Mythology: Legends
By A.W.H. Adkins &
Britannica Editors
Source: Britanica
Photo Source: Unsplash,
Myths were viewed as embodying divine or timeless truths, whereas legends (or sagas) were quasi-historical. Hence, famous events in epics, such as the Trojan War, were generally regarded as having really happened, and heroes and heroines were believed to have actually lived. Earlier sagas, such as the voyage of the Argonauts, were accepted in a similar fashion. Most Greek legends were embellished with folktales and fiction, but some certainly contain a historical foundation. Such are the tales of more than one sack of Troy, which are supported by archaeological evidence. The labors of Heracles, performed in the service of King Eurystheus, to whom Heracles was a vassal, might suggest Mycenaean feudalism. Again, the legend of the Minotaur (a being part human, part bull) could have arisen from exaggerated accounts of bull leaping in ancient Crete.
In another class of legends, heinous offenses—such as attempting to rape a goddess, grossly deceiving the gods by inculpating them in crime, or assuming their prerogatives—were punished by everlasting torture in the underworld (Sisyphus, who attempted to cheat death, was punished by having to incessantly roll a great rock). The consequences of social crimes, such as murder or incest, were also described in legend (e.g., Theban king Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father, married his mother, and, in later versions of the story, blinded himself when the truth was revealed). Legends were also sometimes employed to justify existing political systems or to bolster territorial claims.
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