I have a question about Greek Mythology?

Question

I was reading two different books on Greek Mythology, and although the basis of the stories were the same there were still differences.

Such as the story of Athena and Arachne. In one book Arachne became a spider because she accepted the gift of being the greatest weaver from Athena. In another book Arachne hung herself after seeing Athena weave and it was then that Athena turned her into a spider.

Are all the stories altered in different ways?

Also, if you can recommend a book on mythology, that would be great.

Answer 1

That is not the reason Achene was turned into a spider she committed a crime... And you would be surprise by what her crime was........................................

Answer 2

Here is why there is a difference:

In the ancient Greek Games (Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmean) poetry was a much a competition as were gymnastics.

Poets throughout the BCE period, and later, sought to make a name for themselves by outdoing former poets.

As a result of this competitive environment, later Greek mythology became more and more conflated, confused, and possibly corrupted over the centuries.

Stick to the writers before 500 BCE for the purer forms of the myths.

Later poets, especially Ovid, thought of the Myths as dumb fairytales and treated them as such by twisting and conflating the accounts.

Here are the Greek sources I use in my research:

Homer [8th/7th century] Iliad.

Homer [8th/7th century] Odyssey.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Works and Days.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Divination by Birds.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Astronomy.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Precepts of Chairon.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] The Great Works.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Idaean Dactyls.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Theogeny.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Catalogue of Women.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Eoiae.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Shield of Heracles.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Melampodia.

Hesiod [8th/7th century] Aegimius.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The War of the Titans.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The The Story of Oedipus.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Thebais.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Epigoni.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Cypria.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Aethiopis.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Little Iliad.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Sack of Ilium.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Retuns.

Epic Cycles [8th-6th] century. The Telegony.

Eumelus  [c.750] Choral Lyric poet of Corinth.

Olympus  [c.736] Choral Lyric poet.

Homeric Hymns [8th-5th] century. Collection of 28/33 hymns.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Expedition of the Amphiaraus.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Taking of Oechalia.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Phocais.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Margites.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Cercopes.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Battle of the Weasles and Mice.

Homerica [7th-6th] century. Battle of the Frogs and Mice.

Terpander   [696-640] Choral Lyric poet.

Archilochus [680-645] Iambic poet of Paros.

Thaletas    [c.660] Choral Lyric poet of Sparta.

Alkman      [mid-7th] Choral Lyric poet.

Callinus    [mid-7th] Elegiac poet of Ephesus.

Polymnestus [mid-7th] Choral Lyric poet of Colophon.

Semonides   [mid-7th] Iambic poet of Samos.

Tyrtaeus    [late-7th] Elegiac poet of Athens and Sparta.

Stesichorus [640-555] Choral Lyric poet of Himera.

Solon       [638-558] Ruler of Greece: 594, Elegiac poet.

Thales      [624-546] Of Miletus. Mathematician, 1st philosopher.

Alcaeus     [620-580] Solo Lyric poet of Lesbos.

Sappho      [620-570] Solo Lyric poet of Lesbos ("the tenth Muse").

Mimnermus   [c.630] Elegiac poet.

Arion       [c.625] Choral Lyric poet of Lesbos.

Susarion    [c.602] Iambic poet of Megera (first comedy?).

Homeric Epigrams [early-6th].

Echembroyus [c.586] Lyric poet.

Pythagoras  [582-507] Mathematician and philosopher.

Anacreon    [c.570] Solo Lyric poet.

Ibycus      [c.560] Choral Lyric poet.

Simonides   [556-469] Lyric poet of Ceos.

Hecataeus   [550-480] Geographer from Miletus.

Lasus       [546-508] Choral Lyric poet.

Theognis    [c.544] Elegiac poet.

Hipponax    [c.540] Iambic poet of Ephesus.

Ananius     [c.540] Iambic poet.

Heraclitus  [535-475] Pre-Socratic philosopher of Ephesus.

Aeschylus   [525-456] Athenian tragic dramatist, b. Eleusis.

Pindar      [518-438] Lyric poet.

Bacchylides [c.518] Lyric poet.

Pratinas    [c.500] Lyric poet.

Answer 3

Ovid's "METAMORPHOSIS" has this story and all greek myth stories in it. Stories are altered slightly depending on who writes it. The story I know is that Arachne was somewhat a pupil of Athena in learning to weave. Arachne basically learned to weave from Athena and her weaving got so good that she denied Athena ever taught her anything...which of course angered Athena. Athena disguised herself as an old woman and basically told Arachne to watch her mouth, she shouldn't displease the gods by lying and saying athena didnt teach her...arachne told the old woman to basically mind her business and that athena was too afraid to challenege arachne to a weaving contest. eventually the contest began and arachne was angry b/c athenas looked better so she tore up athenas weaving, became depressed and hung herself. Surprisingly, athena didnt think arachne would go so far as to kill herself, so she let her live..but not as a human...as a spider so that she could continue to do what she loved....weaving..

Answer 4

I'd try to read the original source material as opposed to an anthology written a thousand years later recounting the tales.  (So - head to your local Library - it's also cheaper than buying a book and discovering that it's not what you need.

There is a lot of alternative ending in Greek myths.  If you visited one area - a myth might end in a hero's death but travel to city X and the hero will have lived through his last challenge and finally moved to city X to prosper and die a peaceful death years later.  They are myths after all and have expanded and added flourishes across the many years.  

So read -----

The Golden Age of Myths -- Homer & Hesiod  (START HERE!!)

The Plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

Poets - Sappho & Pindar

Historians - Herodotus & Thucydides.

Philosophers --  Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Enjoy the differences!!!  

Answer 5

The way I remember it was that Athena was jealous of Arachne's weaving skills and turned her into a spider.  It has been a long time and I don't have a particular source.  I'm guessing that there are always slight variations within myths depending on where you read them.  Since they were originally told and eventually written down, not every version will be the same.  

Answer 6

Aphrodite's birth is like that, she just washed ashore, or crawled out of a giant clamshell, then she came forth from her father's emancipated manhood. Now we can't tell bedtime for tot's about the castrated father, so a new version is born as Aphrodite lay on the beach among the pearls from the clam shell that is another female yoni symbol.  Rewriting these stories causes them to drift from audience, language and time.  Some myths have dozens of versions.  Maybe Arthur is a good example, in the beginning Gwenhoffer was raped, the goddess cast down.  But Christianizing her, she became treacherous cheater. I've not read the Moslem version what happended to Gwenvere.  Lots of drift.

Answer 7

Well, people tend to change stories around..that's why it say's "re-written by so and so"..you might want to consult Robert Langdon lol

Answer 8

yeah alot of them are