Often in these epic stories, mankind's understanding of the supernatural, spiritual and otherworldly realms became manifest and were tied up with the exploits of the hero or the events being recounted. Religion, history and human endeavor were thus all connected to one other, as humans didn't seem to fully understand the phenomena of nature. So a comet might be a foreboding of something to come, a volcanic eruption was a sign of anger coming from the gods, and constant smoke rising from the same might be interpreted as, in the case of Mount Etna in Sicily in the time of the ancient Greeks, the chimney portal for the god Hephaistos and his metal working crew, hammering out exquisite arms and armor for use by the champions as they set out on their quests and exploits, to do battle with other champions, demons or fantastic beasts. If there is a constant, a shared denominator in humanity besides death, it is the imagination of Man. We live, we experience and then we pass on the experience to others, and we do so in art, in music, dance and song, as well as in the recounting of epic tales, and the individuals who are the very epicenter of that inspiration become what we know of as legends who indeed live on forever. Some later authors, who lived long after the age of bards and minstrels such as Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain, acknowledged the notion of otherworldly natural phenomena when he announced: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet". The great American author died in 1910, the year Halley's Comet returned to make its appearance in the night sky. Coincidence? Perhaps, but such phenomena keep people wondering, now as they did tIn an age when humans didn't know the Earth was round and can only hypothesize as some brilliant minds did, we cannot discredit such scholars as Herodotus, who cannot have known of east Asia. For Herodotus, the east was Babylon and Persia, and he certainly did not know of a continent which one day would be named America. There were theories about far away lands, sometimes because of some catastrophic event where a volcano named Hekla blew and the ash from this explosion filled the atmosphere, affecting the production of crops. Some scientists and historians claim that this explosion brought about the end of the Bronze Age, as affected peoples living in the Mediterranean began to migrate, forming a coalition the Egyptians referred to as the Sea Peoples. This large mass of humanity were on the search for news land and as they were unruly and desperate, destroyed a number of civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean. Only Egypt and Assyria survived, while others all succumbed to the invasion by the Sea Peoples. As the age of iron began, much ancient knowledge of the previous era was preserved in Egypt. When Greece was young, its scholars went to study in Egypt and learned many ancient sciences, and while there they heard the stories and tales of what was for them very ancient history.
Because of such upheavals or through disasters both natural and manmade in history, some or much knowledge amassed for centuries can be lost in matter of hours. In Egypt at the transition from the Bronze to the Iron age much was preserved. One day, for the people of the time, in the far off future the famous library at Alexandria would burn and much of the histories up to the day would be destroyed forever. In fact, this great library suffered three great destructive events- by the Roman conqueror Julius Caesar in 48 BC, again by command of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius and at the exhortation of Alexandrian Bishop Theophios in 391 CE, in an anti pagan move to wipe out the literature of the one time oppressors of Christianity, and again in 640 CE when the caliph Omar, continuing the Abrahamic war against all things pagan, supposedly ordered the scrolls and books of the library to be used to heat the bathhouses of the city, ordering his generals to examine the books and if they contradicted the Quran, torch them. Civilization is often only a short step away from barbarism, even if that barbarism manifests in the form of civilization itself.
When such historical accounts are destroyed, it is not necessarily impossible to out together a piece of history that might have been documented in such a library as that of Alexandria. The knowledge may have also been known and documented in other libraries of other cultures and empires, though those accounts may have differed from what was formerly destroyed. So much becomes lost, it is as if there is a worldwide internet crash for which there is no backup files to refer to. When this happens, we have to look elsewhere to other sources to seek information, and sometimes the best we can do is to imagine and suppose. Therefore, theories abound in which one theory may be as correct or as faulty as another. This is where the role of the mythologist enters.
