Mythologies

Páginas: 7 (1697 palabras) Publicado: 23 de septiembre de 2012
Mythologies Essay
The human mind is a very powerful, creative and curious tool; this is the reason why many mythologies were created. Originally, mythologies came to be because the different cultures needed ways to explain the world that surrounds them and answer some basic questions like where do we come from? Why are we here? How was the world created? Mythologies have fascinated human beingsfor centuries, inspiring books, movies, research, and conversation among those who want to learn more and who want to share the fables of the Gods and Goddesses. Their stories, their triumphs and failures, and their imminent Immortality has been the influence of many religions including Paganism and Norse Mythology. A fascinating fact about mythologies is that many of them are more similar thatyou would imagine, mythologies of cultures from all over the world and throughout history have many of the same traditions and myths but may differ on a few points. Some of these mythologies are the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians.
An unfortunate event is that many people do not know the differences between mythologies such as the Greek and Roman mythology, assuming that the two areinterchangeable. In reality, the two are very different from one another, and capture almost opposing life values that are central to the people of the time. Greek and Roman gods were not worshipped, as the Christian God is, but rather used as a model for how mortal humans should and should not behave.
The Greeks came first, about 1,000 years before the Romans. Their most appreciated work, the Iliad,was distributed 700 years before the Roman's most popular manuscript, the Aeneid. The Iliad was based on at least 300 years of myths and stories, which were gathered from the tales passed down by mortal observants. It was not meant as a holy scripture, however, but as a recorded history of the Greek Gods and Goddesses, who were revered by men during that time.
The Greeks were focused primarily onlife on earth, versus the eventuality of the afterlife. They believed that a man's worth was determined by his actions during his life, and that his true immortality was in the remembrance of his or her gifts to the world. Gods and Goddesses were based on human personality traits - such as Love, Honor, Dignity, and Hatred - and their actions in myths were symbolic of the actions of men. Many mythsinvolved a mortal or a deity snatching something back from the Underworld, which illustrated their belief that the afterlife was not of any concern, and that it was the physical world that was important.
Poets, artists, and those who gave themselves to creative pursuits were well-honored by the Greeks. They held creativity above physical works in the mortal and mythical world; myths reflectedthose personal traits and were meant to expose the positive and negative aspects of humanity. Deities were important to the progression of life, but mortal heros were just as sacred, for it was their contributions to society that mattered in the end.
Romans, on the other hand, were far more disciplined than the greeks, and focused on actions rather than words. Whereas the Greeks revered the poet,the Romans held up the warrior as the epitome of sanctity, and rewarded bravery and risks taken by both mortals and deities. They strongly felt that good deeds on earth would be well-received in Heaven, and they strove to earn their place among the Gods in the afterlife. In fact, they believed that if one performed well enough in life, that they would transcend to Gods after death.
Roman andGreek Mythologies are different, though they are rooted in similar histories. There were several more gods in the Roman Mythology. There were approximately 21 gods considered very important for the people because they were related to touchable things on earth, sometimes not only to touchable objects, such as the rain or the water, but also to feelings and beliefs, like peace and prosperity at home....
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