Sofia Irwin - Ex Nihilo: Myths as Theories

 EX NIHILO


How important is context in understanding myths and symbols from other times and places? How are we supposed to put ourselves in their shoes? We can’t just assume that their reasoning was etiological just because that makes the most sense to us.


The Ancient Greeks weren’t thinking, “I don’t know how or why the moon and sun move throughout the day, so I’m going to make something up to explain it.” No. They saw the planets that move in ways unknown to them and used what they knew to deduct a truth about it. 


It’s much like how we create scientific theories. We take what we know to explain something unknown. It may or may not be fact, but it’s our best explanation for how the world works. It’s like Dr. Redick said a couple of weeks ago in class, “These myths are used to find order—κόσμος—out of χάος.”


It’s impossible to completely understand what the Ancient Greeks were thinking when they interacted with their myths because it happened not only did they live thousands of miles away, but thousands of years ago. A study of external factors will only get us so far in a philosophical study. Instead of focusing on the differences between Ancient Greek culture and our own, we must focus on what stays the same: the story and the lessons we can gain from it. 


“Why does Hades kidnap Persephone? Why is it important that Zeus allowed him to, but Demeter wouldn’t have?”

“Why did Orpheus look back to see if Eurydice was following him out of the underworld?”

“Why did Hera marry Zeus if he had such a bad reputation?”


It’s the WHY, not the WHAT, that’s important for us to focus on. That is the story within the story that stands the test of time. We cannot explain these abstract concepts “ex nihilo,” so we have to look for ways to explain them that will make sense to others around us using myth.

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