How did the ancient Greeks and Romans create Greek and Roman mythology?

Answer 1

That's a bit of a loaded question, really. Like most ancient religions, the Greeks used religion not only to explain their environment, but also to propagate their language and culture. Most of the names of the gods and goddesses actually MEAN what they represent. Perhaps that goes without saying, but that gives a new meaning to many myths. For example, at face value, the myth of Apollo and Daphne is about the dangers of unrequited love and explains why the Laurel Tree was favored by Apollo. The truth of it is that Apollo represents the sun, and Daphne the dew, and explains why dew disappears when the sun rises. All of that is because of the meanings of the names, not just the story itself. The Etruscans and Latins (from whom the Romans derived their parts of 'Greco-Roman' mythology), did similar things. In fact, their names derive from the same sources at their Greek counterparts. Jupiter, for instance, is a corruption of "Jove Pater" (Father Jove), and Jove (which is Iovus - YO-wus - in Latin), has the same prehistoric root as the Greek name Zeus (DZOOS). And they both share a root for the Latin and Greek words for "god" ("deus" and "theos" respectively). So you see, it's not just about coming up with stories, it's about explaining how the world is the way it is, and why certain things are the way they are. They also used it to subjugate other cultural ideals. The Greek myths about Theseus and Minos were skewed from the stories because the stories we have were told by the Athenians. The Minoan versions would have, no doubt, been very different.