The topic I chose to research and write about is Greek Mythology. I chose Greek Mythology because I felt that there was more information and more to write about rather than writing about a specific topic from within Greek Mythology. I also have more interest with Greek Mythology than Greek History or Egyptian and Prehistoric Civilizations.
I am choosing to use the website Encyclopedia Britannica, Greek Mythology article written by John Richard Thornhill Pollard and A. W. H. Adkins. I chose this website because it contains information about the majority of the different aspects that make up Greek Mythology, it also includes pictures of historical artifacts that help illustrate the culture involved in it. The URL for the website is: https://www. britannica. com/topic/Greek-mythology .
Greek Mythology is a collection of “ stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of ancient Greeks” (Pollard and Adkins). These stories range from how the earth was formed to the reasons that certain natural events happen. These stories included “ Religious Myths, Folk tales, and Legends” (Pollard and Adkins). I believe that these stories were made to help the peoples of ancient Greece visualize in their minds why certain things like lightning, storms, and droughts happened.
As Pollard and Adkins wrote “ Myths of origin represent an attempt to render the universe comprehensible in human terms.” I also believe that it gave them something to believe in and worship so no bad things would happen to them. The folk tales were “ told for amusement” and “ inevitably found their way into Greek Mythology” (Pollard and Adkins). This shows that since the folk tales were told over and over again that they eventually were accepted as possibly true and became part of Greek Mythology. I could see this happening in today’s worlds because if something is said over and over again it will eventually be thought of a true and written down for future generations to see.
Greek Mythology is portrayed by a bunch of characters which included some well know characters from childhood stories that I was told as a young child. These characters included Zeus, Cupid, Athena, Poseidon, and Hercules. I learned that in Greek Mythology that the seasons came about because Hades “ carried Persephone off to be his consort, causing her mother, Demeter, the goddess of grain, to allow the earth to grow barren out of her grief. Because of her mother’s grief, Zeus permitted Persephone to spend four months of the year in the house of Hades and eight in the light of day” (Pollard and Adkins). This is a really interesting view of how the seasons started and I could see how it would make sense to those ancient Greeks that believed it.
The website Encyclopedia Britannica contains overviews of different subjects not just Greek Mythology. Within the Greek Mythology article there is multiple sections that each have one or multiple paragraphs that give a brief explanation about the main point that make up Greek Mythology. It also included pictures that are relevant to the article, these pictures include artifacts from ancient Greece that were unearthed and each tell a different story of what was happening during this period of time.
The website is arranged in sections that can be scrolled through or clicked through on the table of contents on the left-hand side of the page. I would give this website a grade of B, I wish that it included a little more content for each section that is included in the article. I wanted to learn different things about Greek Mythology that I didn’t already know and this website did exactly that. I just wish that it had a little more content within the article.
Greek Mythology “ represents an attempt to render the universe comprehensible in human terms” (Pollard and Adkins). It is made up of a bunch of “ folk tales, legends, and religious myths” (Pollard and Adkins). Greek Mythology is still being taught to us today even if we don’t take a college or high school course to learn it. It is taught to us as young children in cartoons, books, and movies. It is portrayed in art in museums across the world. To me Greek Mythology is just another way for a civilization to comprehend what is happening in our universe, this can be seen across the globe by different civilizations also trying to comprehend what is happening and how to interpret it.
