Introduction to the APP

The Project

"Mythology on the Go" is born with the intention of simplifying, unraveling, and sharing the intricate threads of the wonderful adventures narrated by Greek myths in order to make your ideal walk in this fantastic world as pleasant and relaxing as possible. 

You will discover how the Universe came into existence (Cosmogony) and how the numerous deities succeeded its rule (Theogony), and then immerse yourselves in the journeys and adventures of great mythological Heroes such as Hercules, Jason, Theseus, Perseus, Achilles, Odysseus, Meleager, Bellerophon, and many others. You will experience the love stories of Persephone, Psyche, Ariadne, Medea, Alcestis, Narcissus, Hermaphroditus, and many more, understanding their deeper meanings.

But what is a myth?

A myth is a tale. Imagine going back about 3000 years (give or take a few years) to ancient Greece, the pre-Hellenic era (conventionally before 323 BC, the death of Alexander the Great), and wanting to understand the causes of an earthquake or a volcano (by way of example). Certainly, as a first question, you would wonder who or what could have been the cause of all that turmoil, right? Similarly, speaking of events much less catastrophic, you would wonder why, among all existing animals, only the rooster sings shortly before sunrise or why exactly the peacock has that unique tail full of all those eyes, or even why, if they had been Athenians, the city of Athens would have been given precisely that name. 

The questions about our Universe were (and are) almost infinite; the problem back then, as today albeit to a different extent, was to find answers based on the knowledge and techniques available in that historical context. Myths managed to provide explanations for phenomena that couldn't be explained logically, rationally, or scientifically at the time.

Types of Myths

There are five main categories:

- Cosmogonic myths: these tell of how the Universe (Cosmos) was born;

- Theogonic myths: the complex of myths that narrate the birth of the gods (who ruled the newly created Universe);

- Etiological myths: myths that seek to explain the origin of a name, tradition, or custom (even negative, as we will see), attributing its origin to deities;

- Naturalistic myths: myths that answer why natural events and catastrophes occur;

- Historical myths: myths that elaborate legendary and metaphorical events from prehistoric times, the memory of which has been passed down orally (the Trojan War is an example, but we will talk about it at the appropriate time).

How to interpret certain concepts.

Time: In mythological tales, time has very random connotations. Besides always referring to periods far back in time (even to the beginnings of the Universe, as we'll see in cosmogonies), the stories lack chronological continuity. Obviously, there's a reason for this. Myths were (and still are) part of oral tradition, not written (the first written epic poems date back to the 9th-8th century BC, with Homer and Hesiod). Before that period, there were bards, professional storytellers who recounted these stories during dinners in exchange for a meal or more. As you can imagine, the same story told and passed down verbally hundreds or even thousands of times naturally altered, not necessarily intentionally, certain temporal and geographical aspects, thus generating multiple versions of the same myth, as well as temporal, geographical, and even character inconsistencies (the presence of Heracles on the ship Argo is an example and still a topic of discussion among mythographers worldwide). Therefore, today we have many variations of the same myth and chronologies that often aren't aligned with each other or are even completely incompatible.

Because of this, and to prevent you from getting lost in the complex plot of the myth, when I encountered a myth with multiple versions (more or less different), I initially opted for the version considered by mythographers and historians to be the most credible. Over time, I promised to update it with all the variants found during my research.

Linearity: Another characteristic foreign to myth; myths aren't novels, so the events narrated don't follow a linear sequence. I'm not referring to the chronological anomalies I mentioned earlier, but to the inherent content of the myth. Continuous references to previous generations and past or concurrent events are far from abnormal in myths; in fact, they are the norm.

This project's ultimate goal is to allow everyone to savor the wonders of mythology by navigating through the labyrinth of various sources and versions found in both ancient and modern texts. 

Accents: The names of mythological figures and characters can often be read in two different ways (both correct) depending on whether the emphasis is placed on one letter or another. Therefore, you can read Perséo or Pérseo, Teséo or Téseo, Giasòne or Giàsone, Laodàmia or Laodamìa, and so on, however you prefer. Consider that no matter which accent you choose to place on the word, there will always be someone who thinks differently. Feel free to read in whichever way you prefer; you'll always be right!

The contents of the project

Now let's see the sections that make up the actual project.

Each Season contains 20 (twenty) episodes, each of which contains the following in turn:

• a myth, or part of it (episode of a cycle), each of which has been specially studied to be read on average, unless particularly complex myths, in about 5 minutes. In order to give the season a semblance of linearity (which we know is not present in the myth), each episode, where possible, is somehow connected to the previous and next episodes using factors such as the subject, genealogy, kinship, periods, places, the participation of a character in multiple myths, etc....

This particular characteristic gives the entire work a unique quality in its genre: that of being able to be read like any historical novel with temporally and logically connected chapters (episodes).

• curiosities (only in some episodes): are historical/geographical notes or general curiosities that emerge from the myth told in the episode;

• alternative versions (only in some episodes): as is well known, almost all myths, being oral tradition stories, have multiple versions; here, alternative versions to the one initially told and considered the most accredited by mythographers will be gradually inserted over time.

• fables: they are short (or very short) fables of Aesop and Phaedrus with a very specific moral that will be inserted every two episodes, therefore ten for each season.

• an end-of-episode quiz consisting of 5 multiple-choice questions to have some fun!

I hope I've stimulated your curiosity just enough to start this walk by my side in this fascinating world so distant from us. Happy reading!

Alessandro.