Of Greek and Hindu Mythology

 The oxford dictionary defines “mythology” as ‘a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.’ While Greek mythology stands among the favorite kind in the various kinds of mythologies, Hindu mythology is not far behind. The tales of Gods and Goddesses and the amalgamation of society, philosophy, cultures and the ways of life, are all highlighted within the pages of the epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana, among others.

While one would consider Hindu and Greek mythology to be poles apart, there are some striking similarities as well.

Homer’s ‘Iliad’, an ancient Greek poem, begins a decade into the Trojan War; the land of Troy was in siege, lead by King Agamemnon of Mycenae.  One of the main causes for the war was abduction: the Helen of Troy, daughter of Zeus and Leda, was taken away by Paris, away from her husband, Menelaus, king of Sparta. This would sound familiar to those who are fans of Indian mythology, especially Valmiki’s Ramayana. Sita, Ram’s wife, was abducted by Ravana, and taken to Lanka. What followed was a battle, between Ram and Ravana’s army, to bring back Sita to where she rightly belonged.

In many ways, the similarities between the Greek Iliad and Hindu Ramayana are uncanny. Women being the main cause of the upheaval in both epics add to the common plot. But, if one delves further on, there are other connections that crop up. For instance, the ‘hero’ only proves his heroism in the very end of the epic. Iliad’s Achilles and Ramayana’s Rama are the conquerors only in the end, once all as over. Furthermore, a little more reading into the cities, and one would be able to draw a parallel there too: Ravana’s Golden Land of Lanka was inaccessible with the wild sea surrounding it on all four sides. The city of Troy, on the other hand, “was considerably enlarged and furnished with a massive defensive wall made of cut blocks of stone and rectangular clay bricks”, as said by University of Amsterdam researcher Gert Jan van Wijngaarden.

Professors and scholars, alike, have written copious amounts on the resemblance between the two epics. Reyes Bertolin Cebrian of the department of Greek and Roman studies, at the University of Calgary, wrote an essay titled ‘Indo-European Ideology in the Ramayana and the Iliad’.  Cebrian’s 10-paged thesis compared the various facets of the two epics including the ideas of brotherhood and the role played by the wives (Helen and Sita).

Mythology is one of those few things that have remained relevant with each passing era. While scholars filled pages worth of mythological information earlier, now bloggers and online writers alike, have taken to filling up the virtual world with tales and anecdotes.  An online blog, harrishum.blogspot.in, has a range of articles, mostly conversations and comparisons of the various mythological characters, in the realm of Hindu and Greek mythology; one such article directly compares the Ramayana and Iliad. An excerpt from the blog post states, “An epic that is very similar to the Iliad is Ramayana. It is similar because, for one, the war in Ramayana was started by a woman, Sita, being stolen from a powerful man, Ravana, because her beauty was irresistible. In the Iliad, the war was started by a woman, Helen, who was also stolen from a powerful man who is the king's brother, Menelaus, because of her beauty. Also, the war in Ramayana kills several people. The war is ended by the city, Lanka, being overthrown by Rama, and Sita is returned home. The war in the Iliad also kills more than several men, from both sides, and at the end, Troy is overthrown and Helen is returned home.”

It is easy to get sucked into the world of mythology. Each myth brings with it a whole new set of characters and stories, each with life lessons. While it may be hard to read the actual versions of Hindu mythology, Amar Chitra Katha’s collections are easy and illustrated. With a brand new Valmiki’s Ramayana and the bestselling, Mahabharata, Amar Chitra Katha is your one stop destination for all thing mythology and folk. 

Eras apart, decades old, mythology remains pretty much the same, across the globe.