Greek and Roman Myths in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Books I and II

This paper explores Greek and Roman myths in the epic poem Paradise Lost, Books I and II (1667) by John Milton, the greatest poet in the 17 th -century English Renaissance period. For his Renaissance ideas of freedom, rebellion, power, war, and revolution, Milton together with the biblical protagonist Satan employs or alludes to classical myths including: the primeval void, Chaos; primordial deities, Uranus, Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, Nyx, and Demogorgon; the Titans, Tityos, Enceladus, Oceanus, Saturn, Atlas, the Titaness Rhea; major gods, Jove or Zeus or Jupiter, Mulciber or Hephaistos, Athena, and Orcus or Hades; minor deities, Muse, Alcides or Hercules, Furies, and Eris; mythological figures, Orion, Adonis, Tantalus, and Ulysses; legendary creatures, Briareos, Typhon or Typhoeus, Pygmies, Python, Medusa, Gorgon, Hydra, Chimera, Cerberus, Scylla, Hecate, and Gryphon or Griffin; mythological places, Aonia or Helicon, Tarsus, Tartarus, Phlegra, Pelorus, Aetna, Styx, Creet or Crete, Ida, Olympus, Delphi or Pytho, Dodona, Thebes, Ilium or Troy, Oeta, Euboea, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Lethe, Serbonis, Bosporus, Scylla, and Charybdis. The technique of manipulating Greco-Roman myths in Milton’s Paradise Lost, Books I and II underlies his complicated intentions, deepening his poetic symbolism, and broadening his literary perspective.