The other day during our class discussion, we were discussing mythology and religion. This reminded me of my Bible as Literature with Dr. Drake in the Spring 2016 semester. During this class, we discussed how many aspects of the Christian Bible correspond to Greek mythology. For example, the idea of a virgin birth did not originate from Christianity. Much of this course focused on the impact of the religion on society, rather than whether or not it is historically accurate.
I do not believe that whether a work is nonfiction or fiction lessens the work’s value. The importance of these legends is how they have been told for many centuries, not whether or not they are true. They have have clearly made an impact on how people live their lives. The historical accuracy is not the most important aspect of these legends, but why historically people kept passing these legends down from generation to generation.
Additionally, with all of history, there will be inaccuracies. Whether this is substitution, omission, or information out of context, no source, not even a primary source, is unbiased and exactly what happened at any given time. In a prior class, my group discussed how history was written by winners, and therefore, reinforces the inconsistencies throughout time.