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What is a Greek Myth?

J a n Bremmer

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W h a t exactly is a Greek m y t h ? I n the past, m a n y solutions to this
p r o b l e m have been proposed, b u t i n the course o f t i m e all have
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p r o v e d to be unsatisfactory. T h e most recent analyses stress that
m y t h belongs to the m o r e general class o f t r a d i t i o n a l tales. For
e x a m p l e , W a l t e r B u r k e r t , the greatest l i v i n g expert o n Greek
r e l i g i o n , has stated that ' m y t h is a t r a d i t i o n a l tale w i t h secondary,
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p a r t i a l reference to s o m e t h i n g o f collective i m p o r t a n c e ' . This
d e f i n i t i o n raises three i m p o r t a n t problems that we w i l l discuss
briefly i n this i n t r o d u c t i o n . First, how t r a d i t i o n a l is a Greek myth?
Second, to w h a t degree does Greek m y t h contain m a t t e r o f col-
lective importance? A n d finally, i f m y t h is a t r a d i t i o n a l tale —
what then is the difference between m y t h a n d other genres o f
t r a d i t i o n a l tales, such as the fairy-tale or the legend?

1. H o w T r a d i t i o n a l is G r e e k M y t h ?

It is e x t r e m e l y difficult to d e t e r m i n e the age o f the average Greek

m y t h . M a n y tales were recorded relatively late, a n d therefore we
cannot ascertain the precise date o f t h e i r o r i g i n . Y e t H o m e r
already refers to the T h e b a n C y c l e , the A r g o n a u t s and the deeds o f
Herakles. M o r e o v e r , there are a n u m b e r o f vignette-like passages
in his poems in which he briefly m e n t i o n s heroes such as
H i p p o k o o n , Phorbas a n d Anchises, all o f w h o m are located i n the
Peloponnese a n d are also found i n m a i n l a n d t r a d i t i o n s . H o m e r
also makes fleeting reference to details that apparently have been
d e r i v e d f r o m l i t t l e - k n o w n sagas that range i n setting f r o m Crete

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What is a Greek Myth

to N o r t h e r n Thessaly, such as 'the grave o f A i p y t o s where men

like to fight h a n d to h a n d ' {Iliad 2.604), A r e i t h o o s 'the club-
bearer' (7.8f, 137f) or A m y n t o r w h o lived i n a ' s t r o n g h o m e ' in
Eleon ( 1 0 . 2 6 6 ) . N o n e o f these persons comes f r o m I o n i a , Aeolia or
the islands, so they most p r o b a b l y derive from sources d a t i n g back
at least to the t i m e before the Greeks e m i g r a t e d to those areas at
the e n d o f the second m i l l e n i u m B C . T a k i n g the m a i n l a n d as o u r
point o f departure, we can also observe that the archaic poet
A l c m a n (about 600 B C ) m e n t i o n s details about Odysseus and C i r c e
that are different from those found i n H o m e r but not necessarily o f
a later date. I f , indeed, various figures o r i g i n a t e i n p r e - e m i g r a t i o n
sources, then the existence of a Mycenaean layer in Greek
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m y t h o l o g y seems assured.
C a n we go back further? T h e great philologists o f the last cen-
t u r y discovered that Greek a n d V e d i c poetry shared the formulas
kleos aphthiton, or ' i m p e r i s h a b l e g l o r y ' , a n d klea andron, or 'glories
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o f m e n . F u r t h e r investigations have c o n f i r m e d the existence o f a
c o m m o n I n d o - E u r o p e a n poetic language; organisations o f poets
such as the H o m e r i d a i o f C h i o s or the K r e o p h y l o i o f Samos w o u l d
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have been bearers o f this poetic t r a d i t i o n . Investigations into
I n d o - E u r o p e a n m y t h o l o g i c a l themes have been less successful.
The whole fabric o f I n d o - E u r o p e a n mythology, which Max
M i i l l e r a n d his contemporaries erected in the course o f the nine-
teenth c e n t u r y , had already collapsed by the end o f that century.
Yet some complexes stood the test o f t i m e . T h e m y t h o f H e l e n , for
e x a m p l e , has been shown to have close analogies i n V e d i c and
Latvian m y t h o l o g y . I n Sparta, H e l e n was w o r s h i p p e d as the
goddess who supervised the life o f girls between adolescence and
m o t h e r h o o d . A s the w e d d i n g also plays an i m p o r t a n t role i n V e d i c
and L a t v i a n t r a d i t i o n s , the p r o t o - m y t h o f H e l e n was p r o b a b l y part
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of Indo-European wedding poetry.
C a n we go back even further? B u r k e r t recently has studied
H e r a k l e s ' capture o f cattle, w h i c h were h i d d e n in a cave, from a
shape-changing o p p o n e n t . T h i s capture, as he shows, is closely
analogous to the V e d i c I n d r a ' s fight against the d e m o n V i s v a r u p a ,
or ' o f all shapes', w h o had also h i d d e n his cows in a cave. But
B u r k e r t also showed that there are close analogies for these fights
in the m y t h o l o g y o f various h u n t i n g peoples o f Siberia and the
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Arctic.
A n o t h e r ancient t r a d i t i o n lies b e h i n d the epic o f the T r o j a n

