Mythology

>>2459282
>How do you guys view Roman and Greek Mythology?
They are useful to historians and writers in addition to be enjoyable.

>Does it promote good things like work ethic and overcoming hardship?
It gets you to work in a team and accept that shit happens, but things like the idea of honor in the Iliad are simply foreign.

>What are your opinions on modern interpretations like the Percy Jackson books Rick Riordan?
My opinion is "read the Greeks and Romans"

>>2459314
Sorry if I'm wrong but I believe the Romans had a very good sense of work ethic and honor, if the Greeks did not.

Religion wasn't a guide for morality, barring a few exceptions (like not eating your children or cannibalism in general). The gods were sacrificed to and venerated because they protected the state, not because they guide human lives to be moral. This is why Jews had to have a special work-around in order to be permitted to sacrifice in the Temple of Jerusalem: They must sacrifice to God in the name of Rome and the Imperial family, in order to ensure good divine insurance policy.

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>>2459348
Read this. What you wrote is wrong.

Zeus was a protector and a punisher.

>>2459327
No, I wrote like shit.

I mean that they have an idea of honor, and that idea of honor is foreign. Cue all the kids reading the Iliad for the first time asking why is Achilles such a "bitch" in regards to Agamemnon's theft of Briseis.

>>2459348
I was about to say the exact same thing as
>>2459370
Most gods would punish people for not doing their jobs/not listening to the gods like they're supposed to. People like King Phineus or other tortured souls like Prometheus for disobeying the gods.

>>2459378
I would say that the Iliad does not represent all of Greek mythology, and most certainly does not represent Roman mythology. I would also say that the Romans did have a good sense of honor.

>>2459370
>Zeus was a protector and punisher
That doesn't invalidate what I say. 90% of the time Zeus punishes people its because they are either impious or commit some sort of act against the gods. Rome wasn't moralistic in terms of religion, they were superstitious. That's why they were okay with incorporating several gods into their fold, something unacceptable in Judeo-Christian ideology.
>"He was a god of light, a protector during defeat, and the giver of victory. He was Jupiter Imperator, the supreme general; Jupiter Invictus, the unconquered; and lastly, Jupiter Triumphator. He protected Rome in time of war and maintained the welfare of the people during peace. "

>>2459348
The Greek god Zeus is sometimes called Zeus Xenios in his role as a protector of travelers. He thus embodied the religious obligation to be hospitable to travelers. Theoxeny or theoxenia is a theme in Greek mythology in which humans demonstrate their virtue or piety by extending hospitality to a humble stranger (xenos), who turns out to be a disguised deity (theos) with the capacity to bestow rewards. These stories caution mortals that any guest should be treated as if potentially a disguised divinity and help establish the idea of xenia as a fundamental Greek custom.

Verses like Mt 25:36-37 are pure theoxeny straight out of the Greek myths. The New Testament civilizes Jewish tribalism by tempering it with Greek wisdom.

>>2459408
The Good Samaritan is another example.

>does this foreign culture promote good things
>like these things my culture taught me are good
Can't blame them if they don't really

>>2459348
>Religion wasn't a guide for morality, barring a few exceptions (like not eating your children or cannibalism in general).

http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Arete.html
http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Kakia.html

>>2459425
Sorry about how I worded that, I guess it's not objectively right that work ethic is good, I meant to ask more of a "what ideas do they promote and do you think they are good ideas"

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>>2459348
>not because they guide human lives to be moral
Which is a good thing, humans have become way too kind and soft nowadays.