Mythology is not an exact science. It is not necessarily a history of an event or the biography of a person or persons who might be real or imagined. This is why the subject is a myth. Like the existence of God, a myth cannot be proven but also cannot be disproven, simply because we just don't know. Without verifiable proof, no one can say this happened or this didn't happen. Serious historians and archeologists, logically depending on solid proof to prove their arguments, might have a problem with the often imaginative and other wordly aspects of a myth, as many of these aspects are clearly imaginative. It is of benefit that educated scholars are in doubt and display caution, since myths are the expression and definition of an ancient people and these definitions are dear to any nation. The magical and flowery events in such a myth do not bring us any closer to the truth as a real study and an archeological dig will. Yet to even come close to formulating such an expedition one has to know where to look and what they expect to find. To know what one is looking for without solid historical data, one has to turn to the literature of the ancients, sometimes in the form of legends and myths, and wade through the monsters, fantastic beasts, strange beings and the sometimes overly exaggerated amazing exploits of the character portrayed to find out the where's, when's and why's of any event or individual, indeed groups of individuals such as those nations which supposedly existed. The study of mythology is to study the heart and soul of a people of the past, but it should be remembered that people are the hearty and soul of history. To know them is to link their mythological expressions with the actual work of the archeologist and the historian, and in this way we might begin to put together the long lost puzzle. We study a people or an ancient civilization through its art, its religion, what it achieved and when or why it may have failed. Thus the mythologist and the historian must naturally sometimes work together. Like the discussion about the reality of a supreme being, each must respect the other from where they are coming from, where they gather their information. If the two can indeed learn from each other, then we all benefit since some ancient civilization will be brought to light in our own time, many thousands of years later, perhaps with the myth of that people having the last word, as they will live, as sometimes prophesied, in eternity.
The story behind the discovery of Ancient Troy is a perfect example of this symbiosis between historical archeologists and mythologists. Heinrich Schliemann was not a professional archeologist but was fascinated with Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. He studied other texts and myths including the later 'Posthomerica' by Quintus of Smyrna. The original version of this particular story was supposedly composed by an author named Arctinus in the 8th century BC. This ancient version was known as 'Aethiopis', so named for the supposed army that traveled from Aethiopia in Africa to support the Trojans, led by the king Memnon, though little remained of that original written epic. This story, which also includes telling of the Greeks and their battle with an army of Amazons, was told and retold. Quintus, in the 4th century decided to put it again in written form. Quintus of Smyrna wrote this Posthomerica, also known as the 'Fall of Troy' over a thousand years later, attesting to the popularity of this epic. Schliemann was convinced that there was something to these epics, and he went on to locate what he and many believed to be the very site of the fabled city, and the rest is archeological history. While much of this sounds like a scene from a Raiders of the Lost Ark episode, the fact remains that within the verses of ancient poems, tales and collections of writings can be found clues and hints at the possible. Though something has yet to be proven doesn't mean that something never existed. The study of the 20,000 year old prehistoric art found in the caves as Lascaux in France tells us much, albeit not everything, about the mindset and soul of the people who painted them. With such clues we are closer to hopefully one day unraveling more mysteries. Some of the clues found in legends and old texts are indeed fantasy, such as explorer Coronado's search for his Lost City of Gold and Ponce de Leon's hunt for the Fountain of Youth for which one could become the laughing stock of the time. These supposed stories remain myths and are considered bogus and mere fantasy, until someone finds something, that is. This happens too. Thor Heyerdahl set out on his reed raft Kon Tiki in 1947 intending to prove that Polynesians landed in and colonized South America centuries ago. There was no conclusive proof to that theory, yet DNA studies of the inhabitants of Easter Island and other Pacific isles showed some evidence of very old Native American genes, interbreeding which occurred long before the coming of Europeans.