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 What is a Greek Myth?

W a r . V a r i o u s leading figures, such as Achilles, display the charac-

teristics o f the ephebe, the Greek w a r r i o r at the b r i n k o f a d u l t h o o d .
Many details o f A c h i l l e s ' life correspond to such figures as
C u C h u l a i n n , the e x e m p l a r y ephebic w a r r i o r o f Ulster; Nestor's
y o u t h f u l exploits are part o f a s i m i l a r i n i t i a t o r y t r a d i t i o n . M o r e -
over, a m o n g a n u m b e r o f E u r o p e a n peoples the s t o r m i n g o f a
(fake) castle was part o f the y o u n g m e n ' s r i t u a l s . A s F r i t z G r a f
observes, the convergence o f G r e e k a n d I r i s h t r a d i t i o n strongly
suggests an I n d o - E u r o p e a n epic t r a d i t i o n closely connected w i t h
the y o u n g w a r r i o r ' s i n i t i a t i o n . M y t h s associated w i t h the central
i n s t i t u t i o n s o f archaic societies, such as the w e d d i n g and the rites
of p u b e r t y , or w i t h matters o f vital concern, such as the quest for
animals ( H e r a k l e s a n d I n d r a ) , have a m u c h better chance o f sur-
v i v a l , indeed, t h a n m y t h s connected w i t h m o r e t e m p o r a r y i n s t i t u -
tions, such as the f o u n d a t i o n o f clans or temples. I n the case o f
i n i t i a t i o n , a poetic t r a d i t i o n is all the more probable because some
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Greek poets (still?) acted as i n i t i a t o r s i n the archaic age. T h e close
association o f poets w i t h i n i t i a t i o n can also be found i n The Book of
Dede Korkut, a collection o f tales set i n the heroic age o f the O g h u z
T u r k s , who in the course o f the n i n t h and tenth centuries emi-
grated from Siberia i n the d i r e c t i o n o f A n a t o l i a . M o r e o v e r , the
t r a d i t i o n o f the T r o j a n w a r finds a close parallel in Caucasian
m y t h s , i n w h i c h a hero besieges a k i n g who has offended his
h o n o u r , and takes his castle t h r o u g h a ruse; the s t o r m i n g o f a
castie is also part o f Caucasian folklore. D o we perhaps encounter
here m y t h i c a l themes o f Eurasian pastoral peoples that reach back
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into t i m e i m m e m o r i a l ?
O n the other h a n d , m y t h was also often u n t r a d i t i o n a l . T h e
suitors o f Penelope request the newest song {Odyssey 1.352), a n d
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archaic poets r e g u l a r l y stress their o w n o r i g i n a l i t y . I n fact, m a n y
rnythox clearly are not very o l d . H e s i o d derived part o f his theogony
from the O r i e n t (cf. B u r k e r t , this v o l u m e ) ; the epic o f the Nostoi y

the h o m e c o m i n g o f the T r o j a n heroes, presupposes Greek colonisa-

tion i n Southern I t a l y ; and the m y t h o f Theseus' f o u n d a t i o n o f
democracy illustrates the decline o f the aristocracy's power i n the
late archaic age. T h e respective audiences o f these mythoi must
surely have recognised the novelty o f these tales at the t i m e o f their
first performances, even t h o u g h they soon became incorporated
into the t r a d i t i o n a l corpus o f m y t h s . M y t h o l o g y , then, was an
open-ended system. As has been p o i n t e d out recently, it is precisely

