An overview of ancient viewpoints

The ancient Greeks did not clearly define myth and history. In their view, myth is "ancient history". Myth has shaped an era of creation; A "golden age" in which god and man have fun together; A "heroic age" in which God and man were separated but still in close contact; A noble and upright "heroic race" between God and man. The Greeks in the historical period regarded "heroes" as their ancestors and their extraordinary achievements as "ancient history". Inheriting "Ancient History"-Myth is the same responsibility of poets and historians. In order to make myths more like "ancient history", the ancient Greeks historicized, rationalized and secularized myths intentionally or unintentionally; Minimize supernatural elements in myth; Make the world of "heroes" closer to the world of people. The time, place, characters and events of Greek hero myths are very specific; The systematic genealogical arrangement and the chronological consciousness of myths further enhance the credibility and sense of history of myths as "ancient history". In the 3rd century BC,

the Greek writer Ohmeros regarded the mythical gods as real historical figures, and regarded them as monarchs and great men in the past, who were remembered by later generations for their great contributions to mankind and deified into gods. Myth is history in disguise. Euclid's view is obviously a big step forward than the view that myth and "ancient history" are indistinguishable.

In the Middle Ages, Ohmedrosism maintained a strong influence, because Christian theologians could use this theory to prove the falsehood of ancient pagan gods; The lovers of classical culture hope to find clues to ancient Greek history from beautiful and moving fairy tales. Myth is either regarded as a disguised history or interpreted as a metaphor of moral philosophy, which has always been the mainstream of medieval myth research.

Second, the attitude of modern classical historians towards myths

Since the Enlightenment era in the 18th century, science and rational spirit have gradually dominated the study of classical historiography. Calm historians prefer to be skeptical, critical and agnostic about the historical authenticity of classical myths. Modern Roman historians B·G· niebuhr (1776-1831) and G·L· Lewis (186-1863) all questioned the reliability of the early legendary history of ancient Rome, and made criticism and identification. T. Monson (1817-193

) simply avoided controversial myths when writing the history of ancient Rome. (Note: (America) J·W· Thompson: History of Historical Works (Chinese version), The Commercial Press, 1992, Volume 3, pp. 29-21; Volume 4, Volume 2, pp. 671-672. G grotte (1794-1871

), a famous British Greek historian, holds the most representative view of the Greek "ancient history" constructed by myth: he refuses to treat Greek mythology as a history of faith, and thinks that "a large number of events in Greece before 776

BC can not be recovered in history and years", claiming that "specific figures and events in the years are listed in Greek legendary poems. However, grotte does not deny the value that myths reflect the social life of prehistoric Greece. He said: "According to Homer's description and hints, it can be considered that the society and lifestyle of the heroic age are generally recognizable"; The ancient epic "as a picture of lifestyle, it is instructive"; Epic writers can't be called historians, but "being an unconscious interpreter of contemporary society has great value". (Note: George grotte: G.

Grote, History of Greece), London, 1854, Volume 2, page 47, page 79; Preface to volume 1, page 14; Volume 2, page 78. )

The attitude of the famous German Greek historian E kuster (1814-1896

) to myth is in contrast with that of Monson and grotte. "Monson abandoned myths when writing Roman history; Grotte does not recognize Greek mythology as historical evidence; However, kuster believes that many historical situations can be found in legends, because legends are far from being fabricated by one person, but the memory of the whole nation. " (Noe: Thompson: History of Historical Works, Volume 4, Volume 2, pp. 682-683. )

grotte's view represents the orthodox and mainstream view in the history circle in the mid-19th century, which is suitable for the academic development level at that time. At that time, archaeology and social anthropology had just started; The ruins of the ancient Aegean civilization have not yet been excavated; The research on primitive social organization, system, customs and culture is not yet mature. Comparative linguistics has made some progress in restoring the language and culture of ancient Indo-Europe, but it has made little contribution to the reconstruction of prehistoric Greek history. Prehistoric Greece has no historical documents to examine, and myth is its only clue. Prehistoric times are still a mysterious "mythological era". For modern historians who have received enlightenment and scientific training, it is not rational to accept the "ancient history" constructed by myths uncritically; And the ability and means of analysis and criticism are very limited; Therefore, the legendary history is often avoided or simply denied. The study of myth and prehistory needs the cooperation of many disciplines. Only by learning from the research results of archaeology, language, cultural anthropology, religion and mythology, can historians accurately describe and analyze the social and historical development track of prehistoric Greece; It is possible to answer such thorny questions as whether myths reflect historical facts and to what extent. In the second half of the 19th century, with the rapid development of related science, the study of Greek mythology and prehistory also jumped to a new level.

