How much do I need to know about The Greek myths?

[Anonymous No.12869669]

I want to learn Philosophy and I keep seeing that you ought to learn of the Gods and myths, then Homer's poetry, then the major Greek philosophers. However I'm reading this here book and there is an endless list of God's/titans and it is a bore, plus I don't know which are the most "important" to know. Any help, friends?

[Anonymous No.12869679]

You don't need to know anything at all.

Just be good looking.

[Anonymous No.12869695]

>>12869679
You are right, but you either born good looking or made yourself good looking. And to make yourself good looking you need to be authentic, and to be authentic you need to know about all aspects of life, and a good start is with the Greeks.

[Anonymous No.12869757]

>>12869679
>>12869695
Pls answer

[Anonymous No.12869761]

Greek mythology caused the Greeks to mistake worship of the idol itself for the metaphysical principals it is supposed to signify, dooming Western philosophy from the start.

[Anonymous No.12869772]

>>12869669
"Start with the Greeks" is a meme. If you're just going to Progress with the Positivists then there is no point in starting with the Greeks.
As for the myths, no, you will not understand the Greeks without understanding the myths. And this is the main contradiction with Starting with the Greeks: the myths are more complex than the philosophy. Very few people truly understand the Greek myths, they probably number under ten in the past two thousand years (or since Ovid, to be more precise).
Our society is not founded upon early Greek thought and myth, if anything it is in complete contradiction of even Plato and Aristotle. And history does not work progressively, nor in simple cycles, it is more like a forest than a single tree, and the forest can be wiped out by war, settlement, disease, farming, or fire. Our current position is a forest under threat by all possible forces, and any remnants of Greece are unrecognisable to the eyes which must survive in this age. At least upon first glance...
Ask yourself this: what is my goal in reading and studying? Philosophy? Literature? Theology? Writing? Unless you answer 'yes' to all four there is probably no need to start with the Greeks. If you are interested in understanding the myths, that's great, but the last thing we need is more academics and pseuds mining Elysian Fields to give credence to their dead society.
Let the Greeks be revivified or lay them to rest.

[Anonymous No.12869776]

>>12869669
Don't buy "Mythology" by Hamilton first of all, it's unnecessary in the modern age since they're all merely summaries and best read online, while you ought to own the primary texts they reference instead. I'd say The Iliad and Odyssey are essential reads, and you can continue with things like the Aeneid or Metamorphosis if you're interested, or simply get versions of the philosophic texts with good footnotes/endnotes and you'll be set. It does feel richer to know the reference without having to look it up, but IMO that energy of getting to know many myths is better spent on learning about Greek history and culture up to and during their golden age, which will help more for a broader understanding as opposed to the plot of a myth which is more self-contained and easy to understand.
>>12869761
Fuck off, pseud.

[Anonymous No.12869783]

>>12869669
>I keep seeing that you ought to learn of the Gods and myths + Homer
this is a /lit/ meme. Plato makes some allusions to stuff but that’s basically it. if you have a halfway decent translation or access to google it won’t mater at all if you’ve read the stories beforehand

[Anonymous No.12869799]

>>12869772
If I am completely honest I want to learn about Nietzsche, even if that is frowned upon. I've heard he makes reference to the Greek's often

[Anonymous No.12869819]

>>12869776
>plot of a myth which is more self-contained and easy to understand.
Imagine believing this...
The materialist misreading of the Greeks gives us everything we see today, and the conclusions speak for themselves.

[Anonymous No.12869840]

>>12869819
Woah... this is a transcendent masterpiece... I wonder where he gets his ideas

[Anonymous No.12869842]

>>12869799
Then you would be looking at the Presocratics, Plato, the war writings, and tragedy primarily. Although I will say that Nietzsche grossly misunderstood the Greeks and relied on layers upon layers of fallacies to build his case against Socrates.
An interesting figure for his writing and effects though.

[Anonymous No.12869858]

>>12869842
pls explain what he got most wrong

[Anonymous No.12869891]

>>12869819
That is exactly how they are used by the philosophers, however. In the case of the Homeric works, Plato uses them for purposes such as demonstrating how the Gods and heroes ought not to be portrayed, and in the case of myths such as the one where every household in a city rejects the divine in disguise save for one, it is a straightforward tale about morals, much like myths in other cultures. If you have some impressed wisdom about these myths that go beyond my understanding, please go ahead and share them, as you haven't given a single reason so far and thus we have no reason to believe what you say.

[Anonymous No.12869933]

>>12869858
Too much to explain in a post and without a good background in both the Greeks and Nietzschean thought. However, his critique of Plato is telling, given that it is both opposed to dialectic and relies on a a number of fallacies: that Socrates merely resented power, that Socrates may have really corrupted the youth, that Socrates was responsible for the downfall of Greek society, etc. These range from pure idiocy to cheap attacks and the historian's fallacy.
While Nietzsche does make some interesting points, they are often built upon clearly false grounds.

[Anonymous No.12870054]

If you want to learn about Nietzsche can you just start with Socrates

[Anonymous No.12870706]

>>12870054
Bump

[Anonymous No.12870736]

>>12869891
not him but you type like a cunt

[Anonymous No.12870754]

Read Ovid's Metamorphoses, it's the source for a bunch of myths and it's great literature on its own.

[Anonymous No.12870763]

>>12869669
Start with Thales. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6BishaQ4rc&list=PLUo37wPD7sqYZGzlkhCldY2mpx4hjYk50&index

[Anonymous No.12871013]

>>12870763
this

[Anonymous No.12871451]

>>12869669
no mention of based hesiod,homeric hymns and homerica....disgusting.

[Anonymous No.12871974]

>>12870736
I may have given off the impression of that one kid who takes debates a bit too seriously in class, but annoyance is a pretty natural reaction when you put effort into a response just for someone to shit on it vaguely yet never provide actual reasoning for it. Wouldn't that bother you?

[Anonymous No.12872135]

>>12869669
>>12869776

I like better The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. It is already a classic.

[Anonymous No.12872140]

>>12872135
Of course, it doesn´t replace the direct read.

[Anonymous No.12872840]

>>12870054
Bumping this question

[Anonymous No.12872965]

>>12870054
A better question is: what are you interested in, and what have you read so far?
Plato and Nietzsche are essentially opposites. Plato relies heavily on logic through his dialogue to arrive at conclusions which can be paradoxical and concern the nature of good, justice, and the forms. Nietzsche uses fallacies and poetics to breach insights, and is concerned with power, human will, and vitality.
Often it is best to read what you are interested in and branch out from there. It is also best to have a guide, a teacher. The problem you will find with starting with either one is that their form may cause you to misread the other, you will begin with preconceived notions based on what is said of the other. In terms of Plato, this means the heavy reliance on logic may cause you to discount what Nietzsche is trying to get at.
Plato is generally considered the best start to philosophy, and this is due to the gentle introduction to logic that few have been able to surpass. The dialogues surrounding the Apology and The Republic are ideal, and you should wait to return to his more difficult works (Parmenides especially).

[Anonymous No.12873085]

>>12872965
Thanks

[Anonymous No.12873096]

>>12872965
Are there any alternatives to a teacher? Could you use lectures online, or in the case of Nietzsche use Charlie Kaufman?

[Anonymous No.12873484]

>>12872965
>Plato arrives at conclusions
Say what bro?