For the lover of legend and myth, such stories are pure joy as they capture the imagination. The realm of the possible is ever at hand when one caresses the pages of a book of some ancient tale, telling of the exploits of heroes in far away imaginary places. For some if not many of these tales, there are some elements of truth behind them, just as people question the reality of myths such as the labors of Hercules, the deeds of Theseus or Perseus' slaying of the Medusa. These tales may be simply created literature based on what someone could do, or they could be accounts of similar deeds performed by strong individuals. Noboby knows if a Gilgamesh really lived and met someone known as Enkidu in the forest and together they matched off to slay the evil Humbaba. But the story does tell us of an ancient time, about the role of a king real or imaginary and about friendship. The story is so old that we learn about the well coifed, city dwelling Gilgamesh who meets a wild man of the forest and at first fights him, then the two become as one. This sets a standard in storytelling that inspires the medieval legend of King Arthur, who is bested by one knight named Lancelot and after their encounter the two become loyal and loving friends, or as read in the story of Jesus meeting John the Baptist or the Sufi poet Rumi and his encounter with the mystic Shamsi Tabrizi, meetings that were necessary for each individual to complete their life mission. The tame and the cultured individual meeting their raw and wild self in the form of a stranger is a universal pattern in mythology which has even become part of the religious repertoire. Historically, there are ancient historical records of settled peoples encountering less established peoples, such as the description of the Greeks regarding the people they met in the Pindus mountains, who ate their meat raw and whose language they could not understand. In the Greek story of Cyrene, we read of a freedom loving young woman who lives in these mountain tending her father's flocks, defending them daily from animals and marauders with her expert use of the spear. The agile and athletic woman then travels to Libya in northern Africa and competes in chariot races, and she wins all the time. Cyrene is not the typical Greek woman of the past, who was supposed to remain in the house and rear children. Who was she, and others found in the oldest Greek myths who defy Greek custom and tradition? Were these stories of the Pelasgians, the supposed original inhabitants of the Balkans? Historians are still trying to unravel such mysteries, this Pelsagian question having currently become somewhat of a hot topic in the region ethnic-driven nationalists who claim to be scholars have willingly embraced the argument and use ancient Bronze Age definitions and identities to prove their points about the 'who came first' theory. Sometimes in the hands of those with nationalistic tendencies a myth gets carried too far, I'll admit. But the questions are there and they remain, and a good dose of the study of legend and myth by responsible and dedicated people just might reveal enough evidence for a peaceful and enjoyable debate. to be further enhanced by the sound mind of the historian and the hand of the archeologist. But for those ethnic squabblers who prove nothing but that they have the ability to create more myths from what exists already to annoy their neighbors, it might actually be better that no clear evidence is found and the mystery remains what it is, a mystery. In the Andean folk song El Condor Pasa, made famous in the 70's by the song team of Simon and Garfunkel, the English lyrics as translated from the original Quechua reveal yet another universal truth; "a man gets tied up to the ground, he gives the world its saddest sound, its saddest sound".
When we study history, we generally look at the linear concept of time and go back to what historians have established as the first civilization, Sumer. It was in Sumer where the earliest features of civilization appeared including laws, science, art, an organized military, aspects economy and trade, writing and an organized and formalized religion, not to mention time, in the idea that there are sixty minutes in one hour. We know about Sumer and we thank them for their contributions by utilizing what they gave, gifts which are still part of and inform our own civilization today.
There have theoretically been civilizations before Sumer, and the probability is that there most definitely were. The stories that were part of the hit parade repertoire of the day give us clues to earlier cultures and kingdoms that have vanished. Atlantis and Lemuria are legends well documented in various scriptures both historical and religious, but alas they remain mysteries due to lack of solid proof. The remains of a city in Turkestan, known as Anau with it's circumference of what seem to have been walls built 80 miles in a circle, continue to baffle the most astute historians. Atlantis for example in mentioned in the legends of the New World, known as Atztilan, a land inhabited by large men, and in the old world as the Atlas mountains in what is now Morocco testify. Interestingly, in the Quran there is mention of the Ad people, who were very tall and achieved a high level of civilization until their city was destroyed. This coincides with legends of giants which is mentioned in the Old Testament. Was this all simply a manifestation of archetypal memory ie: humans think the same all around the world, just like they build pyramid structures in diverse places with supposedly no contact with each other? We don't know and I won't comment but what I will say, surely for the purpose of this article, is that these connections and similarities need to be studied further. In attempting to establish shared cultural connections, historians and scholars have failed to demonstrate that the Maya were influenced by the Egyptians, a strange and racist theory that came about in the 20th century which questioned the ability of the Native American populations to actually be the originators of a unique civilization. The Maya in fact created their civilization and even came up with the numerical idea of zero, seemingly independent of the Old World. Until we can prove some ancient connection though, the Maya stand alone. But what of the Aztec prophesy of the return of fair skinned Quetzalcoatl, whom they saw in the fulfillment of that prediction in the arrival of Hernan Cortez? What do the various codex have to say?
