The development of the corpus of Greek myths was a complex process of accumulation and synthesis. Many myths originated as dim reflections of the Mycenaean world, and epic characters like Ajax may in fact be survivals from Bronze Age poetic traditions. Other myths reflect the conditions of Greece in later periods, as for example the adventures of Jason and Odysseus reflect the influence of exploration and colonization in the centuries following the dark ages. Near Eastern tales of gods and heroes provided another rich source of inspiration for Greek myths, including some of the canonical myths of Zeus, Heracles, and Achilles. Herodotus credited Homer and Hesiod with the codification of the Greek pantheon (2.53), and epic poetry also offers the earliest evidence for the codification of heroic exploits - detailed genealogies connecting the various gods and heroes, as well as a rough chronological arrangement of Theban, Trojan, and other myth cycles. While the monumentality of the surviving Homeric and Hesiodic poems gives the impression that this tradition had become fixed by the seventh century - and most of the major myth cycles were established within the system by this time - the process ofdevelopment did not come
To a complete halt with any single poet or poem. Many tales of Theseus, for example, began to take shape only late in the sixth century, when Athenians reformed him into a legendary embodiment of their developing civic identity. And adaptive mythmaking continued throughout the fifth century in Athenian tragedy.
For the communities that preserved and transmitted them, myths provided a revered form of validation for cultural institutions, practices, and beliefs. They recorded the foundation of cities and sanctuaries, explained the origins of religious rituals, conveyed beliefs about the gods, mapped out social relations and hierarchies, exemplified positive and negative behavior, and reflected generally upon the cycle of human life, exploring its most intense joys and its deepest sorrows. The frequent public presentation of myths in conjunction with religious and civic ceremonies provides abundant evidence of their authoritative status in ancient Greek society. Images of gods and heroes adorned sacred precincts, and religious festivals often featured the recitation of heroic epic and hymns recounting the births and exploits of the gods. The victory odes of Pindar and Bacchylides publicly celebrated successful contemporary athletes and their home cities by recalling the paradigmatic achievements of legendary heroes like Pelops, Heracles, and Perseus. Simonides’ elegiac memorial to the warriors who fought at Plataea monumentalized the contemporary battle by invoking the precedent of the Trojan War (frs. 10-18 West). Tragedy too, performed in competition at festivals that honored the god Dionysus and celebrated Athens, was a highly authoritative, culturally relevant, and publicly endorsed articulation of myth.
World History
