Essay on History of Myths

Submitted By kayrevans
Words: 433
Pages: 2

Accustomed knowledge of a concept is not always valuable. Ideas passed down from generation to generation create an ample amount of knowledge of distinct subjects, but these ideas are not particularly accurate or definite. Many individuals understand myth as fiction, but as professor Armstrong argues myth’s are not necessarily false. Professor Armstrong’s, “A Short History of Myth,” discusses her ideas and beliefs of mythology which can be applied to a variety of stories such as the “Illiad.” Components such as death and extremity, behavior, and belief in “Book I the Illiad” corresponds with professor Armstrong’s idea of myth. These facts conclude that “Book I The Illiad” is a myth in terms of “A Short History of Myth.”

There is one thing all living organisms must experience and that is death. Professor Armstrong acknowledges this idea and applies it to mythology. “...it is nearly always rooted in the experience of death and the fear of extinction.” Therefore, this concept reveals that characters in stories such as “The Illiad” must experience death. “Honor my son, doomed to die young...” Homer uses Gods, immortals themselves, to reveal the knowledge of death in “The Illiad.” There is one major difference between the Gods and humans, and this is death. “This is terrible; it’s going to ruin us all. If you two quarrel like this over mortals...” As Hera and Zeus feud over the issues of war between the Greeks and Trojans the Gods realize that it is aimless to feud over humans which are bound to die. Immortals are closely associated with fiction because they can