Euhemerus, Myth and History

Euhemerus is a greek philosopher widely recognized as the first major proponent of the idea that Greek myths had their origins in non-supernatural historic events.

800 years after Euhemerus, Snorri Sturluson attempted to trace the origin of some of the Norse gods, particularly Odin, back to historic warlords.

The theory that many mythological figures have a source in history appeals to me on an intellectual level, but, somewhat more importantly, at an aesthetic level.* In congress with that notion is that there are supernatural events included in some histories that are quite different in character and tone than legends.**

This relates to the concept of a pre-apocalyptic gainland. From the post-apocalyptic point of view, pre-apocalyptic myths can form from fragments of history, but - and this is often overlooked - pre-apocalyptic history can seem like myth.

Before the flood, there were giants, descendants of angels, no less, roughhousing, slaughtering, sacrificing, and turning worship on its head. People had fallen into a deep corruption, one that we have likely never experienced in our lives. Civilization had become an anti-civilization - cultural anti-matter, a societal plague. It had to be cut off for any chance at redemption.

After the flood, accounts, both mythological and historical were recorded to reconstruct those prior days. Over time, some folks flip the legend with fact, so that, today, to many people the flood and pre-existing society seems legendary and fanciful. We've created a myth that the Flood Apocalypse is a myth. Call it a myth-myth if you must, but the point is that we are a post-apocalyptic wasteland, recovering from the great Flood, yet we have allowed the accounts to fall into legend.

This causes us to miss both the warnings and the opportunities of these last days. If we could only understand the history of the prediluvian period a little better, we might better see the landscape we walk today.

*In other words, it could be proven to me that, for example, Thor has no origins (disregarding the fact that history/science cannot prove a negative) in a historic warrior-king. I'd accept it willingly. But I'd still like the idea.

**I'm thinking here of a historic footnote I came across a few years ago. It was a Roman account of centurions attacking a big snake. A really big snake. Like 50 feet of snake. But it wasn't listed among stories or legends, but just run of the mill accounts of day-to-day activities. I know this stuff can feed wild-eyed cryptozooligists, but I guess I like my cryptids too much to care.