Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths?: An Essay on the Constitutive Imagination

A groundbreaking, innovative exploration of what the ancient Greeks really believed

Did the Greeks believe in their mythology? This question implies other difficult ones concerning the meaning of belief. While knowing that Theseus never slew the Minotaur, the Greeks were still capable of believing in the existence of Theseus, of crafting a genealogy for him and assigning him a place in history. This apparently contradictory process, the application of reason to myth, prompts legendary archaeologist Paul Veyne’s meditation on the nature of “truth.” Beginning with the example of the Greeks’ attitude toward their myths, Veyne argues that truth is not found, but created, as is history. His discussion reveals the historical quality of the imagination and its role in the constitution of a cultural tradition.