Tan Laya multimedia producer and creative director now focused on LOVE ARTIFICIAL, a pr

MNEMOSYNE and LETHE | Ancient Greek philosophy

6 Nov 2023 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

3:23

In this short lecture, the speaker highlights the ancient Greek reverence for memory by discussing the nine Muses—goddesses embodying literature, science, and the arts—and their mother, Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. Mnemosyne is portrayed as the supreme source of cultural knowledge, surpassing even the most prominent Muse, Calliope. The talk then contrasts this with Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in the Greek underworld, and its personified goddess, who is linked to strife, hardship, war, and murder. By juxtaposing Mnemosyne’s association with creative and intellectual pursuits against Lethe’s ties to suffering and oblivion, the speaker underscores the Greek belief that memory is essential for civilization and warns of the problems caused by poor memory.

Chapters

The ancient Greeks thought memory was important, which makes me think that that's worth remembering. In Greek mythology, there were 9 Muses who were goddesses that created Or represented, or you could say embodied literature, science, and the arts. These 9 Muses varied in attributes. There was a Muse of poetry, a Muse of dance, a Muse of astronomy, and so on. And they varied in superiority. For instance, Calliope was known as the most powerful or the most important of the nine. But here's the interesting thing: superior to all of them was the mother of the muses. Her name was Mnemosyne, and she was the goddess. To me, that's very telling, especially when I look around and see lots of problems caused by bad memory. I want to remember Nimossinny, and I also want to remember Leti. Leti? That's the name of a river that flows through the Greek underworld. It's known as the river of forgetfulness and oblivion from which dead souls drank. In Greek mythology, Lethe was also a person who represented forgetfulness. She was the daughter of Strife, And her sisters were hardship, starvation, war, and murder. So to repeat, the person, or let's say goddess, who represented memory is associated with literature, science, and the arts. On the other side, The person or goddess who represented forgetfulness is associated with strife and hardship and murder and wars. The ancient Greeks thought memory was important. I think the fact that they placed so much value on memory It's worth remembering.