A breakthrough in archaeology and linguistics of San Aiqin

The progress of archaeology and linguistics makes it possible to study the history of the mythical age. Since the 197s, the ruins of ancient Aegean civilization have been discovered one after another, and an ancient bronze civilization that has long been forgotten has been presented to the world by archaeologists. This is a strange world composed of archaeological objects and unread ancient Chinese characters, a "picture book without interpretation". Historians must face this new reality, cooperate with archaeologists and linguists, make use of traditional mythological materials and scientific research methods, make logical explanations, and fill in the "interpretation" of picture books.

the breakthrough of prehistoric archaeology in Greece is attributed to a legendary German businessman, amateur archaeologist H. Sheriman (1822-189). He is self-taught, romantic,

curious about the past, less bound by orthodox historical views, and deeply convinced of the historical basis of Homer's epic, reaching the level of superstition. In ancient Greece, the legend of the Trojan War was regarded as a belief in history, but in modern times, not only the authenticity of the legend was questioned, but also the exact location of the ancient ruins of Troy was forgotten. Relying on the concrete help of the British scholar F Calvert (< P > was the British and American diplomatic consul in the Daniil Strait from 1828 to 198) and the previous research results, Sheriman determined that the Trojan site was located under the Hisar Lick Hill near the Daniil Strait in the northwest of Asia Minor. Since 1871, it has been excavated, which is easy to be cold and hot, and achieved shocking results. There are nine ancient cities under the ruins. Sheriman was superstitious about myths and believed that Homer's Troy was the oldest and should be buried at the bottom of the site. So he dug deep and destroyed many valuable architectural and cultural layers above. On the second floor from the bottom (Archaeological Troy III), he found tall city walls, towers, wide streets, palaces, rubble burned by fire and the famous "treasure of King Priam". He confidently found the mythical "Priam Castle" captured and burned by the Greek Expeditionary Force, which proved the historical authenticity of Homer's epic. In 1876, guided by the travel notes of the ancient Greek traveler Bossanias, Sheriman searched for five tombs of the mythical figure Agamemnon and his entourage in the remaining Mycenaean castle.

He did find five tombs, and saw King Agamemnon himself wearing a gold mask in the tombs.

It also confirmed that Mycenae's statement that he was "rich in gold" was not a myth. In 1884-1885, together with German archaeologist Dou Bofei, he excavated Tilings Castle, which is famous as the "Cyclops Wall" in myth, laying a foundation for further excavation in the future. He also visited the Trojan site many times. In 189, Sheriman died, and his greatest regret in his life was that he failed to realize his desire to explore the "maze" of Crete.

In p>1893-1894, Dou Bofei excavated the south wing of the Trojan ruins, and found more magnificent walls and towers, more spacious houses and streets, and a lot of signs of Menian pottery, Mycenaean pottery, horse bones and fire. The conclusion is that this building belongs to the archaeological Trojan ⅵ, which is the real Trojan city destroyed by the Greek war in the last years of bronze. The city of Troy II identified by Sheriman was burned down thousands of years before the Trojan War. From 1932 to 1938, Professor W < P > Bregen led an American archaeological team to make a more detailed excavation of the site, which proved that Troy VI was destroyed by the earthquake. The city ⅶ A restored on the basis of the city ⅵ (estimated by Bregen, about 127-124

) is the real ancient city of Troy burned by the Greeks in mythology. Bregen's viewpoint was generally accepted by academic circles and gained orthodox status; However, in the past 1 years, Dou Bofei's view began to resurface, and the view that VI City was destroyed by war was recognized again. (Note: For several different explanations about the historical truth of the Trojan War, please refer to Micael Wood, In Search of the Trojan War, London, 1985. )

Since Sheriman excavated five shaft tombs in Mycenae Castle Tomb Circle A, Mycenae archaeology has continued for another century. In the meantime, Stamatax, Santas, Papadimitrio, Mirenas of the Greek Archaeological Association and Vas, a British archaeologist at Athens College in Britain, made important contributions. The architectural layout in Mycenae Castle is basically clear; Nine < P > royal domes, civilian cemeteries and houses outside the city were also excavated, inspected and cleaned. The most important thing is the excavation of tomb circle B

outside the city, from which 24 shaft tombs were cleared. The excavation of Tilins lasted nearly half a century after Sheriman until the 193s.

