Gods Among Us: The Imprints of Myths in Our Modern World

Mythologies are often linked with absurdity and falsehood to it, and in a modern world defined by science, where do we find the place of myths in our lives? Myths came from the Greek word mythos which means word, or stories. These stories are the primitive science of ancient people and are quasi-religious in nature. Through them, ancient people explained the world around them, much the same way as we explain natural occurrences with physical laws and biological processes. But this doesn’t mean that mythologies no longer have an implication in our modern world. In culture, in religion, in language, in modern arts and sciences, in pop culture, in businesses, in sexuality, in our daily lives, and anywhere else we seek explanation out of rationality, mythologies live on.

Our culture, no matter how modernized, is still a byproduct of myths. After all, myths are defined by their significance because of their subject matter, and by their staying power because they withstood centuries. Myths explain the worldview of some particular cultures that still subscribe to ancient beliefs and worship pagan gods. It also explains our belief in superstitions and anything beyond the explanation of science. Even our religion and our belief in divinity are rooted in mythologies. In Louden’s comparative analyses, he found that the Hebrew Bible and New Testament narratives are influenced by Greek mythology. Particularly, Gen 11 is found to be parallel with Hesiod’s Theogony where Noah is castrated by the youngest brother of Japeth, similar to how Kronos castrated Uranus (Louden, 2019).

In addition to myths in culture, our modern-day language is heavily influenced by myths. Some roots of the English words came from Greek mythology. For example, Chronos (keeper of time) is the origin of the word, chronology (events in order of time). Hypnos, the God sleep, is the origin of the word hypnosis or a sleep-like state of consciousness. The scientific name for Spider, Arachnid is derived from Arachne, a beautiful woman and excellent weaver in Greek mythology. She was condemned by Athena to weaving webs forever which turned her into a spider (Slater, 2014). The word ocean is derived from Ôkeanos, the God of rivers and the source of all of Earth’s freshwater. Many more of the words we utter on a daily basis are derived from Greek mythology, and it only shows how mythologies are immortalized.

Modern arts and sciences, particularly, astronomy, astrology, and psychology have been influenced by Greek mythology and culture (Bremmer, 2014). Zodiac signs in astrology are derived from Greek mythology. For example, Capricorn, the Goat is the god, Pan who was half man and half goat in Greek myth. Gemini, the Twins are the twins, Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux), known together as Dioscuri. In psychology, the influence of Greek mythology is seen in the psychological terms Oedipus complex and narcissism. Oedipus is a famous figure in Greek myth who killed his father and married his mother. In Freudian psychoanalysis, the Oedipus complex refers to a child’s unconscious sexual desire for his parent of the opposite sex. In Greek myth, Narcissus is a beautiful man who loved his shadow in the water but eventually drowned and became a flower. In psychology, narcissism refers to someone’s excessive love or admiration for oneself.

In modern art, many paintings, sculptures, architecture, and literature are inspired from Greek myth. The pillars of Parthenon inspire many classical architectural designs like that of Colosseum in Italy and Museum of Anthropology in the Philippines. The anatomy of Greek gods inspire sculptures of today and some mythological paintings. Even literature, especially fantasy stories rationalize their stories through Greek cosmology. Poems and symbolisms in stories still reference Greek gods and goddesses. In popular culture, its influence is found in movie series like Percy Jackson. Even in the anime series, Fairytail, a hell-like world where villains resided was called Tartarus, a place and God mentioned in Hesiod’s Theogony.

In our daily lives, there is references on Greek mythology found in names and brands. Hermes, for example, the messenger of the gods is now a name for a luxury brand, popular for its designer bags. The logo for the Italian fashion house, Versace was Medusa. Its owner, Gianni Versace claimed he likened his clothing’s brand to the “fatal attraction” that Medusa had. The breakfast meal, cereal, derived its name from Ceres, god of grain. Even Poseidon is named for aquatic gear companies. The names, Aphrodite, Athena, Hades, Helen, Cynthia, Damon, Rhea, and many more are now popular among our friends, families, and coworkers, only emphasizing how Greek mythology still very much alive in our daily lives.

Greek mythology may have been stories of the past but every day, imprints of it live with us. It is us who make these gods and their stories immortal.