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 What is a Greek Myth?

this i m p r o v i s a t o r y character o f m y t h that guarantees its c e n t r a l i t y

in Greek r e l i g i o n . T t is not b o u n d to forms hardened a n d stiffened
by canonical a u t h o r i t y , b u t m o b i l e , fluent and free to respond to a
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c h a n g i n g experience o f the w o r l d . ' O n the other h a n d , the d i v i n e
a u t h o r i t y o f the archaic poet assured the truthfulness o f the tale (cf.
b e l o w ) . I t was o n l y i n H e l l e n i s t i c times that C a l l i m a c h u s (fr. 612)
had to w r i t e : T sing n o t h i n g w h i c h is not attested'. W h e n the poet
had no m o r e d i v i n e a u t h o r i t y , t r a d i t i o n had to be i n v o k e d as the
l e g i t i m i s i n g factor.

2. T h e C o l l e c t i v e I m p o r t a n c e of M y t h

H a v i n g seen that m y t h s can be tales f r o m t i m e i m m e m o r i a l but also

c o n t e m p o r a r y inventions, we w i l l n o w look at their place i n Greek
society. I n the m o d e r n W e s t e r n w o r l d , m y t h s o f the Greeks and
other peoples are p r i m a r i l y read, but i n the earliest Greek l i t e r a t u r e ,
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the H o m e r i c epic, mythos meant ' w o r d , t a l e ' . T h e oldest mythoi,
then, were tales recited i n front o f an audience. T h e fact o f oral
performance means that m y t h cannot be looked at i n isolation; we
must always consider by w h o m and to w h o m the tales were told. I t
is impossible to trace here i n detail the development o f the t r i a d
n a r r a t o r - mythos - audience t h r o u g h the whole o f Greek history; l o r
o u r purpose it is sufficient to make a few observations about the
m a i n differences between the archaic age and later periods.
I n H o m e r , the n a r r a t o r ol\ mythoi was the poet, the aoidos, w h o
was society's bearer of t r a d i t i o n and its educator par excellence.
Public performance obliged h i m to r e m a i n aware o f his p u b l i c ' s
taste; u n p o p u l a r new m y t h s or unacceptable versions o f o l d ones
w o u l d be rejected by the p u b l i c a n d , surely, not repeated i n further
performances. T h e poet's stature i n society was reflected by his, i n
a certain sense, near-supernatural status. H e a n d his songs were
called ' d i v i n e ' and he h i m s e l f ' o f the gods'. H i s epic poetry was
believed to have been t r a n s m i t t e d by the Muses w h o ' w a t c h every-
t h i n g ' . T h e d i v i n e o r i g i n o f his poetry enabled h i m to invent new
myths or change the content o f the o l d ones; he could also freely
change the poetic f o r m — the o r i g i n a l I n d o - E u r o p e a n eight-
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syllable line was developed into the h e x a m e t e r .
I n the course o f the archaic age, a whole complex o f factors, such
as colonisation, the g r o w t h o f democracy, a n d the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f

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 What is a Greek Myth?

w r i t i n g and m o n e y , d r a m a t i c a l l y changed the character o f society.