An example of scholastic study in which the 'possible' is included within its pages can be found in the Bibliotecha Historica of the ancient Greek scholar Diodoris of Sicily. The first known compilation of the history of the world, this work encompasses the history of the known world up to his own time, in the first century BC. The work is divided into three parts. The first part describes the ancient, mythic history of the Greeks and non Greeks, including the mythologies of Arabia and Africa up to the siege of Troy. Diodoris seems to be dividing the work up chronologically with the Trojan war comparable to the ending of the Bronze Age. His work goes on to describe the exploits of Alexander, then the third tells about the time from his death to the rise of Rome. Some parts of this magnificent work have been lost, but parts of it survive in various works which copied the man, so influential was he.
Myth and history were for the most part tied together in the ancient world, as the myths were considered historical accounts even if these stories recounted had to do with the gods. This is perhaps because the ancients saw their gods and the deeds of their champions and heroes as necessary to their own individual definitions. Or, maybe these stories were considered as half truths which no self respecting citizen in their competent mind would dare question. Why? Because the citizens of these lands thought of them in the realm of the possible, rather than through the lens of the impossible. because no one could prove these stories as true or untrue, it was logical to acknowledge them, rather than debate whether they actually happened or not. In the mind of archaic Man, everything and anything could be possible, and there would be enough scholars alive then who would argue this as there are scholars now. What was beautiful of the time though, is the realm of the possible and the symbiotic crossover between scholastic sage the artist and the bard.
For the lover of legend and myth, such stories are pure joy as they capture the imagination. The realm of the possible is ever at hand when one caresses the pages of a book of some ancient tale, telling of the exploits of heroes in far away imaginary places. For some if not many of these tales, there are some elements of truth behind them, just as people question the reality of myths such as the labors of Hercules, the deeds of Theseus or Perseus' slaying of the Medusa. These tales may be simply created literature based on what someone could do, or they could be accounts of similar deeds performed by strong individuals. Noboby knows if a Gilgamesh really lived and met someone known as Enkidu in the forest and together they matched off to slay the evil Humbaba. But the story does tell us of an ancient time, about the role of a king real or imaginary and about friendship. The story is so old that we learn about the well coifed, city dwelling Gilgamesh who meets a wild man of the forest and at first fights him, then the two become as one. This sets a standard in storytelling that inspires the medieval legend of King Arthur, who is bested by one knight named Lancelot and after their encounter the two become loyal and loving friends, or as read in the story of Jesus meeting John the Baptist or the Sufi poet Rumi and his encounter with the mystic Shamsi Tabrizi, meetings that were necessary for each individual to complete their life mission. The tame and the cultured individual meeting their raw and wild self in the form of a stranger is a universal pattern in mythology which has even become part of the religious repertoire. Historically, there are ancient historical records of settled peoples encountering less established peoples, such as the description of the Greeks regarding the people they met in the Pindus mountains, who ate their meat raw and whose language they could not understand. In the Greek story of Cyrene, we read of a freedom loving young woman who lives in these mountain tending her father's flocks, defending them daily from animals and marauders with her expert use of the spear. The agile and athletic woman then travels to Libya in northern Africa and competes in chariot races, and she wins all the time. Cyrene is not the typical Greek woman of the past, who was supposed to remain in the house and rear children. Who was she, and others found in the oldest Greek myths who defy Greek custom and tradition? Were these stories of the Pelasgians, the supposed original inhabitants of the Balkans? Historians are still trying to unravel such mysteries, this Pelsagian question having currently become somewhat of a hot topic in the region ethnic-driven nationalists who claim to be scholars have willingly embraced the argument and use ancient Bronze Age definitions and identities to prove their points about the 'who came first' theory. Sometimes in the hands of those with nationalistic tendencies a myth gets carried too far, I'll admit. But the questions are there and they remain, and a good dose of the study of legend and myth by responsible and dedicated people just might reveal enough evidence for a peaceful and enjoyable debate. to be further enhanced by the sound mind of the historian and the hand of the archeologist. But for those ethnic squabblers who prove nothing but that they have the ability to create more myths from what exists already to annoy their neighbors, it might actually be better that no clear evidence is found and the mystery remains what it is, a mystery. In the Andean folk song El Condor Pasa, made famous in the 70's by the song team of Simon and Garfunkel, the English lyrics as translated from the original Quechua reveal yet another universal truth; "a man gets tied up to the ground, he gives the world its saddest sound, its saddest sound".
