National Myths in Greece

Some national myths related to the real or imagined past function as the basic beliefs of the present-day Greeks. Three main groups of myths are the religious ones (Greek Orthodoxy), Ancient Greece and the Greek language. There are other myths, too, which are not recognized as such: The grand national narrative and some recent ideological and political phenomena are of this category. The purpose of this study is not only to show how these myths are constructed, defended and function, but rather to document how they are built based on some human inclinations. The example of Greece is used to show how and why human societies perceive their environment in a mythical context.