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
On the importance of myth
Myths form our underlying belief system and we act and think according to our belief system. As Joseph Campbell says “The dream is a personal myth. The myth is a collective dream.” Myths provide meaning to what we do and what is happening in our lives. Greek myths for example talk about Hubris and Nemesis. We commit hubris when we step outside the boundaries of our human nature, for e.g. when we are arrogant or think we are equal to or better than the gods and Nemesis is the goddess who punishes acts of hubris.
It feels like Nemesis has come in the form of Covid-19 to cut us back to human size. I can only hope we can listen and learn from this ancient wisdom, otherwise I’m afraid the consequences will be terrible. Some people ask “What is the new myth for today, for the twenty first century?” or they say “We must make a new myth for today”. I say yes, and we need to revisit the mythologies of all nations and remember and learn from them for myths are the distilled essence of what it is to be human.
On the role of Greek mythology today
The role of Greek mythology in the lives of the Greeks is not as dominant as is the heritage of Ancient Greece itself. In Athens, one can see many ancient Greek monuments and temples, for example the Acropolis sits majestically in the centre of the city and has a visible and imposing presence that one cannot miss. The old Agora, the Thesion and the Pillars of Olympian Zeus are also prominent features of Athens, as is the Stadium and the theatre at the foot of the Acropolis, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, known as the Herodion. This theatre has a magnificent programme every summer. To watch anything there is sublime. Many roads, streets, avenues and even whole suburbs and villages are named after Gods, Goddesses and heroes of Greek myths. However, even though we are surrounded by the glory of Ancient Greece, we actually have very little interest in the myths themselves. The vast majority of Greeks know the basic Gods and Goddesses and some very well-known myths because we are taught them in school, but in such a way that we do not like them or feel any connection with them. We are very proud of our Ancient Greek Heritage, for laying the foundation of all sciences and thinking in the western world, but mythology somehow is not part of it. Or so we think.
There are words in the English language like tantalise, siren, panic, chaos, etc., that derive from Greek mythology. In Greek there are hundreds more, but we usually do not stop to think of their etymology. There are many people called Artemis, Dionysus, Demeter, Herakles, Jason and other names from our mythology, but the Church has managed to “acquire” a saint of the same name so the connection is made to the saint rather than to the mythological figure. Our customs are so close to those of the Ancient Greeks, like having barley, oats and pomegranate seeds – called koliva – at our funerals and memorial services. But again few connect this to the rituals of Demeter, goddess of nature and the harvest. So, even though we tend to think that Greek myths do not play a role in our lives, I think they most certainly do. And a big one at that.
( STELLA KASSIMATI will be talking to us through the week, this is the first of her conversations so please do stay tuned in)
Read the second part of the interview here
