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Myths, Language, and Human Nature

Cultures use myths to explain things that are hard to understand: the origins of life, feelings and emotions, and natural phenomena such as hail or earthquakes. These myths usually take place at an earlier time, or in another world, such as heaven or the underworld, and are often accepted as truth by the societies that create them. The ancient Greeks created numerous myths to account for human idiosyncrasies. The characters included gods and goddesses, nymphs, satyrs, animals, and monsters. They ran the gamut of human emotion, from self-love and curiosity to amazing strength and sexual perversion, which shows us that human nature hasn't changed much since the Golden Age of Athens. In fact, the Greeks were so good at understanding human behavior that many of the words we use to describe personal attributes or human character can be traced back to Greek myths.

In the Christian tradition, extreme self-love, also called pride or vanity, is considered a sin. It is believed that such self-love interferes with an individual's ability to love God, and committing the sin of pride will most likely sentence you to eternal damnation. The Greeks have a more tragicomic idea of vanity as exemplified in the myth of Narcissus, who, in their myth, is sentenced to his own sorry fate.

Narcissus was a beautiful young man—so beautiful that anyone who saw him fell in love with him, instantly. He, however, was interested in no one other than himself. One day, Narcissus wandered by a still stream and bent down for a drink of water. When he looked in the pool, he saw his own reflection looking back at him. He so fell in love with this beautiful face that he wouldn't leave the stream to eat, nor would he drink the water for fear of disturbing the reflection. Of course the reflection could not love him back, and eventually Narcissus died of thirst, hunger, and unrequited love. Where he died, a white flower grew. That flower is called a narcissus.

The story of Narcissus does more than explain the origins of the flower. It has lent to the English language a family of words to describe the kind of self-love that the mythical Narcissus felt. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language gives various definitions of the word narcissism: 1. "excessive love or admiration of oneself" 2. "a psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem," and 3. "erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one's own body or self." We can see all these definitions in the story of Narcissus. Other forms of the word include narcissist (noun), narcissistic (adj.) and narcissistically (adv.).

Hercules is another Greek mythical figure who has inspired language. Hercules (also known as Heracles) is the Greeks' greatest and strongest hero. While there are many versions of Hercules's life story, all of them talk of the twelve labors he had to perform in order to cleanse himself of the sins of killing his wife and children. These labors included such difficult tasks as capturing and skinning the Nemean lion and cleaning the Augean stables.

The rich King Augeas had many herds of cattle but was too tightfisted to pay anyone to clean them (one can only imagine how disgusting they were). When Hercules offered his services, the king strongly doubted he'd be able to do it, but when Hercules diverted a river, using its force to clean the stables, the king was proven wrong.

The twelve labors and the story of the Augean stables in particular give us the word Herculean, used to describe something that requires great strength and determination or a person who exhibits such qualities. (It is interesting to note, as well, that while references to Hercules usually imply super-human strength, the figure himself had his own shortcomings. He was greedy, hedonistic, and bad tempered–another testament to the Greeks' insights into the complexities of human nature.)

Greek myths are so colorful and true to real life that when speaking or writing we often make allusions, or references, to them in order to clarify meaning and add specificity. Using an allusion evokes a world of meaning with just a few words. Some allusions are quite common. For instance, calling something a "Pandora's box" is a way of referring to a topic that shouldn't be broached because it would cause too many problems (imagine, a refined version of the colloquial phrase "Don't even go there!"). It is an allusion to the myth of Pandora, who, because of her curiosity, opened the box containing all the evils of humankind thereby releasing all the problems of the world—another example of a myth in which human shortcomings cause great disaster. Other allusions are less common but equally descriptive, for instance, "My teenage daughter's room is like the Augean stables." Many parents probably think their children's rooms would require a herculean effort to clean!

The Greeks were masters of human nature and it is amazing how applicable their myths are to the humans of today. Think of any narcissists that you know, anything in the news that could be considered a Pandora's box, or even a modern-day Hercules, and you can see how the Greeks' representations of human behavior have made a lasting impression on our minds.

Identifying Key Terms

Choose the best definition for each of the following terms taken from the reading. Some definitions will not have a corresponding term. Place an X next to those definitions.

a. myth
b. herculean
c. narcissism
d. Pandora's box
e. allusion


1		a source of trouble


2		supernatural assistance


3		a reference


4		excessive love of oneself


5		a traditional, usually ancient, story used by a culture to explain aspects of the natural world or human psychology


6		eternal damnation


7		requiring or having great strength and determination

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