What does mythology teach us?

Hercules was a great warrior but he was also violent and had difficulty controlling his rage. One day, as he was influenced by Hera, the queen of the Gods, he entered a state of rage and murdered his family. To expiate his sins he was ordered to serve King Eurystheus for ten years. It was during this time that he completed his famous twelve labors.

This story helps us understand how important it is to control our emotions and it also teaches us that if you let others influence your decisions you may commit acts you will regret all your life.

The story takes place when Icarus and his father Daedalus were stuck in a labyrinth. To escape, Daedalus made wings that he tied in his son’s back warning him not to fly too close to the sun or the wings would melt. But Icarus was so excited that he disobeyed Dedalus and his father’s prediction happened. The wings melted and Icarus died.

Listening to one’s elders is important because they transmit us their experience and we must take their advice into consideration.

When Artemis and her brother Apollo learnt that a mortal woman, Niobe, had given birth to more children than their own mother, the goddess Leto, and therefore deserved more honour, they murdered the woman’s children so as to defend their family’s reputation.

Violence cannot be justified let alone when it leads to murder, even if you want to restore the honour of your family.

Everybody knows the story of Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection. In fact, as he rejected all attempts of those who loved him (some committed suicide), the goddess of love decided to punish him and made him fall in love with himself as early as he saw his own reflection in the water of a river. But of course this love could never be fulfilled and, out of desperation, Narcissus killed himself. It is important to be nice to others and not to focus oneself on one’s image. Looks are not everything and what is inside a person is more important than what you can see.

When Achilles’ mother dipped him into the river Styx to make him invulnerable, she omitted to plunge his heel as she was holding him by this part of the body. Achilles was a great warrior all his life, probably the greatest of the Trojan War but however strong he was he died when an arrow pierced his heel.

The expression Achilles’ heel reminds us that we all have our weaknesses, even the strongest of us and it is important to remember it if we want to protect ourselves. We are all mortal.

How important it is to feel welcomed when you enter someone else's home! If you have experienced this feeling, you owe it to Hestia who was the goddess of hearth and home. She was preoccupied with the comfort of others and thought it wrong to send strangers away when they knocked on her door. So she let them in and sit by the hearth.

The examples above show us how mythology has crossed the ages and left an indelible stain on our actions. They ring a bell and tell us what we can, or can’t, do. They continue shaping our habits and help us become better.