Theories of Myth

Interpretation
 Historical Allegory
 This approach was introduced by the Greek
mythographer Euhemerus, suggesting that myths
revealed historical rather than cosmological truth.
 He wrote a book describing a journey to three
fabulously wealthy islands in the Indian Ocean.
 On the main island, Panchaea (modeled after Plato's
Atlantis), he said that he had found a golden column
on which was inscribed the history of the reigns
of early human kings.
 Historical Allegory
 First to rule according to Euhemerus' story was Uranus, so-
called because he was learned in the study of the heavens. 
 From union with his human wife, Hestia, Uranus begot the
Titans and Cronus.
 The column gave further information about Cronus, Zeus, and
their families.
 The war in heaven and Cronus' swallowing his children were
explained as recollections of palace intrigues

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

Historical Allegory
 During his reign, according to the column, Zeus travelled the
earth teaching the arts of civilized life, banning such
reprehensible religious practices as cannibalism, and founding
temples.
 According to the story, he actually lived for a while in Mount
Olympus, then, at the end of his long life, Zeus retired to
Crete, died, and was buried near Cnossus.
 Although his story of the inscribed column is fiction, his
underlying theory is quite plausible and enters many modern
interpretations of myth
 Historical Allegory
 By asserting that gods were in origin great men,
so respected or feared that they were worshiped
after death, he attempted to explain myth as a
form of early history.
 From his book comes the modern
term euhemerism, the thesis that gods were
once humans.
 An approach closely related to that of
Euhemerus was written by Palaephatus.
Historical Allegory
 Palaephatus' special contribution was to explain myths as
originating from a misunderstanding of language.
 According to him, Actaeon for example was not really
transformed into a stag and torn apart by his dogs; rather, he was
ruined by spending too much money on his hunting dogs.
 The myth arose when neighborhood gossip began to tell
"how Actaeon is being devoured by his dogs."
Historical Allegory
 Similarly, the Lernaean Hydra against which Heracles
fought was not really a many-headed monster.
 Lernus, he claimed was the king of  Peloponnesus who went
to war with the Mycenaeans.
 The myth originally told of a "General Heracles who
destryed ---Watertown (Hydra), defended by General Crabb,
by using fire as an assault weapon against persistent
defenders."

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

Reference:
Powell, B.  (2015). Classical myth. Boston:Pearson.