These developments also changed the status o f the poet, the
acceptance o f m y t h , a n d the nature o f the poet's audience. As
C l a u d e C a l a m e has s h o w n , the Muses played an increasingly sub-
o r d i n a t e role i n archaic p o e t r y . T h i s d e c l i n i n g p o s i t i o n , as he
persuasively suggests, reflected the poet's m o r e secular role i n
society and g r o w i n g consciousness o f his o w n c r e a t i v i t y . M o r e -
over, the a r r i v a l o f literacy enabled intellectuals to fix a n d scruti-
nise the t r a d i t i o n . T h e t r a d i t i o n a l mythoi now came u n d e r attack
f r o m philosophers a n d historians — authors w h o wrote i n prose
a n d w h o d i d not subject their o p i n i o n s to the censure o f the com-
m u n i t y i n p u b l i c performance. A t first sight, the m y t h s ' audience
r e m a i n e d the same, as the poets c o n t i n u e d to p e r f o r m i n aristo-
cratic circles, b u t their patrons were n o w i n the process o f losing
part o f their political p o w e r — a development that must also have
had repercussions for the poet's p o s i t i o n i n society. These develop-
ments accelerated i n the course o f the classical p e r i o d , a l t h o u g h
poets still continued to relate myths (tragedy!), and in the
Hellenistic age the poet's f u n c t i o n i n society had largely been lost
to philosophers and historians. The versions of myths that
C a l l i m a c h u s and his friends w r o t e were no longer directed at
society at large, b u t rather p r i m a r i l y at a small circle o f l i t e r a r y
friends. Post-Hellenistic travellers, such as Pausanias, still
recorded the archaic m y t h s connected with the temples they
visited, but these tales n o w had lost completely their erstwhile
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relevance to the c o m m u n i t y .
I n one area, however, certain aspects o f m y t h c o n t i n u e d to
prosper. T h e Greek colonisation o f the East p r o m o t e d feverish
activity i n the i n v e n t i o n o f m y t h i c a l founders and genealogies, and
in the e x p l a n a t i o n o f strange names. I n general, however, the new
m y t h s , w h i c h were mostly bricolages o f the o l d , established ones, no
longer were composed b y poets b u t by historians, w h o wrote i n
prose a n d d i d not c l a i m to be d i v i n e l y inspired. T h e p o p u l a r i t y o f
m y t h lasted well i n t o the R o m a n E m p i r e , but the mythoi, w h i c h
once helped men to understand or order the world, now
functioned p r i m a r i l y as a major part o f a c u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n whose
importance increased as Greek independence d i m i n i s h e d . A s
various cities lost their political significance, it was their m y t h i c a l
past that could still furnish them w i t h an i d e n t i t y and help them to
distinguish themselves f r o m other cities. M y t h , then, meant rather

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 What is a Greek Myth?

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different things to the Greeks at different stages o f their h i s t o r y .

3. Myths and Other Traditional Tales

W h e n we take the t r i a d p o e t - m y t h o s - a u d i e n c e as o u r point o f

d e p a r t u r e , it becomes easier to see the difference between Greek
m y t h a n d other genres o f p o p u l a r tales, such as the fairy-tale or the
legend. Fairy-tales are told p r i m a r i l y i n private a n d i n prose; they
are situated, f u r t h e r m o r e , outside a specific t i m e and place.
Whereas Greek m y t h always details the place a n d o r i g i n o f its
heroes, fairy-tales content themselves w i t h stating that 'once u p o n
a t i m e ' a k i n g was r u l i n g — we never hear i n w h i c h c o u n t r y or i n
w h i c h age. A n i n d i v i d u a l fairy-tale therefore exists i n isolation,
w h i l e a Greek m y t h evokes further m y t h s i n w h i c h the same
n a m e d heroes are i n v o l v e d ; it is almost true that every Greek m y t h
is u l t i m a t e l y connected i n a chain o f association w i t h every other
G r e e k m y t h . M o r e o v e r , fairy-tales are told not to order or explain
the w o r l d , but to entertain their audience, a l t h o u g h moralistic
overtones were often i n t r o d u c e d .
T h e English w o r d ' l e g e n d ' comprises two genres o f tales that in
G e r m a n are distinguished as Legende a n d Sage. T h e Legende is
p r i m a r i l y a hagiographical legend, a story i n prose about a holy
person whose life is held u p to the c o m m u n i t y w i t h the exhorta-
tion: 'go a n d do l i k e w i s e ' . These stories, t h e n , clearly were
invented or told by the c h u r c h to influence the lives o f the faithful.
As such, they are restricted i n scope a n d also are typical products
of a m o r e l i t e r a r y age — ' l e g e n d ' comes from the L a t i n legenda, or
' t h i n g s to be r e a d ' .
T h e Sage is a legend that explains b u i l d i n g s or stresses the
boundaries between m a n a n d animals (cf. B u x t o n , this v o l u m e ,
C h . 4); it accounts for e x t r a o r d i n a r y events a n d catastrophes; and
it describes a w o r l d peopled by spirits a n d demons. F o r those who
believed these legends, Sagen w i l l have functioned very m u c h like
mythoi i n archaic Greece. A n d just as mythoi helped to bolster the
identity o f the Greeks u n d e r the R o m a n E m p i r e , Sagen acquired a
political significance i n the later nineteenth c e n t u r y when they
were collected by G e r m a n bourgeoisie i n search o f a c o m m o n
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past.
O n the other h a n d , a l t h o u g h these legends c l a i m to be t r u e ,

