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Video Summaries of Mythology
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1-Page Summary of Mythology
Overall Summary
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology is like a study guide in itself because it references so many different stories and characters. She briefly explains the Norse myths as well, but she focuses mostly on Greek and Roman mythology. In her introduction, she talks about how these myths are precursors to Western thought, which can be useful today.
After introducing the main characters, Hamilton then talks about the gods. Zeus is the chief and god of thunder and sky. His wife Hera is jealous of him and their children are Ares who is cruel and Apollo who’s a poet. Poseidon rules over the sea while Hades rules over death. Hestia protects hearth fires while Hermes delivers messages to everyone in Greece from Olympus (the home of all Greek gods). Hephaestus crafts items for them while Aphrodite loves beauty but lives on earth with humans instead of on Mount Olympus with her family. Demeter grows corn but Dionysus loves wine more than anything else which makes him different from his fellow Olympians because they prefer nectar, ambrosia, or nothing at all if it comes down to it.
In the beginning, there was only chaos. Then, love came and created heaven and earth. After that, monsters were born from the Titans (children of Cronus). The gods overthrew their father and ruled over humans. Humans populated Earth along with other supernatural creatures such as Hades—the land of the dead.
The stories begin to multiply and expand as the gods, especially Zeus, have sex with humans. Due to this, they give birth to heroes like Theseus, Hercules and Achilles. These heroes are famous for their exploits in life and Hamilton describes them in detail. She groups these biographies around the Trojan War which is immortalized by Homer’s epics about it.
Many ancient myths are stories about heroes, such as Aeneas, who founded the Roman Empire. Other myths explain natural phenomena like the constellations or flowers. Some serve no purpose other than entertainment. Flower myths usually involve beautiful youths dying tragically and can be traced back to primitive human sacrifice rituals.
Later in the book, Hamilton describes tragedies that Greek playwrights created. These tragedies include famous ones like Oedipus and Orestes. They question fate and whether humans have free will or not. They also examine situations where Greek ideas of morality are put at odds with each other, as with Orestes who is caught between avenging his father and sparing his mother. Tragedies revolve around multi-generational families where sins of parents are revisited by their children, leading to more bloodshed in a cycle of violence.
In the final section, Hamilton briefly discusses Norse mythology. According to her, this is an important influence on modern Western thought. She believes that many of our ideas about death and dying come from Norse myths because they are more extreme than those of other civilizations. The author also talks about some famous Norse gods and heroes, as well as their view on heroism.
Introduction to Classical Mythology
Hamilton first points out that the idea that ancient humans were innocent creatures in harmony with nature is a myth. Instead, we know from historical evidence that they lived in constant fear and hardship, and their gods demanded human sacrifice.
Hamilton then says that the ancient Greeks were a great civilization, and they influenced us today. The Iliad is an epic poem by Homer about the Trojan War. It’s important to study it because we are descended from them intellectually, artistically, and politically.
The Greeks created a civilization and art that is still admired today. They were able to do this because they put humanity at the center of their universe, unlike other civilizations who had deities with animal parts. This made them more rational, which allowed them to create a civilization that was admired for centuries.
