I picked up the most basic of all bases book, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton, because, well, you need to build your foundation from something. And seeing how this book is now on 75th edition and counting, and still used widely, it seemed like a logical choice.
I find it pleasant to read and easy to digest, so I don't regret my choice. Some of the wording in it is quite interesting, and I bet it stems from it being written in 1940s.
Speaking of wording, I wonder if Hamilton's use of term "sin" when talking about ancient greek myths also stems from the book being written so long ago. It might be pedantic of me, but I feel weird about this word choice. Was "sin" a concept back there? It seems way too christian of a word to use for this civilisation.
What precisely tripped me was this bit from conception of the world myth:
...The Giants, the fourth race of monsters, sprang up from his [Cronus'] blood. From this same blood, too, the Erinyes (the Furies) were born. Their office was to pursue and punish sinners. They were called “those who walk in the darkness,” and they were terrible of aspect, with writhing snakes for hair and eyes that wept tears of blood. The other monsters were finally driven from the earth, but not the Erinyes. As long as there was sin in the world they could not be banished. (p. 67)
So at this stage world is just being born into what we know it, humankind doesn't exist yet, the land is populated with Giants, Cyclopes, Titans and primordial gods like mother earth and father heaven (Gaea and Ouranos). So what even is a sin at that point? Who would Erinyes pursue?
Sidenote: at the beginning of this book it was established that ancient greeks were concrete and logical in their mythology.
"That is the miracle of Greek mythology—a humanized world, men freed from the paralyzing fear of an omnipotent Unknown. (...) It may seem odd to say that the men who made the myths disliked the irrational and had a love for facts; but it is true, no matter how wildly fantastic some of the stories are." (p. 4)
So why would they put entities who hunt for sinners into the existance before there was anyone for them to hunt?
I'm probably dragging ancient greeks for their shoddy worldbuilding (ha-ha) in vain, but it's my blog, and I do what I want.
But back to the translation matters: is "sin" really the best word to use to describe an act that was deemed offensive in that culture? Because in my modern time brain this word is so deeply steeped in christian context that I find it hard to not ascribe it such tone, or think that the writer prescribes it. And what about Hubris? Isn't that a more common concept in ancient Greek literature?
So now I'm on a side quest to understand the concept of sin as it is related to mythology. Whoops.
yousharknotpass
germansingergirl
pixelskylines
discoholicmusic