GREEK MYTHS AND CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

For the Greeks, mythology operated as the primary factor in the development of their culture. Then, through Christ, arrives “the turning-point of human civilization; God spoke his revelation into the world of the Greek spirit… That is why the Church will continue to speak Greek even if, in a world that is dead to the things of the mind, Hellas descend into the abyss of utter oblivion.” Eschewing reductive extremes of analysis, Rahner shows how the early Church received, interpreted, and corrected the Greek mysteries. Part One explores the mystery of the Cross, Baptism, and the sun-and-moon mythos; Part Two delves into the interplay of psychagogy and botany; and Part Three examines the rich symbolism which the Church Fathers derived from the Odyssey.