Essays on Greek Myth

By Dr Neel Burton — Psychiatrist, philosopher, and wine writer; Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford; author of over twenty books.

Myths are our oldest and most essentialised stories. Long before philosophy and science, they helped us make sense of the world and our place within it—of creation and destruction, gods and mortals, heroism and hubris, love and jealousy, suffering and death. But myths did not vanish with the ancient world. They survived to inspire Dante and Shakespeare, Caravaggio and Picasso, Wagner and Strauss, Nietzsche and Joyce, Freud and Jung… and continue to shape our literature, art, psychology, language, and politics.

Myths Explained

The Myth Of Narcissus and Its Meaning

The Myth of Orpheus and Its Meaning

The Myth of Chiron, the Wounded Healer, and Its Meaning

Dionysus: God of Wine, Ecstasy, and Liberation

Plato’s Myths and Allegories Explained

Plato’s Myth of Aristophanes and Its Meaning

Plato’s Sun, Line, and Cave Explained

The Myth of Er: Plato’s Most Beautiful Myth

Plato’s Myth of the Metals (the Noble Lie) Explained

Plato’s Myths (free access Philosophy Now article)

Mythological Tropes

Why Storytellers Love Talking Animals — From Aesop to Bugs Bunny and Orwell to Viral Videos

The Symbolism of Snakes — How the Serpent Came to Represent Life and Death, Poison and Cure, Fear and Wisdom

Labyrinths and Mazes: What They Really Mean — The History and Psychology of Labyrinths

Why So Many Gods Are Trans — Gender Fluidity in Gods and Heroes

Magic: What It Is, Whether It Works, and Why We Miss It — The History, Psychology, and Philosophy of Magic

Myth and the Human Condition

Women in Greek Myth: Models, Monsters, or Victims? — Is Greek Myth Misogynistic?

Sex, Drugs, and Religion — A History of the Orgy

The Greek Dog and the Indian Dog | The Odyssey and the Mahabharata — What Homer Can Teach Us About Ghosting

Nietzsche, the Stoics, and Eternal Return — What If You Had to Live Your Life Again?

Should You Want to Live Forever? — Odysseus, Calypso, and the Philosophy of Immortality

Continue Exploring

There are more featured mythology essays on my Odyssey page.

Explore more subjects in the Index Scriptorum.

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