Love In Mythology By Edith Hamilton

In Mythology by Edith Hamilton, the Greeks thought love was extremely important, but also hurtful, deadly, and destructive. The Greeks treat the love myths in a way that is different from most of our modern-day ideas of love. In the love stories, love is described as a force which ends in a tragic tale of death. Also, many stories of unrequited love that ends in sadness when address their love to the objects they fall in love with. The stories of “Pygmalion and Galatea”, “Narcissus” and “Endymion” all suggest that selfish love will end in suffering. Despite the Greek belief that you could have self love, the Greeks also believed that you could love inanimate objects. For example, in one of the love stories, Pygmalion talks about …show more content…
By this , it is not just saying you can love inanimate objects but it is also saying you can love yourself for what you have created. Another example of selfish love was the story of Narcissus. Hamilton writes that “May he who loves not others love himself. The great goddess Nemesis, which means righteous anger, undertook to bring this about. As Narcissus bent over a clear pool for a drink and there his own reflection, on the moment he fell in love with it”.(92) This emphasizes that Narcissus fell in love with himself and tried to address it. Since he realized he couldn't, he killed himself. This shows how selfish love and being obsessed with yourself can lead to painful and slow suffering. Another example of loving an inanimate object was when Selene,the Moon, fell in love with Endymion. Hamilton writes that “He[Endymion] never woke to see the shining silvery form bending over him. In all stories about him he sleeps forever,immortal but never conscious.”(118) This allows us to analyze that's since Endymion is eternally sleeping; He can't respond to