Abstract:Studying ancient Greel myths is like listening to intelligent chorus of the beginning of occidental civillization. We have to trace back to the origin if we want to understand a certain culture. We can learn the valuable proposition by reading its original myths, epics and their lections, which enables us to have insight into the code of conduct in civilized society.

Take democracy and science for instance. They have early been reflected in Greek myths. Icarus, a famous hero, who escaped from the chains of the palace by using the wings of wax which would possibly to be melted when too closed to the sun. And he will drop down into the sea and die.Here the sun means democracy and science is like the freedom and the truth. When people are too close to it they will be another Icarus.

This dissertation starts with something easy to understand to find out the influence of the various Greek myths on present western culture so as to elaborate on the development of western culture . To study Greek myths impact on western culture, we should take humanism as the object of study and seek for the sources of western literature, arts and national spirits bequeathed by Greek myths.

Key words : Greek mythology ; western culture ; impact ;development

Table of Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

2.The Introduction of Greek Mythology-2

2.1 The origin of Greek mythology-2

2.2 The concept of nature , world and society of the Greek myths-3

2.3 The change of the Greek myths and the social nature-3

3. The Greek myths left for the western culture-5

3.1 Some impacts of conceptions of the Greek mythology on the western countries-5

3.2 The growth of mordern literature and arts-5

3.3 The impact of the Greek myths on western literature and arts-5

3.4 The imapct on the western humanity-6

3.5 The imapct on the national spirit-6

4.Conclusion-8

4.1 Cultural impact of Greek mythology in the West-8

4.2 What can we leran from Greek mythology-8

4.3 What can we see from western culture-9

References-11

Acknowledgements-12