Attached.

Contrast of mythos and logos and the roles played in the development of the ancient Greek
literature and philosophy

It is often said that Greek civilization underwent a transition from myth to reason. But what does
this assertion really mean? Is it true? Could it be that the Greeks were special in having evolved
our sort of reason, or is that a mirage? In this book, some of the world's leading experts on
ancient The ancient Greek myths and misconceptions (mythos) are the genesis of the gradual
development of rational philosophy and logic (logos) considered the fundamental issues in the
development of the ancient Greek literature and philosophy
In brief, “mythos” and “logos” describes the evolution in early Greek thought from the stories
and tales of gods, goddesses, and heroes (mythos) to the steady development of rational
philosophy and logic (logos) sense from reasoning. The former is represented by the ancient
Greek thinkers, such as Hesiod and Homer; the latter then represents later thinkers called
the “pre-Socratic philosophers” and then Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
.To begin with,The academic discipline of mythology is perhaps best understood as the
application of the techniques of logical thinking to the products of mythical thinking; this is
nicely illustrated by the fact that the English term mythology is derived from both Greek words
mythos and logos.
The way in which Plato’s uses of myth closely relate to his theory of moral education and his
conception of philosophy is examined. Plato’s explanation of myth (mythos) is notoriously hard
to determine, moresore because it is not very easy to identify whether and in what way Plato
wishes to contrast mythos with logos.

An added information is that the fact that not all myths are entirely false. A good number of
myths and misconceptions are tales that communicate truths even if the characters and events in
the story are definitely fictional. Socrates and Plato actually denounced many of the early myths
of the Greeks, but they also exemplified the philosophical points with stories that were
intentionally meant to serve as analogies or metaphors. A good example was Plato’s allegory of
the cave that was meant to explain the ability of the learned human beings to distinguish the true
reality behind surface impressions. Could Plato have made the same philosophical point in a
literal language, minus the use of any stories or analogies? Possibly yes, but the impact wouldn’t
be much, and it is possible that the point wouldn’t be effectively communicated at all. In this
line of interpretation, Plato’s myths play an experiential role in service of his moral pedagogical
goals. Personally, my argument is that mythos plays an integral role in Plato’s philosophical
investigation and dialectic, and therefore it is best understood as a “guise” of logos. Myth is not a
suspension nor transcendence of
Logos, as scholars have suggested. Plato uses myth when he is concerned with moral education,
that is, the moral transformation of the reader and the speaker. Therefor the contrast of mythos
and logos has developed the ancient Greek literature and philosophy this has led to integration of
philosophical myths in educational settings
Nevertheless, many scholars argue that there was not such a sharp distinction between mythos
and logos historically, and that logos grew out of mythos, and elements of mythos remain with us
today.
A good example, the ancient myths provided the first basic concepts used that was used
subsequently to develop theories of the origins of the universe. We normally take for granted the
words that we use on our daily basis, but the vast majority of beings never invent even a single

word or original concept in their lives, instead, they learn these things from their culture, which
is the end-return of hundreds and thousands years of speaking and writing by millions of
people long-dead. The very initial concepts of “Cosmos,” “beginning,” nothingness,”
and differentiation from a lone substance were not present in human beings culture for all time
but originated in the early myths.The Succeeding philosophers actually borrowed these concepts
from the myths, while ignoring the overly-personalistic interpretations of the beginning of the
world (universe). Mythos has provided the framework for the growth of literature and philosophy
in Greek and modern science at large.

Some facts that myths communicate are about the human values; these values can be true even if
the stories in which they are built or rather constructed are false. The ancient Greek religion
contained very many outrageous stories, and the notion of personal divine beings directing
natural phenomena and intervening in human affairs wasn’t true. But instead, when the Greeks
built temples and offered sacrifices, they were not just worshiping personalities but also they
were worshiping the values that the gods represented. Apollo was the god of light, knowledge,
and healing; Hera was the goddess of marriage and family; Aphrodite was the goddess of love;
Athena was the goddess of wisdom; and Zeus, the king of the gods, upheld order and justice.
Practically there is not any evidence at all that these characters existed or that sacrifices to these
personalities would advance the values they represented. Instead, a basic respect for and
worshipful disposition toward the values the gods represented was practically the part of the
foundation of early Greek civilization. This inturn led to the development of the Greek literature
and philosophers.

The advancement of a mythos-dominated worldview to a logos-dominated worldview is
basically a stupendous achievement of the ancient Greeks, the modern philosophy, science, and
civilization would not be possible without it. But the transition did not involve a total
replacement of one world-outlook with another, but rather the building of additional useful
structures on top of a simple foundation. Logos developed out of its origins in mythos, and it
retains the elements of mythos to this day. The compatibilities and conflicts between these two
modes of thought are the thematic basis to the development of literature and philosophy in the
ancient Greek.

References
“Greek Mythology,” Encyclopaedia The H...