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 What is a Greek Myth?

there are no claims o f d i v i n e i n s p i r a t i o n ; m o r e o v e r , the stories

n o r m a l l y are t o l d i n p r i v a t e and i n prose; I t has recently been
persuasively suggested that the w o r d Sage presupposes an archaic,
perhaps even I n d o - E u r o p e a n , n a r r a t i v e prose t r a d i t i o n . U n l i k e at
R o m e , however, where the f o u n d a t i o n m y t h o f R o m u l u s and
R e m u s was a p p a r e n t l y handed d o w n i n prose, i n archaic Greece
m y t h s were the exclusive t e r r i t o r y o f poets. It is true that dis-
t i n g u i s h e d scholars, such as G . S. K i r k , have made use o f the
n o t i o n o f the folktale to e x p l a i n motifs o f Greek m y t h , but it must
be stressed that such tales s i m p l y are not attested i n archaic
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Greece.
W h a t exactly is a G r e e k m y t h ? W e started this chapter w i t h
B u r k e r t ' s d e f i n i t i o n o f m y t h as 'a t r a d i t i o n a l tale w i t h secondary,
p a r t i a l reference to s o m e t h i n g o f collective i m p o r t a n c e ' . T h i s
d e f i n i t i o n has p r o v e d to be v a l i d for the whole p e r i o d o f Greek
h i s t o r y . A t the same t i m e , h o w e v e r , we have seen that m y t h s are
not always t r a d i t i o n a l tales, n o r is t h e i r collective i m p o r t a n c e the
same d u r i n g the whole o f Greek h i s t o r y . Perhaps one could pro-
pose a slightly simpler d e f i n i t i o n : ' t r a d i t i o n a l tales relevant to
society'. I t is true that to us the appearance o f gods a n d heroes is
an essential part o f Greek m y t h , but the supernatural presence is
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only to be expected when religion is embedded in society.
W e s t e r n secularised societies have nearly abolished the super-
n a t u r a l , but they usually still have their favourite (historical) tales
that serve as models o f b e h a v i o u r o r are the expression o f the
c o u n t r y ' s ideals. I t is t h e i r relevance to G r e e k society that makes
the mythoi still fascinating today, for however different the Greeks
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were from us, they were also very m u c h the s a m e .

Notes

1. T h e notes are confined to the most recent literature. I am in general much

indebted to Fritz Graf, Gnechtsche Mythoiogie ( M u n i c h and Z u r i c h , 1985).
2. For a survey of the various explanations, see G . S. K i r k , Myth: Its Meaning and
Functions in Ancient Mythology and Other Cultures (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London,
1970) 1 - 4 1 ; W . Burkert, 'Mythos und Mythoiogie', in Propylden Geschuhte der
Ltteratur, I (Berlin, 1981) J 1 - 3 5 ; Graf, Mythoiogie, 1 5 - 5 7 .
3. Traditional tales: K i r k , Myth, 3 1 - 4 1 and The Nature of Greek Myth
(Harrnondsworth, 1974) 2 3 - 3 7 ; Burkert, S&H, 23; Graf, Mythoiogie, 7.
4. Pre-Homeric mythology: Graf, Mythoiogie, 5 8 - 6 8 . Mycenaean layer: A .
Hoekstra, ' E p i c Verse before H o m e r ' , Med. Ned. Ak. Wet., AJd. Letterk., NR., JOS
(1981) 5 4 - 6 6 ; note also A . Snodgrass, 'Poet and Painter in Eighth-Century

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 What is a Greek Myth?

