In the ancient world, myths played an important role of guiding people through turbulent times, in the times we live in, we may not always find them as effective but they still have a purpose says Stella Kassimati, storyteller and teacher and an authority on Greek mythology. She was in India recently, well before the pandemic struck, bringing alive some of the stories from the ancient world for a live audience in Panchgani, Maaharashtra.
Stella teaches around the world in both Greek and English, including at The School of Storytelling, Emerson College and Schumacher College, UK. She speaks to Utkarsh Patel on the relevance and role of mythology in our lives today (Read part 1 of the interview here: Nemesis, hubris and a virus)
On the themes of myth
The main themes of all mythologies are life and death, creation and destruction. These are themes that we still have questions about: What is life? What is death? Is there life after and/or before death? How did the world and the creatures, plants, trees, and so on, come to be? How did consciousness come into being? What is immortality? What does it mean to be human? Myths nurture our spirit, whereas wonder tales speak to our souls and folktales show us how to be social beings.
Also there are other themes like Hubris and the boundaries of being human. Hubris is when we step out of our boundaries and into the realm that belongs to the gods. They don’t like that! Of course, themes like love; respect; chastity; honesty; honour; the uselessness of war; the importance of family; the rule of the father – the patriarch; and many other themes are common. Greek mythology was the religion of the Ancient Greeks and provided them with the spiritual compass and guidance that any religion provides.
The realm of the Gods in Greek mythology is quite distinct from the realm of humans. So the realm of the Gods is not there as a role model. Even though the gods have the ‘same’ weaknesses and strengths as the humans do, we are not them. Humans are not gods.
On myth and identity
Our language has hundreds of words derived from our myths. We name our children after god/desses and heroes from our myths. Many of our main festivals and traditions come from our myths even if we say they are Christian. We name roads, avenues, villages, suburbs using names from our myths. So if we take the main elements that define a nation’s identity language and traditions, I would say that there is a strong relationship between myth and identity.
On gods, nature and divinity
In the past, in every part of the world, people were close to their gods and close to nature. Mother Nature was not taken for granted, but was sacred and worshipped. The gods and nature were very close to people and people were close to them. Slowly, especially with the monotheistic religions, people became alienated from nature thinking that nature was there to serve them and they ruled over nature. This had a knock-on effect on religion and myths, belief systems people live by. The myths became secular and far from gods and sacred beings. So today’s myths are: unlimited expansion and economic growth; taming and harnessing of nature to serve man’s needs; Man is the lord of Nature and the only sentient being; and myths to this effect. These myths continue to be the beliefs we live by, but today they are no longer thought of or regarded as a religion.
As patriarchy took over from matriarchy, also the goddesses
were overshadowed by the world of the gods. So when we look at Greek mythology
today, it is important to look out for the power of the goddesses. Hera, for
example was she just Zeus’s jealous wife or was she the Queen of Heaven, a most
powerful Goddess in her own right? What happens when we look at the myths in
this way, when we turn them upside down and inside out?
Myths became a reflection of patriarchy in the world and the power of the
feminine moved into the shadows. The goddess was downgraded. As the power of
the feminine becomes stronger in the world, so the goddesses will also be seen
in their fullness and power. This means that we may see new myths emerging
which say: Nurture life; approach the taking of life, any life, with great
restraint; walk in love and beauty; trust the knowledge that comes from the
body and the earth; take only what you need; think about the consequences of
your actions for seven generations; restore the world and strengthen Mother
Earth. I think the pandemic we are living through has the potential of shining
a light towads such myths and belief systems.
On Greek and Indian myths
I think the main difference between Greek and Indian mythology would be that Indian myths seem to be more alive. This I saw in the religion and rituals still practised in India and was deeply moved by it. Everyone in India seemed to me to have a deep and intimate knowledge of many of the millions of gods and goddesses of Indian mythology and a personal relationship with them.
There are many similarities between Greek and Indian mythologies, as there are among all mythologies. There is a special connection however between Indian and Greek mythologies shown by the myths that have Dionysos, the God of indestructible life and vegetation, and Alexander the Great travelling all the way to India from Greece. From these myths stems a close relationship between our mythologies.
( This is the second and final part of the conversation between STELLA KASSIMATI and The Mythology Project)
On the workshops The main topics of my experiential workshops are Greek myths; the Craft of the Storyteller; Autobiographical storytelling and exploring the meaning of myths and tales and how they relate to us today, personally and to the world. Next year in March 2021, praying and hoping we are well and over the coronavirus pandemic, I shall be offering a workshop with my dear friend and colleague Gauri Raje on “Shiva and Dionysos” which I am very much looking forward to. Our workshop “The Power of the Divine”, exploring similarities and differences between Greek and Indian myth has been postponed for next year.
You can see more about the workshops I offer here: http://www.emerson.org.uk/storytelling and here: https://www.friends-of-amari.org/programme
