Episode 8: Did the Greeks Believe Their Myths?

Did the Greeks believe the myths that formed the cultural backdrop to their distant past and religion? In this episode we take a look at the response that some Greeks took toward the unbelievable parts of their storyworld: flying horses, half-man, half-horse creatures, and people turning into deer and trees. We investigate the idea of rationalizing, where myths are stripped of their impossible elements to reveal a simple and unassuming original event, which is then “mythologized” into something more amazing. And, in anticipation of episode 10, we focus on Centaurs!