The Myths Incorporated by Edith Hamilton - Essay Example

There is no denying the fact that the myths incorporated by Edith Hamilton in Mythology do testify to one simple fact that even before there existed art, science, literature, language, or organized historiography, man has always felt the basic need to ascribe meaning, sense and from to the tangible and intangible aspects of life. Perhaps it stands to be truer of the times in which the Classical myths came into existence, as the progenitors of these myths having no access to the modern scientific knowledge were may be more prone to humanize and deify the salient yet mysterious aspects of nature, human attributes and phenomenon that defied human understanding. Maybe contemporary humanity may think that myths happen to be ancient, fanciful and untrue stories. Yet, the irony is that this is very true. 

Humanity took recourse to preserve such phenomena and facts, by humanizing and characterizing them as the performers in seemingly fanciful tales. It may sound amazing, but even modern-day humans are not above myths. For instance, the contemporary myths regarding aliens, Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), life on Mars, or Dinosaurs are some of the standing examples of the fact that the human urge to imagine beyond what is visible or accessible is as much alive and kicking today as it was in the Roman or Greek times. In that context, it would be really interesting to dissect some of the myths mentioned in Mythology.

For instance, consider the Myth of Medea, who is presented as a willful, jealous and unremorseful character. The other thing is that Medea is a character that had been grievously wronged. The things done by Medea to seek revenge from her estranged husband could readily be resorted to being a modern-day woman if placed in such circumstances and situations. It may seem abnormal and strange, but even a cursory perusal of the crime files at any local police station would be sufficient to allay the doubts of any cynical disbeliever. There is one more practical facet to this myth of Medea. Medea is shown to be a sorceress or a witch. Perhaps the sorceresses were considered to be deviant as per the Greek religious beliefs and hence the demonization of the character of Medea in Greek mythology has a socio-political angle to it.

Is not the presentation of the character of Media, a sorceress, as a hard-hearted and unremorseful individual, somewhat akin to the demonization and burning of the so-called witches at Harlem in American history?

Also, for instance, the Oracle of Delphi may sound superstitious and fanciful to a modern person, but it goes without saying that the urge to have control over the future and the desire to be able to predict the future is a concept that is as relevant today as it was in the past. Multinational corporations around the world pay millions to the experts to harness their ability to predict the consumer trends in the future, to ascertain whether the stock markets will be bullish or bearish in the future or to predict the feasibility of initiating ventures in a foreign market. The scientists resort to digital models to predict the weather, to track the progression of global warming or to predict the future changes in the migration patterns of sea creatures. No wonder the modern-day man is contemptuous of the Oracles; yet, one has devised multiple high tech oracles of one’s own.

On the other side, the myth of Oedipus constitutes the cornerstone of Freudian Psychoanalysis. Even if one casts doubt on Freudian Psychology, it is a fact corroborated by the commonsensical observation that the male children tend to be competitive with and imitative of their fathers and harbor very close bonds with their mothers. Also, Oedipus’ answer to the question posed by Sphinx happens to be a timeless and universal fact.

Thus, myths in a way calcify the human urge to render form and content to universal facts or the phenomenon that defy human reason and understanding.
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