Monolithic Theories of Myth Much

¶ … Monolithic Theories of Myth

Much of what is known about Ancient Greece and Rome has been ascertained via the artifacts which those cultures have left behind them. These artifacts include artwork in the shape of pottery and statuary, and even architecture. One of the more lasting impressions of life within these societies exists in the form of the classical mythology that comes out of that period in world history. The Ancients had mythical stories in abundance on topics as vast as the creation of the universe and the pantheon of Gods at the helm, to the explanation of how man acquired fire, to suppositions on the origins of animal and insect species. Almost all civilizations have some form of mythology or cultural storytelling, but the Greeks and Romans have been given unlimited levels of attention both by readers in the modern setting who are interested in the perspective and by scholars who look at the myths as means by which the past can be more clearly revealed. In the book The Nature of Greek Myths, author G.S. Kirk explored the potential reasons for the creation and propagation of the various Greek, and by extension the Roman, myths including: the theory of nature myths, aetiological myths, charter myths, creative era myths, and ritual myths.

All myths are in essence, nature myths; at least that is in accordance with the first of the monolithic theories regarding ancient myth. According to Kirk, this is because they refer to "meteorological and cosmological phenomena" (1974, p. 39). The Ancient Greeks and Romans, mostly the Greeks as much of the Roman mythology is directly based upon the mythologies of the older society, looked up into the stars and tried to explain their origins. The cosmos are perhaps the most mysterious part of nature because they are unreachable and yet at the same time breathtaking. Even in the modern era, mankind has been fascinated with space, leading to eventual exploration in the twentieth century. It is assumed that somehow understanding space will allow humanity to understand the bigger questions of human existence and indeed the creation of the very earth itself. Groupings of stars were designated certain names based upon images that the people believed they saw within the formations of stars. Some of these constellations are more important than others, based upon the name given and its relationship with daily society. The fact that many of the characters of mythology are represented in the designated constellations shows the direct relationship between the cosmos and the rest of the society. This theory was found to be highly inefficient because there are far more things dealt with in mythology than the natural world, including religion and class and other forms of mythology.

Aetiology, or the study of causation or origin of a thing, is one reason why the ancients used mythology, according to GS Kirk's book of theories, because they serve as tools of explanation, or proto-science. According to the aetiological theory, as suggested by theorist Andrew Long, all myths offer some sort of an explanation for or reason for the existence of something that exists in the real world (Kirk 1974). In the days of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, they did not have access to most of the scientific knowledge and technology that we now take for granted. Understandably, societies which predate modern science have tended to create explanations for phenomena which they could not otherwise understand, such as floods, lightning, and fire. Each of these things is now explained by scientific exploration and realization about the functions of the world, the universe, and the resources that exist. Back then, though, they had no means of explaining these things and therefore developed a system of worship which would allow them to formulate a means of comprehending the incomprehensible. Now that the times of the ancients has long past, modern scholars and historians have looked back in order to hopefully be able to understand the people and Ancient Greece and Rome and their way of life. This theory was able to transcend the nature theory of mythology which was limited to things that exist in the natural world, but do not necessarily explain things like human behavior. However, this theory too has limitations because some myths do not deal with important matters and are in fact quite trivial, if they can indeed be said to actually define or explain anything.

Charter myths explain the need for or instruct the populous about proper behaviors, such as traditions or customs, also about the importance of public or private institutions, and ultimately about what the population ought to belief based upon so-called facts within the society. They are instructive but do not attempt to provide information about origination or purpose beyond informing the population of potential consequences for not abiding by the cultural customs. Malinowski suggested that instead of natural or explanatory reasons, a more logical explanation for the prevalence of mythology in Ancient Greece and Rome had to do with the reinforcement of customs and traditions already existing in the society. The myths would be created to justify accepted social customs as opposed to the actions of the society being dictated by the myths (Kirk 1974). The myth does not try to provide an explanation for why the custom must be performed but instead creates a precedent for the custom to insist that it is continually performed. An example of this would be proper burial rituals of Ancient Greece. It is written for example that bodies are to be properly buried and if they are not, but rather left out to be fed upon by wild birds and beasts, then this does not allow the person to be accepted into the afterlife. They will never be allowed to the next stage in Hades unless they are given a proper burial. No myths exist which explain why this is the case; it is merely presented as fact and therefore the Greeks were expected to bury their dead according to the customs of the social dictum.