Only in Greece did myth submit to analysis from which it emerged demystified. attempts to interpret Greek myth are to some extent conditioned by the Greek rationalists. Homer was not a typical theologian or mythologist and it can be said exercised a literary genius. Here we do not give a full description of the process of erosion in which the Homeric myths and gods were stripped of their original meanings. Thales revolted against the Homeric idea that Gods inhabited only certain regions of the cosmos. Xenophanes does not attack the pantheon but does not believe that the gods can move from place to place. He rejects the immorality of the gods. Later, the critiques attempt to free the concept of divinity from the anthropomorphism of the poets. What was now sought was their hidden meanings. Theagenes suggested that the names of the gods represented the natural elements. Chryssippus reduced the Greek gods to physical or ethical principles Euhemeruis believed the gods were ancient kings deified. The Christians later took a stand to demonstrate the unreality of the Greek gods. The Greek myths are known only as literary works and are not seen in a cult context. The living side of Greek thought escapes us. However not all mythical thought was disregarded- i.e. the mystery religions.1
Mircea Eliade vs Guenon
Mircea Eliade claims that the Greeks took Homers work to be a work of Fiction. This relies on his critique of the Greek rationalists. Many people today will take what Mircea Eliade is saying to be fact- why? Because Mircea Eliade is Greek and the Greeks are gods. However, they overlook that fact that Mircea Eliade is leaving in a hint that What he is saying might not be true. The Greeks actually believed what Homer wrote was real. Why? Because along Guenonian lines it was handed down orally for a hundred years. This is very important because it says that a group of people at one time in history believed something to be true which upon inspection today turns out to be completely false. The same goes for certain myths of the Persians and Indians. Fiction is in fact a modern invention- instantiated by Descartes and made fully explicit by Fichte
Idealism Studies 