are made clear that they are biblical stories.

 

[Verily]

In Greece, it depended on the time period. Early on, they certainly did believe in the myths. Gods were arbitrary and very human figures, and all of the events really did happen. What most people don't realize is that Greek theology matured substantially in its later years; by the time of Aristotle, the Greeks believed that the gods were perfect, unchanging, and generally very similar to what one might expect of a monotheist god. (A similar evolution happened in Hinduism as the thousands of gods slowly came to be considered manifestations of just three perfect gods.)

That certainly affects whether the Greeks of one period or another thought Icarus really did fly with wings made of feathers and wax.

 

[Phlegmak]

I think you're full of yourself and that you think anyone who isn't an athiest is a delusional subhuman to be made fun of. People like you are what makes athiest look bad to the 98% of the human race that is religious.

I assume you believe that these beings existed, or still exist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecatonchires
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mythology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enkidu

 

[emzie]

When you look at myth logically, you're missing the point. Myth isn't about logic, but that which is timeless and constant. It gives meaning to life. Myth was never intended to be logical or literal, but an expression of often ineffable truths.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I assume you believe that these beings existed, or still exist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecatonchires
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mythology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enkidu

Ah... the question you raised was not whether or not Greek myths were true, but whether or not the Greeks believed they were true. They are very different questions.

 

[JollyRoger]

Ah... the question you raised was not whether or not Greek myths were true, but whether or not the Greeks believed they were true. They are very different questions.

Correct. We are trying to determine if they were delusional subhumans or not.

 

[Phlegmak]

When you look at myth logically, you're missing the point. Myth isn't about logic, but that which is timeless and constant. It gives meaning to life. Myth was never intended to be logical or literal, but an expression of often ineffable truths.

But you're missing the point of what I was saying. You're saying exactly what I've refuted, by inferring the past by looking at the present. People today, who are relatively well educated, believe crazy crap. So people long ago definitely believed crazy crap. Myth stories are fun to read for us today, but they were believed long ago as truth.

 

[holy king]

But you're missing the point of what I was saying. You're saying exactly what I've refuted, by inferring the past by looking at the present. People today, who are relatively well educated, believe crazy crap. So people long ago definitely believed crazy crap. Myth stories are fun to read for us today, but they were believed long ago as truth.

they're stories. great and simple stories as they survived for a long time being passed on exclusively oral.
they could as well be true, but that's not the point of them.

romeo and juliet could as well be true, but that's not the point either...


but yeah, this has nothing to do with the question which parts of greek society believed in them literally.

 

[luiz]

Most greeks believed in the myths, to varying extents. But the greek intellectual elite mostly did not, and in fact privately mocked the myths and gods, as did the roman elite.

 

[JollyRoger]

Most greeks believed in the myths, to varying extents. But the greek intellectual elite mostly did not, and in fact privately mocked the myths and gods, as did the roman elite.

Had to be careful to not offend the riff raff clinging to their swords and religion.

 

[kulade]

I would think if one is told something from repetitively birth, a person would believe any ridiculous fantasy.

 

[emzie]

But you're missing the point of what I was saying. You're saying exactly what I've refuted, by inferring the past by looking at the present. People today, who are relatively well educated, believe crazy crap. So people long ago definitely believed crazy crap. Myth stories are fun to read for us today, but they were believed long ago as truth.

They were believed long ago as truth as part of a wider point. It wasn't a matter if Daedalus's and Icarus's flight happened or not, but that it was always happening.

The crazy crap people believe today -- word for word literal reading of Genesis and Exodus for instance -- is a logical reading of myth. It's a denial of one of the ways humans understand things (mythos and logos). It's the product of those who grew up since the west focused on logos and ignored mythos.

 

[LightFang]

Damn people, believing in religion. Subhuman, they are. Anyone who doesn't believe is stupid and deserves to die.