Sources of Chinese and Greek Mythology

How do myths then，the evident product of ancient times，end up with what they are in the contemporary world？

No reference to an introduction of all Greek myths’ characters and stories appears in any literature.Indeed，the earliest Greek myths were part of an oral tradition originating in the Bronze Age，and their plots and themes unfolded gradually in the written literature of the archaic and classical periods of the ancient Mediterranean world.The Iliadand The Odyssey，the eighth century B.C.epics by Homer，tell the story of the Trojan War as a divine conflict as well as a human one.They do not，however，bother to introduce the gods and goddesses，whom readers and listeners would already have been familiar with.

Around the seventh century B.C.，the poet Hesiod’s Theogonyoffered the first written cosmogony，or creation story of Greek mythology.Theogonysketches how the universe evolves from nothingness（Chaos，a primeval void）into being，and details an elaborate family tree of elements，gods and goddesses that developed from Chaos as descendants of Gaia（the Earth），Uranus（the Sky），Pontus（the Sea）and Tartarus（the Underworld）.Hesiod’s Works and Dayssystematically records the knowledge of farming and production at that time，showing a peaceful and beautiful scene of rural life.It also represents Prometheus，Pandora，and the five ages of man，namely the Golden Age，the Silver Age，the Bronze Age，the Age of Heroes and the Iron Age.

These achievements laid the groundwork for later Greek writers and artists.Mythological figures and events appear in the 5th-century plays of Aeschylus，Sophocles and Euripides and the lyric poems of Pindar.A large quantity of plays and lyric poems have drawn their materials from the stories of Prometheus，Agamemnon，Oedipus，Antigone，Medea，Andromache，Helen，Apollo，Dionysus，etc.Greek mythographer Apollodorus of Athens in the second century B.C.and the Roman historian Gaius Julius Hyginus in the first century B.C.compiled the ancient myths and legends for contemporary audiences.

At the center of Greek mythology is the pantheon of gods and goddesses who were alleged to live on Mount Olympus，the highest mountain in Greece.From their lofty perch，they ruled every aspect of human life.Olympian deities had incarnations as human beings（though they could also change themselves into animals and other things）and were—as many myths recounted—vulnerable to human foibles and passions.

However，gods and goddesses are not the sole theme of Greek mythology.Human heroes—Heracles（aka Hercules），the adventurer who performed 12 impossible labors for King Eurystheus and was subsequently worshipped as a god for his accomplishments；Pandora，the first woman，whose curiosity brought evil to mankind；Pygmalion，the king who fell in love with an ivory statue；Arachne，the weaver who was turned into a spider for her arrogance；handsome Trojan prince Ganymede who became the cupbearer for the gods；Midas，the king with the golden touch；and Narcissus，the young man who fell in love with his own reflection—are just as significant.

Monsters and “hybrids”（creatures with human-animal forms）also feature prominently in the tales：the winged horse Pegasus，the horse-man Centaur，the lion-woman Sphinx，the bird-woman Harpies，the one-eyed giant Cyclops，automatons（metal creatures given life by Hephaestus），manticores，unicorns，Gorgons，pygmies，minotaur，satyrs and dragons of all sorts.Many of these creatures have become almost as well known as the gods，goddesses and heroes who share their stories.

For thousands of years，the characters，plots，themes and lessons of Greek mythology have made their projection in art and literature.They appear in Renaissance paintings as Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Raffaello’s The Triumph of Galatea，sculptures as Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Apollo and Daphneand Antonio Canova’s Daedalus and Icarusand Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss，writings as Dante Alighieri’s Infernoand William Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis，Romantic poetry，libretti，and scores of more recent novels，plays and movies.

Chinese mythology covers the body of not only ancient but also the currently transmitted myths within the territory of China，including the legend by the Han nationality and other fifty-five ethnic minorities.Due to their distinction from each other，no systematic，homogeneous integration of “Chinese mythology” shared by all the Chinese people has come into being.[10]

In China，there is no sacred canon recording myths，beliefs，or sacred history like the Bible or the Koran nor were there any literati，troubadours，or shamans who collected myths from oral tradition and compiled them into a systematic and integrated mythology.[11] The fact is that myths in ancient China were usually scattered in various writings，among which Shanhaijing（The Classic of Mountains and Seas），Chuci（The Songs of Chu），and Huainanziare regarded as the major repositories.

As an encyclopedia，The Classic of Mountains and Seasgives a general description of diversified landscapes，living beings，history，customs as well as myths，witchcraft，nations and religion of ancient China.The existing edition of this book contains eighteen chapters which can be divided into two parts，five chapters of The Classic of Mountainsand thirteen chapters of The Classic of Seas.There is no consensus of opinions among people as to the author of this book.But most scholars agree that it was written by many authors in different times，dating back to the period from the middle of the Warring States（475/476 B.C.-221 B.C.）to the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty（206 B.C.-24 A.D.）.In an exalted position of Chinese mythology，The Classic of Mountains and Seasprovides many famed mythological figures and images：Nüwa，Xiwangmu（the Queen Mother of the West），Gun，Yu，Jingwei（Shennong’s youngest daughter），Huangdi（the Yellow Emperor），Chiyou（god of weapon），fusang（Leaning Mulberry，one species of mysterious tree），roumu，and the sky ladder（also known as jianmu），the pillars of which are supposed to hold up the sky and many others.Among those most have no complete plots apart from several pithy stories.

Another important source of Chinese mythology is The Songs of Chuby Qu Yuan（ca.340 B.C.-278 B.C.），the earliest celebrated poet born in Chu of ancient China（now Hubei and Hunan provinces in southern China）.He learned from folk sacrificial songs and adopted a large quantity of Chu myths and legends in his poems.The most known “Tianwen”（“Questions to Heaven”）has been a classic example.The poem demonstrates 172 questions correlative of household myths，legends and history such as Yu taming the flood，Yi the archer，Gonggong（god of water）butting into the Buzhou Mountain，and many mystical images like Kunlun Mountain and Zhulong（Torch Dragon）.But the form of questions makes the stories in it appear to be fragmentary.

Huainanziwas written and compiled at the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty by Liu An，the king of Huainan，and many of his aides.This book preserves many ancient myths，legends and historical accounts，capturing the fable of Chang’e，who steals the elixir of immortality and flees to the moon；the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden and other aforementioned tales.Compared with The Classic of Mountains and Seasand “Tianwen，” Huainanzi is more complete in documentation.Therefore，many of its records are cited in studies of Chinese mythology.

Other literary sources of Chinese myths include Liezi，Zhuangzi，Shiyiji（Researches into Lost Records），Soushenji（Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals），Shuyiji（A Record of Accounts of Marvels），Shiji（Records of the Grand Historian）and Biography of Mu Tianzi（The Chronicle of Emperor Mu）.

The Chinese mythic narratives have remained well-preserved in their original contexts of miscellaneous works on history，philosophy，literature，political theory and treaties for over two millennia，making readers today able to evaluate them in their earliest form among various versions.[12]