Mythology in relation to Zorba the Greek

Understanding the mythological undertones in Zorba the Greek is crucial to developing a more profound understanding of the novel Zorba the Greek and the Greek culture that is displayed in the novel. It can be noted that Greek Mythology plays a significant role in Greek history and has largely affected the society the has developed there until this day.

 Crete has played a reoccurring role in Greek mythology from the very beginning of Zeus who was said to be born there on the top of a mountain to escape the wrath of his father Cronus. So without Crete where would mythology be today?

How do you think mythologys role in Crete have an effect on the people that live there (specifically through the characters in the novel)?

 Understanding Zeus correlates strongly to understanding Zorbas character. It can be seen that Zorba derives his views on women through his misinterpretation of the motives Zeus had when he took many lovers.

How does Zeus evolve Zorbas view of a patriarchal society?

Zeus continued
Zorba uses Zeus to justify his views that women are inferior beings in comparison to men. Greek culture emphasized keeping a closely knit family, the head of the household was the father and he was required to strictly control family affairs.

Patriarchal Society:

Questions to Discuss
In what ways does mythology lay basis for a patriarchal society? How can the characters in Zorba the Greek be reflections of the Gods? Why do you think people still reference mythology when describing the history of Greece even if Christianity has dispelled these myths?

Questions to Discuss
In what ways may someone who is Greek have different opinions on religion because of mythology?

Narrator
The goddess Athena is often said to represent Wisdom and Civilization. It can be seen that the narrator falls heavily into this category because he is constantly keeping his composure, controlling his emotions, and contemplating every idea. The Greek gods often represent the far extremes of certain characteristics found in humans, just as the narrator and Zorba also represent the same extremes.

The Widow
The Widow in the book represents temptation and seduction. For this reason the other villagers despise her, the women because they know their husbands desire her. The men because they cant control their desire and it makes them feel powerless.

This can be seen directly in the goddess Aphrodite who plays with men's hearts with her beauty without ever giving her heart away to any of them. She uses her beauty as a symbol of feminine power.

Prometheus
On page 5 of Zorba the Greek a reference is made to Prometheus. When the narrator thinks about the land of the east, synonymous with his thoughts, is the history of mythology almost as if the land and mythology are two things that go hand in hand

Enlightenment
Prometheus was a Greek God who took pity on the humans on earth, he watched them suffer in despair as they were little but toys for the gods game. He decided to steal fire from Zeus and give it to the humans to help them form a sense of life. To pay for his crimes Prometheus was strapped to a rock and has his liver repeatedly eaten out every day. In this sense when humans received fire it represented the beginning of knowledge and enlightenment. Wisdom and knowledge of the world is an important theme in the novel as the Narrator constantly strives to find a balance of knowing versus being ignorant. This leads to the establishment of PHILOSOPHERS