Humanism and Mythology

An important point in the study of classical mythology, well developed by H & P, pp. 19-20, is the importance of humanism in Greek thought. One dimension of this can be seen in the statement of Protagoras (mid fifth century BCE) that "man is the measure of all things". This apparently formed the beginning of a book entitled "Truth" or "Refutations". A slightly fuller form of this statement is available from bartleby.com, as follows:

"Man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, and of things that are not that they are not."

Another statement of Greek humanism, complementary to that by Protagoras, but also quite different, appears at the beginning of Pindar, Nemean 6. This is quoted by H & P, pp. 19-20. Also, still another expression of Greek humanism in a theological / mythological context (like the beginning of Nemean 6) is found at the conclusion of Pythian 8, esp. lines 95-97, "Creatures of a day. What is someone? What is no one? Man is the dream of a shadow. But when the brilliance given by Zeus comes, a shining light is on man, and a gentle lifetime." This is available from the Perseus project, in a translation by Diane Arnson Svarlien and others.