Ancient Myth And Its Impact On Modern Society - 902 Words

In my opinion, I do not think that it is important to study ancient myth. I feel that it is more so for the sake of entertainment because myth essentially offers explanations for things we already have in society. The stories behind how we have the institutions that we have today are interesting however not vital to further developing our knowledge. Furthermore, I do not think that our modern society can still gain from its study because of the way that we already have these institutions and studying ancient myth would not enable us to make further advances in society. The first example of an interesting institution that we have today that has a mythological explanation is the Olympic Games. They were said to have begun in 776 BCE and†¦show more content†¦As Apollo was chasing her through the forest to try to get her to love him she prayed to the gods to be turned into a tree to get away from him. As a result, they turn her into a laurel tree. Then there is the relationship between the gadfly and cows. According to the Greeks this derived from Io’s metamorphosis. Io was Zeus’s secret lover. Hera found out, so Zeus turned her into a cow to keep Hera from finding out. However, Hera knew that the cow was Io and asked Zeus to give her the cow as a present. Not being able to refuse, he gave Io to Hera as a cow. Hera did not want Zeus to play any tricks so she made Argus the 100-eyed monster guard Io. To free Io, Zeus got Hermes to trick Argus. He disguised himself as a shepherd and told him a story to make him fall asleep. He then killed Argus and freed Io. To honor Argus, Hera placed his 100 eyes on her sacred peacock, and this is where we get the look of the end of the peacocks’ feathers. She also sent a gadfly to chase Io around the world. This is where we get the relationship of gadflies always following cows around. Our modern myrrh tree also derives from ancient myth. The Greeks describe Myrrha’s metamorphosis into the myrrh tree as its origin. The myth is that Myrrha was in love with her father and refuses to marry. She wanted to commit suicide but her nurse set up a plan so that she would be able to seduce her father inShow MoreRelatedThe Myth Of The American Gods1256 Words   |  6 Pageswhat is a myth? To the common person, a myth is a work of â€Å"fiction†: an untrue story made obsolete by modern society. A myth is a story that cannot be taken literally. For the sake of making the definition clear, a myth is a story; it is a narrative; it is what helps people make sense of a complicated world through different perspectives and experiences. Sometimes, these stories have lessons that people can interpret from the events of them. Gaiman certainly has written a myth: the myth of the â€Å"AmericanRead MoreThe Myth Of The American Gods1153 Words   |  5 Pageswhat is a myt h. 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