The Greek Myths
The Greek Myths
(After re-reading Robert Graves’s The Greek Myths)
i.
The Greek mythologers have given to the world,
(In stories of their great divinities and tales
Of heroes and of heroines almost as great
As whom they worshipped), such a treasure-house of art
And human understanding as can scarce be matched
From any other source of philosophic lore.
Their comedies and tragedies, vulgarities
And wit, their wisdom and their learning were combined
With such felicitous, bold ingenuity
And subtle skill to colour with nobility,
Strong character and charm their nation’s history
As made it universally applicable
To all States, times and cultures of humanity.
ii.
How then could you, grave Robert – being a confessed
Poet yourself, in thrall to that Great White Goddess
Who is your own self-honoured Muse – how then could you,
A poet, demythologise their timeless tales,
(By stripping off the fabric of their magic veils),
To leave them nakedly exposed as primitive
Crude cyphers of barbaric chieftains and their acts
Of stark political expedience and greed?
All are reduced to detailed footnotes, (erudite
It’s true, but barren as the drought-plagued desert-wastes),
Which have murdered their vitality and displayed
Their bleached bones fleshless to the view of those who need
The inspiration which their beauty once bestowed.
iii.
The art of poets is to make, not mar, the force
Of inspiration’s alchemy; to weave the web
Of magic, not unravel its alluring charms.
No doubt you honestly believed that in your book
The Greek Myths you were adding to their qualities
The extra gloss of authenticity – you meant
It for the best – but as a poet should have known
The path to Hades’ Gorge is paved with good intents;
You should have let the stories keep their mysteries.
The ancient Greeks had euphemised with genius
Facts into fantasies more powerfully true
Than actuality itself; they knew their myths
Could teach more memorably than formal history.
iv.
Let lusty Zeus and jealous Hera rule their world
Untainted by corrosive pedantry; let Pan
Play his pert pipes and Orpheus his lyric lyre;
Let Aphrodite love and Heracles toil on;
Let all the Pantheon of highOlympuslive
In wonted splendour and impetuosity!;
They cannot do us harm who have our own beliefs.
But, through the medium of their mythology,
They can enrich our lives’ experience and shew,
(By that bright tapestry of tales which is their gift
To us), those basic truths which lie behind the words
Of legendary yarns dramatically told
To win the interest of all, both young and old.
