Beauty Theme in Mythology

Beauty appears in many of the myths, as the Greeks elevated art, music, and physical beauty above most other virtues. Beauty is often considered more important than morality or religious piety, and becomes a valuable resource that can be used for good or evil. Indeed, physical beauty more often than not causes trouble: Narcissus is ensnared by his own reflection, many beautiful women are raped by Zeus or Apollo, and the Trojan War begins over Helen’s lovely face.

The idea of artistic beauty is also idealized, as Orpheus wins over Hades with his music and Pygmalion falls in love with the statue he created. But artistic beauty is no less troublesome than physical beauty, as the jealous Daedalus murders his nephew for his clever inventions. In whatever form it takes beauty is held up as an ideal, but it also becomes something desired and fought over by both mortals and gods.

Beauty ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Beauty appears in each chapter of Mythology. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.

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Beauty Quotes in Mythology

Below you will find the important quotes in Mythology related to the theme of Beauty.

With the coming forward of Greece, mankind became the center of the universe, the most important thing in it… The Greeks made their gods in their own image. That had not entered the mind of man before.

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis:

Hamilton suggests in this passage that a central innovation of the "Greek miracle" was that the Greeks began to think of human beings as being important enough for their gods to be made in their own image. While in other cultures the gods had been inhuman, animal, or hybrid, the Greeks created gods who looked like humans and, more important, acted like humans--they were contradictory, fallible, and powerful. Hamilton posits this as an improvement on older mythologies that did not recognize the importance and power of humanity, but her formulation of the "Greek miracle" is not without its own biases. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. M

One could never tell where Zeus’s thunderbolt would strike. Nevertheless, the whole divine company, with a very few and for the most part not important exceptions, were entrancingly beautiful with a human beauty, and nothing humanly beautiful is really terrifying. The early Greek mythologists transformed a world full of fear into a world full of beauty.

Related Characters: Zeus

Page Number and Citation: 8

Explanation and Analysis:

Here Hamilton lays out in great detail a theory that seems, in light of the myths that follow, rather dubious. For Hamilton, Greek mythology's placement of the human at the center of the universe meant that fear became irrelevant. This supposed freedom from fear relies on the concept of beauty--Hamilton proposes that "nothing humanly beautiful is really terrifying." On the one hand, she could be saying that infusing something scary with a human quality made it relatable, so things that had once seemed scary, unfamiliar, and unpredictable suddenly seemed, at the very least, rational and relatable. This would seem to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis c

The Goddess of Love and Beauty knew very well where the most beautiful woman on earth was to be found. She led the young shepherd, with never a thought of Oenone left forlorn, straight to Sparta, where Menelaus and Helen received him graciously as a guest. The ties between guest and host were strong. Each was bound to help and never harm the other. But Paris broke that sacred bond.

Related Characters: Helen, Menelaus, Paris, Aphrodite

Page Number and Citation: 257

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage comes as part of Hamilton's explanation of the causes of the Trojan War. Aphrodite has promised Paris the love of the most beautiful woman in exchange for proclaiming her to be the most beautiful goddess, and so Aphrodite must now deliver Paris to Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world--but Helen is married to Menelaus. This passage is culturally revealing in several ways. First, the shallowness and selfishness of the gods and mortals are equated here--Paris and Aphrodite behave equally reprehensibly, which will eventually bring vengeance upon the guilty and innocent alike. Second, this shows the complicated Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperior

Minerva did her best and the result was a marvel, but Arachne’s work, finished at the same moment, was in no way inferior. The goddess in a fury of anger beat the girl around the head with her shuttle. Arachne, disgraced and mortified and furiously angry, hanged herself. Then a little repentance entered Minerva’s heart… Arachne was changed into a spider, and her skill in weaving was left to her.

Related Characters: Pallas Athena, Arachne

Page Number and Citation: 425-426

Explanation and Analysis:

This is the end of the myth of the mortal Arachne, who is challenged to a weaving contest by Minerva (the Latin Athena) and wins. In many instances when gods punish mortals for daring to try to usurp them, the gods are unrepentant and their disproportionate punishments engender more violence rather than any sense of justice. This myth is different. Minerva does unjustly punish Arachne, which leads to her death (though she has done nothing wrong except participate successfully in a contest Minerva suggested). Minerva, in this case, does feel regret, though, and changes Arachne into a spider so that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Vol

Beauty Theme Analysis

Beauty ThemeTracker

Beauty Quotes in Mythology

Introduction to Classical Mythology Quotes

Part 4, Chapter 1 Quotes

Part 6, Chapter 2 Quotes