When we study history, we generally look at the linear concept of time and go back to what historians have established as the first civilization, Sumer. It was in Sumer where the earliest features of civilization appeared including laws, science, art, an organized military, aspects economy and trade, writing and an organized and formalized religion, not to mention time, in the idea that there are sixty minutes in one hour. We know about Sumer and we thank them for their contributions by utilizing what they gave, gifts which are still part of and inform our own civilization today.
There have theoretically been civilizations before Sumer, and the probability is that there most definitely were. The stories that were part of the hit parade repertoire of the day give us clues to earlier cultures and kingdoms that have vanished. Atlantis and Lemuria are legends well documented in various scriptures both historical and religious, but alas they remain mysteries due to lack of solid proof. The remains of a city in Turkestan, known as Anau with it's circumference of what seem to have been walls built 80 miles in a circle, continue to baffle the most astute historians. Atlantis for example in mentioned in the legends of the New World, known as Atztilan, a land inhabited by large men, and in the old world as the Atlas mountains in what is now Morocco testify. Interestingly, in the Quran there is mention of the Ad people, who were very tall and achieved a high level of civilization until their city was destroyed. This coincides with legends of giants which is mentioned in the Old Testament. Was this all simply a manifestation of archetypal memory ie: humans think the same all around the world, just like they build pyramid structures in diverse places with supposedly no contact with each other? We don't know and I won't comment but what I will say, surely for the purpose of this article, is that these connections and similarities need to be studied further. In attempting to establish shared cultural connections, historians and scholars have failed to demonstrate that the Maya were influenced by the Egyptians, a strange and racist theory that came about in the 20th century which questioned the ability of the Native American populations to actually be the originators of a unique civilization. The Maya in fact created their civilization and even came up with the numerical idea of zero, seemingly independent of the Old World. Until we can prove some ancient connection though, the Maya stand alone. But what of the Aztec prophesy of the return of fair skinned Quetzalcoatl, whom they saw in the fulfillment of that prediction in the arrival of Hernan Cortez? What do the various codex have to say?
An example of scholastic study in which the 'possible' is included within its pages can be found in the Bibliotecha Historica of the ancient Greek scholar Diodoris of Sicily. The first known compilation of the history of the world, this work encompasses the history of the known world up to his own time, in the first century BC. The work is divided into three parts. The first part describes the ancient, mythic history of the Greeks and non Greeks, including the mythologies of Arabia and Africa up to the siege of Troy. Diodoris seems to be dividing the work up chronologically with the Trojan war comparable to the ending of the Bronze Age. His work goes on to describe the exploits of Alexander, then the third tells about the time from his death to the rise of Rome. Some parts of this magnificent work have been lost, but parts of it survive in various works which copied the man, so influential was he.
Myth and history were for the most part tied together in the ancient world, as the myths were considered historical accounts even if these stories recounted had to do with the gods. This is perhaps because the ancients saw their gods and the deeds of their champions and heroes as necessary to their own individual definitions. Or, maybe these stories were considered as half truths which no self respecting citizen in their competent mind would dare question. Why? Because the citizens of these lands thought of them in the realm of the possible, rather than through the lens of the impossible. because no one could prove these stories as true or untrue, it was logical to acknowledge them, rather than debate whether they actually happened or not. In the mind of archaic Man, everything and anything could be possible, and there would be enough scholars alive then who would argue this as there are scholars now. What was beautiful of the time though, is the realm of the possible and the symbiotic crossover between scholastic sage the artist and the bard.
