They were cautionary tales about the ills of man. Basically, be temperate in your ambition.
Almost all of the stories about ambition based on foreboding oracle prophecies were about not overreaching.
Classics like The Odyssey and The Iliad were -- despite having cautionary aspects -- still very aspirational, about life, love, family and fame. Achilles and Odysseus are still two very popular and heroic figures that many men find aspirational given their drive, their goals, and their resilience, despite their flaws. That was usually the ebb and flow of the Greek tragedies.
Sophocles' tales were a bit more dire, but still dipped into heroism and the necessity of ambition for man to become what he was meant to be (even if the tales had tragic endings).
Myths and legends weren't escapism per se. They are abatractions of reality. If anything, greek myths were cautionary tales, for the most part
Ehhh, yes and no.
They were cautionary tales about the ills of man. Basically, be temperate in your ambition.
Almost all of the stories about ambition based on foreboding oracle prophecies were about not overreaching.
Classics like The Odyssey and The Iliad were -- despite having cautionary aspects -- still very aspirational, about life, love, family and fame. Achilles and Odysseus are still two very popular and heroic figures that many men find aspirational given their drive, their goals, and their resilience, despite their flaws. That was usually the ebb and flow of the Greek tragedies.
Sophocles' tales were a bit more dire, but still dipped into heroism and the necessity of ambition for man to become what he was meant to be (even if the tales had tragic endings).