4
G r e e c e , Proc. Cambr. Phil. Soc., 25 (1979) 1 1 8 - 3 0 , esp. 122. A i r m a n : C. C a l a m e
(cd.), Alcman ( R o m e , 1983) 487, 496, 574, 612.
1
5. Formulas: see most recently E . D . Floyd, Kleos aphihiton: An Indo-European
Perspective on Early Greek Poetry', Glotta, 58 (1980) 1 3 3 - 5 7 ; G . Nagy, 'Another
Look at Kleos Aphthiton, Würzh. Jahrb, 7 (1981) 1 1 3 - 1 6 ; but see now M .
Finkclberg, CQ 36 (1986) 1 - 5 . Poetical language: the standard study is R
Schmitt, Dichter und Dichtersprache in indogermanischer Zeit (Wiesbaden, 1967); sec
most recently W , M e i d , Dichter und Dichtkunst in indogermanischer Zeit (Innsbruck,
1978); C . Watkins, 'Aspects of I E poetics', in E . P o l o m é (ed.), The Inda-Eumpean\
in fhf 4th and 3rd Millenia ( A n n Arbor, 1982) 1 0 4 - 2 0 , Poetic organisations: VV.
Burkert, 'Die Leistung eines Kreophylos: Kreophyleer, Homeriden und die
archaische Heraklesepik', MH, 29 (1972) 7 4 - 8 5 ,
6. Helen: M . L . West, Immortal Helen ( L o n d o n , 1975); C a l a me, Chœurs I,
333 - 5 0 (Helen in Sparta).
7. Herakles: Burkert, S&H, 85f, who is overlooked by J . M . Blazquez
1
Martinez, 'Gerion y otros mitos griegos en O c r i d e n t e , Gerwn, I (1983) 21 - 38.
8. Initiation and T r o j a r W a r : Graf, Mythologie, 7 1 - 4 . Ritual background of
T r o j a n W a r : J . Bremmer, 'Heroes, Rituals and the T r o j a n W a r ' , Studi Storno-
Religwsi, 2 (1978) 5 - 3 8 ; F . Bader, 'Rhapsodies h o m é r i q u e s et irlandaises*, in R.
Bloch (ed.). Recherches sur les religions de l'antiquité classique (P'aris and G e n e v a , 1980)
9 - 8 3 Poet as initiator. C a l a m e , Choeurs I , 3 9 3 - 5 ; Graf, this volumc^Ch. 5, section
9; note also J . F . Nagy, The Wisdom of the Outlaw. 7he Boyhood Deeds of Finn in Garlic
Narrative 'Tradition (Berkeley, Los Angeles, L o n d o n , 1985) C h s . 1 and 6, on Finn as
poet and initiator.
9 Oghuz T u r k s : G . Lewis (ed.), The Book of Dede Korkut (Harmondsworth,
1974) 5 9 - 8 7 . C a u c a s i a n parallels: W . J . Abaew, ' L e C h e v a l de T r o i e . Parallèles
C a m asiens', Annales ESC, 7^(1963) 1 0 4 1 - 7 0 ; Bremmer, 'Heroes', 31 (storming
i-asile). For other possible age-old traditions, see Burkerl, S&H, 85, 95.
10. Originality of poet: Horn, Od. 1.351 F; A l c m a n fr. 14 Page = 4 C a l a m e ;
Pind. 0 / 3 . 4 , 9.48f; W . J . Verdenius, ' T h e Principles of Greek Literary
C r i t i c i s m ' , Mnem. I V 36 (1983) 1 4 - 5 9 , esp. 221 (with extensive bibliographies).
11. J . G o u l d , ' O n M a k i n g Sense of Greek Religion', in P. Easterling and J . V .
M u i r (rds). Greek Religion and Society (Cambridge, 1985) 1 - 3 3 , 2 1 9 - 2 1 .
12. For the meaning of mythos, see C . Spicq, Notes de lexicographie néo-testamentaire,
II (Fribourg, 1978) 5 7 6 - 8 ; D é t i e n n e , Invention, L . Brisson, Platon, les mots et les
mythes (Paris, 1982).
13. Poet: H . Maehler, Die Auffassung des Dichterberufs im frühen Griechentum bis zur
Zeit Pmdars ( G ö t t i n g e n , 1963); B. Snelt, Dichtung und Gesellschaft ( H a m b u r g , 1965);
Verdenius, 'Principles', 2 5 - 3 7 . Divine origin : Horn. //. 18.604; Od. 1.328,8.498,
17.385 and 518f; Hes. Th. 94f; P. M u r r a y , 'Poetic Inspiration in Early Greece',
JHS, 101 (1981) 8 7 - 1 0 0 ; Verdenius, 'Principles', 3 7 - 4 6 . Poetic form: N. Berg,
'Parergon metricum: der U r s p r u n g des griechischen Hexameters', Münch. Stud,
zur Sprachw , 37 (1978) 1 1 - 3 6 .
14. Declining role of Muses: C . C a l a m e , 'Entre oralitc et écriture: Enonciation
et é n o n c é dans la p o é s i e grecque a r c h a ï q u e ' , Semiotica, 43 (1983) 2 4 5 - 73. Critique
of myth: D é t i e n n e , Invention, 1 2 3 - 5 4 ; J . B r c m m e r , 'Literacy and the Origins and
Limitations of Greek Atheism', i n j . den Boeft and A . Kessels (eds), Actus: Studies
in Honour of H L W. Nelson (Utrecht, 1982) 43 - 55. T h e role of myth in Hellenistic
poetry and post-Hellenistic authors is still in need of investigation; there are some
1
good observations in P. V e y n e , Les Grecs ont-tls cru à leurs mythes.- (Paris, 1983).
15. C f . P. Weiss, 'Lebendiger Mythos: G r ü n d e r h e r o e n und städtische
G r ü n d u n g s t r a d i t i o n e n im g r i e c h i s c h - r ö m i s c h e n Osten', Würzb. Jahrb , 7(9 (1984)
179-207.