With the increasingly reliable dating technology of ancient Aegean pottery, Sherman's hasty and optimistic conclusion in his early years was proved to be wrong. The age of the shaft tomb is about the 16th century BC. The legendary King Agamemnon, even if he really exists, should be a figure in the 13th century BC. What Sheriman saw in Jianjing's tomb was obviously not King Agamemnon himself, but the princes and nobles in the early Mycenae era who were three or four hundred years earlier than Agamemnon. Archaeology revealed that Mycenae was a powerful and rich country with a strong fortress and luxurious palaces and tombs, which was quite consistent with Mycenae's mythical memory of dominating all Greece. Archaeology has confirmed that Mycenae had two burial periods (namely, the so-called shaft tomb era and the dome tomb era) and two construction periods, which is roughly consistent with the myth that Mycenae was ruled by two royal families. However, if we make a detailed textual research, there are many contradictions. This shows that myth may reflect the outline of historical changes, but it cannot accurately retell history, which is the inspiration from archaeology.

IV. On the characteristics and influence of Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, human nature is supreme. People-oriented is its most prominent and distinctive part. In Greek mythology, every god has his own selfishness, which is different from general myths and religions, making it have a far-reaching influence in human history. God is the most perfect embodiment of human beings. God and human beings have the same image and personality, which is the highest model and the biggest publicity and amplification of human personality. This is the most essential difference between Greek religion and other religions. God has not been divorced from secular humanity, but is the exaggeration and amplification of humanity. This is a kind of affirmation of human nature by human self, which makes the whole Greek civilization have the color of humanism, that is, taking people as the yardstick and starting point to measure everything. People think that other living things or biological-like bodies have human emotions and even their own personality traits. Greek gods are physically like us, and even more developed and beautiful than us in a certain sense. 1. The characteristics of Greek mythology: 1. Homomorphism 1. The reason why the Greek god is worshipped as a god is not because of his moral lofty, or even because he is more intelligent than people, but because he has a more bodybuilding body than people. The reason why the male god is a male god is that he has more masculine characteristics than men; The goddess is also a goddess because she has more feminine characteristics than women. It is because of its beauty that people regard it as a god. (2) The heroes in the legend of heroes are descendants of God and man, demigods and demigods, with extraordinary talents and perseverance. The legend of heroes formed many systems centering on different families, including Heraclitus' biography, theseus's legend, Jason's legend and so on. In the 19th century, a famous aesthete, Dana, wrote a book called Philosophy of Art, in which he said, "The Greeks tried their best to take the beautiful human body as a model, but as a result, they were regarded as idols, praised as heroes on the ground and worshipped as gods in heaven." Therefore, both the gods in Greek mythology and the heroes in Greek legends have human bodies, even more like people than people. It is precisely because the Greek gods are exemplary and exemplary in their bodies that they are admired by people. The same sex (1) the gods in Greek mythology are highly personalized gods, they have human thoughts and feelings, and their personalities are also very distinct. In Greek mythology, God, like man, has love and hate, while worldly desires has everything, even jealousy. For example, Hera, the queen of heaven, is vain and morally inferior to others. What distinguishes them from others is that they are immortal and have incomparable wisdom and magic. This reflects the Greeks' pursuit of light, love of real life, people-oriented and affirmation of human power. (2) the gods in Greek mythology, like people, are personified images. For example, Zeus, the heavenly father, often chased and lured earthly women, while Hera, his wife, persecuted her rival in love like a jealous woman. However, the difference between gods and human beings is also obvious: they are immortal, can be deformed at will, have their own special skills and great power, and their likes and dislikes play a decisive role in the life and death of human beings in the lower world. Among them, the most prominent gods are the twelve main gods who live on Mount Olympus.

2. The influence of Greek mythology: the source of literary creation. Greek fairy tales have experienced rich changes of the times and historical situation, and have become the basic material for almost all literary and artistic activities in Greece and even Europe. It went from legend to singing, from singing to story, from story to drama, and finally into the epic that spread all over Greece, and it also took root in Roman culture. Since then, it has found its own access to Latin and ancient German, and has become a cultural treasure of Europe. Today, drama, poetry and other cultural activities in Europe and America are drawing new nourishment from the Greek mythology that flows through the world, becoming an important source of literary re-creation. The formation of the modern Olympic Games laid the foundation. Ancient Greece is a mythical kingdom. Beautiful and moving fairy tales and bizarre folk tales cast a mysterious color on the origin of the ancient Olympic Games. There are many legends about the origin of the ancient Olympic Games, the most important of which is