Many of the famous Greek scholars sought knowledge in Egypt, which as mentioned earlier had preserved knowledge and information from the Bronze Age thanks to the failure of the Sea Peoples to destroy that kingdom on the Nile. Thales, Solon, and Pythagoras all studied there as did Diodoris Siculus. Interestingly, Plato studied there as well, collecting many stories of older, previous civilizations. He tells us of Atlantis, and of nations of Gorgons and Amazons who rode on horses and fought like men. Diodoris took this knowledge and included it and more in his Bibliotecha, as part of the story of Myrina, a Libyan warrior queen who, according to Diodoris as based on those ancient Egyptian tales, set out on a path of conquest that took her from northern Africa to Arabia and the Middle East, then to Asia Minor and finally to Thrace, where she experienced her defeat at the hands of a Thracian king named Mopsus and his Scythian allies. If Myrina were a real figure, this story would acknowledge her as the first world conqueror, on a par with Alexander or Napoleon. This means her knowledge and connections to the Scythians, a people living on the Russian steppe very far from ancient Africa, would have been closer than we might logically imagine. This possibility is reminiscent of Memnon the king of Aethiopia coming to Troy to do battle with Achilles, but we have a hard time believing it because it hasn't been proven. Yet, there remains the ever present possibility of the possible, as we also have a hard time believing that ancient peoples were in closer contact with each other than our archeological findings and historical evidence allow or permit us to believe. If these peculiar elements of these stories are coincidental and added at a later date, are we ready to throw blame at Diodoris or Plato for their obvious lies? They were, whether in their time or ours, highly regarded scholars indeed, and we must remember that they were retelling stories and accounts as they received them, from respected Egyptian sages. These stories were ancient even for the ancient Egyptians. There we have it, a question for all of us to ponder, both scholar and artist- was Myrina the Libyan Amazon queen truly the world's first empire builder?
It might seem strange that some warrior woman from Africa would set out on a chartered course to conquer land all the way to southeastern Europe, bask in short glory and then finally experience defeat and death, only to be forgotten for centuries thereafter. If we study the voyages of Leif Erickson to the New World in the 10/11th century, we naturally come to realize that if Columbus didn't find the Americas and claim them for Spain, the voyages of the Northmen might have been forgotten forever, as they would have had no relevance for anyone if later exploration never came about. The legendary Piri Reis map it is said, named for an Ottoman sea captain who owned it, inspired Columbus and others to consider that the world may not have been flat and perhaps there was land on the other side of the ocean, and in this way Europeans could maybe find a new way to get to Indian and China. This all came about due to dabbling in the imaginary realm of the possible, coupled with the knowledge of Greek, Arab and European map makers and teachers. A New World was discovered based on accepted science and logic but also, this interest and curiosity was stimulated by the ancient legends of lost continents and the literature and art that defined it. Maybe those continents weren't at all lost but simply forgotten for awhile, accounts of some long gone voyager whose stories once told in the marketplace still loomed in the imagination of a few.
After the discovery of the Americas, there began a series of expeditions to seek gold, riches and a fountain of youth, as well as lost kingdoms. The Amazon river and jungle gets its name from the Spanish conquistadors who report having to fight with women warriors defending their settlements. The state of California was named for a supposed Amazon warrioress from Africa, Calipha, a story that was popular in the age of exploration. Indeed, some of the tales and legends stimulate the imagination and are far from truth, yet there will always be individuals who will spare no expense to prove that a myth is actual history. Most of the time, these individuals are mistaken, but for the artists and the dreamer their attempts to enter the realm of fantasy via the path of imagination inspire many of us to continue to envision the realm of the possible, a rich kingdom found in the recesses of our minds or in the sudden discovery of ruins in the deserts of the world.
