355: Greek/Roman myth: There's Something About Ares

The Hero With a Thousand Faces explores the common themes and story elements that define the world’s mythologies—the hero’s journey. Through the cycle of initiation, separation, and return, the hero undergoes great trials and tribulations, experiences death and rebirth, and gains new powers that enable mankind’s ultimate redemption.

Far from being obsolete relics from long-extinguished civilizations, the myths of the ancients have profound lessons for today’s reader. By studying the struggles, transformations, and redemptions of the great heroes, we come closer to discovering the universal truths of the human condition and unlocking the divine potential that lies inside us all.

How does the way you see something affect what you see? Does the public really need museums and art critics to explain an artwork’s meaning to them? In Ways of Seeing, published in 1972, critic John Berger argues that throughout history, the way we see art has been manipulated by a privileged minority to preserve their social and economic dominance. The book challenges the idea that to understand and appreciate works of art, we need experts to “translate” them for us. Rather, Berger urges us to pull back the curtain and look at the images before us with our own eyes.

In this guide, we explore Berger’s premise that, throughout history, the dominant class has used art and art criticism to “mystify” the working class. Additionally, we add historical background on both the artwork Berger analyzes and the landscape in which Berger is writing, and compare Berger’s ideas to those of contemporary art and culture.

Think about all of the images, objects, and stories you’re confronted with throughout the day—from memes, to advertisements, to flags waving in the wind. In Mythologies, 20th-century French philosopher Roland Barthes says that all of these contain subtle messages that subconsciously shape the way we view the world. He calls these messages myths.

According to Barthes, Myths occur when society’s dominant institutions—the government, the advertising industry, or Hollywood, to name a few—imbue an image, object, or phrase with meaning. By creating these associations, the dominant social institutions create and reinforce cultural beliefs and values that are unconsciously adopted by the masses. Mythologies aims to open our eyes to these manipulations and teach us how to avoid them.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Barthes’s theoretical framework behind myth, examine some of the examples he gives from 1950s French culture, and consider whether they’re still present in contemporary culture today.

Do modern men struggle more with their masculinity than previous generations did? Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette say yes, and in King, Warrior, Magician, Lover they explain why it’s happening. Drawing on Carl Jung’s personality archetypes, along with their own observations about modern society, they explore why men today aren’t in tune with their masculinity and how that affects their behavior.

Our guide begins by explaining why modern men grow up without being taught to connect to their masculinity in mature and healthy ways, and how that hurts society. Then, we explore the four psychological aspects listed in the title and two key requirements of healthy masculinity. Our commentary compares Moore and Gillette’s ideas to those of other psychologists, including Jung. We also provide tools and advice to help you connect with healthy masculinity, or help others to do so. Finally, we discuss how many of these issues could be signs of underlying psychiatric problems, which might need professional help to treat.

In the age of science, we’ve turned our backs on the myths our ancestors believed in. However, could it be that in giving up those stories, we’ve lost a crucial part of the human experience? In Maps of Meaning, Jordan Peterson argues that mythology provides a psychological tool that helps us create meaning in a chaotic world. Beneath their fanciful trappings, creation stories and heroic quests give us the moral foundations of society and the tools for adapting to life’s challenges. Perhaps even more importantly, myths teach us to recognize our individual capacity for good and evil.

In this guide, we’ll examine Peterson’s arguments on how myth affects the mind, mythology’s fundamental archetypes and stories, and how to apply the lessons of myth to live a more well-rounded life. We’ll also look at alternative interpretations of mythological stories, what science says about the intersection of myth and cognitive development, as well as how the symbols of myth have taken new form in the stories of today.

Even though we’re all human, most of us don’t understand what drives people (including ourselves) to feel and behave the way we do. In The Laws of Human Nature, author Robert Greene looks at several laws that explain, among other things, why we self-sabotage, behave differently in groups, and want the wrong things.

Armed with the knowledge of these fundamentals of human nature, you can manage toxic people, become more empathetic, make people like you, and control your own nature.