8
 What is a Greek Myth?

16. Difference between myths and other traditional tales: see most recently L .
R o h r i c h , ' M ä r c h e n - M y t h o s - S a g e ' , in W . Siegmund (ed.). Antiker Mythos in unseren
Märchen ( K a s s e l , 1984) 1 1 - 3 5 , 1 8 7 - 9 ; J . Scullion, 'Märchen, Sage, Legende.
Towards a clarification of some literary terms used by O l d Testament scholars',
le tus Test., 34 (1984) 321 - 3 6 . Political significance ni Sagen: R . Srhenda. Maren
von Deutschen Sagen. Bemerkungen zur Produktion von " V o l k s e r z ä h l u n g e n "
zwischen 1850 und 1870', Geschichte und Gesellschaft, .9 (1983) 2 6 - 4 8 .
17. Indo-European prose tradition: E . R i s c h , 'Homerisch ennepo. Lakonisch
epheneponti und die alte E r z ä h l p r o s a ' , ZPE, 60 (1985) 1 - 9 . Folk tales: K i r k , Myth
and Nature of Greek Myth.
18. For the notion of embedded religion, see R . C . T . Parker, 'Creek
1
R e l i g i o n , in The Oxford History of the Classical World (Oxford, 1986) 2 5 4 - 7 4 .
19. For information, comments and correction of the English I am indebted to
Fritz Graf, Nicholas Horsfall, Sarah Johnston, A n d r é Lardinois, Robert Parker,
and Professor Rudiger Schmitt.