Its greek to me
In this chapter of 'How to read literature like a professor' the author explains a fundamental part of literature which is present in the majority of writing today. This element is 'myth'. A common misconception of the meaning 'myth' is that generally the terms is referred to as bring untrue and of fictional upbringing designed to entertain the masses with it's thrilling tales, this is partly true however the other side to this is the meaning of explaining something that science cannot. 'Myth' is most commonly used in stories because it helps the reader to understand the ideas that the writer are trying to explore and gives the reader an idea to relate to as the Greek myths are some of the most well known of all. This is partly because of the moviemaking industry which made it their business to enthrall the masses with tales that were visually appealing and were mesmorising so that as well as making its way up as a popular genre, the 'myths' that were portrayed in these films would give reference to readers trying to understand a writers ideas. The most common example of a well renowned book and film is Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief, which takes the Greek myth of Zeus' son, Perseus (who is Poseidon's son in the book) and throughout which he goes on a epic adventure to save Olympus by retrieving Zeus' Lightning bolt. This story is a very good example of a popular series plot being based on 'myth' to make the reader better understand the ideas of the text.
One of the most iconic works of 'myth' is the story of the 'fall of Icarus'. The story begins with Daedalus, Icarus' father, and Icarus stuck in the middle of a labyrinth, this story then progresses as Daedalus builds wings for him and his son to escape with. The plan of his works and he with Icarus fly out to safety, however when Icarus feels the wind he has a sense of freedom which drives him to fly up and up and up while his father flys straight to the homeland. Icarus flies too close to the sun and it melts the wings made of wax and reeds which ends up with Icarus drowning in the ocean and dying. This story is very significant because it has inspired many works of art in the past such as various poems and paintings (Landscape with the fall of Icarus). It is also significant because of the various meanings behind it such as the comparision between tenacity of youth and the wisdom of elders, and how a driving passion can sometimes lead to your downfall, topics which are covered by philosophy (ideas which mythology cover well) and not science. One of the most interesting ideas that come from the 'myth' is from a painting called Landscape with the fall of Icarus, this particular piece by Pieter Brueghel is unique as it shows a average day around that time and the only extraordinary thing happening is the obscured image of feet coming out of the water, representing Icarus. The most fascinating thing about this image is that without Icarus, this painting would for one just be called Landscape and secondly would be exactly that, just a landscape image which would be nice to look at. It is notable how impacting it is to add just the tiniest of images but still make the greatest impacts because when inserted into the picture, the figure brings along its own fame to join the image and make it more well known and more understandable just like writers do with their stories.
One of the most iconic works of 'myth' is the story of the 'fall of Icarus'. The story begins with Daedalus, Icarus' father, and Icarus stuck in the middle of a labyrinth, this story then progresses as Daedalus builds wings for him and his son to escape with. The plan of his works and he with Icarus fly out to safety, however when Icarus feels the wind he has a sense of freedom which drives him to fly up and up and up while his father flys straight to the homeland. Icarus flies too close to the sun and it melts the wings made of wax and reeds which ends up with Icarus drowning in the ocean and dying. This story is very significant because it has inspired many works of art in the past such as various poems and paintings (Landscape with the fall of Icarus). It is also significant because of the various meanings behind it such as the comparision between tenacity of youth and the wisdom of elders, and how a driving passion can sometimes lead to your downfall, topics which are covered by philosophy (ideas which mythology cover well) and not science. One of the most interesting ideas that come from the 'myth' is from a painting called Landscape with the fall of Icarus, this particular piece by Pieter Brueghel is unique as it shows a average day around that time and the only extraordinary thing happening is the obscured image of feet coming out of the water, representing Icarus. The most fascinating thing about this image is that without Icarus, this painting would for one just be called Landscape and secondly would be exactly that, just a landscape image which would be nice to look at. It is notable how impacting it is to add just the tiniest of images but still make the greatest impacts because when inserted into the picture, the figure brings along its own fame to join the image and make it more well known and more understandable just like writers do with their stories.
Overall the general idea of 'myth' is depicted as false or madeup it is really the way of explaining the unexplained in a way that could be interpreted that was based off common knowledge of the time making the claim of the 'myth' sound believable, however this does not mean that 'myths' are entirely untrue but really have 'rings of truth' in it them. These stories also do not contain facts that would explain things fully as the reason for a myth is so events or information could be transfered to others in an alternate way, these 'myths' mostly contain morals that the listener or reader can then reflect off and change their own habits off these morals. Thus philosophy is the main subject that can be present in the 'myths and legends' of Greeks such as the Illiad and the Odyssey, for example, most think that the Illiad is the recollection of the Trojan War however in fact it is actually the story of Achilles revenge against Agamemmon who stole his prize from the war which is a slave woman who he kidnapped. Later in the Odyssey, Odysseus tries to make his way home from the Trojan War but it take ten years, give or take. Myths throughout history have taken the same path of structure which are: the need to protect one's family: Hector, the rival to Achilles in the Trojan War. The need to maintain one's diginty: Achilles. The fight to return home: Odysseus. The determination to remain faithful and to keep hope alive: Penelope, who is Odysseus' wife waiting for a decade. In these two stories the actions they take are ones very much humane and are kept alive through the 'myths' which these stories are based off and when relating to modern stories are carried on in them as many characters that are in them carry on these qualities from the 'myths' which were the base values that were held at the time and since been refined to suit a wider audience thus it is more well known so people around the world can relate to them, thus the power that comes from myths that have grown through the ages to what we see today in modern literature.