- μῦθος
- μῦθος, ου, ὁ (Hom. et al.; ins; Sir 20:19; TestJud 23:1 v.l.) prim. ‘speech, conversation,’ also of ‘narrative’ or ‘story’ without distinction of fact or fiction, then of fictional narrative (as opposed to λόγος, the truth of history) such as tale, story, legend, myth (so Pind., Hdt. et al.; Pla., Tim. 26e μὴ πλασθέντα μῦθον, ἀλλʼ ἀληθινὸν λόγον ‘not some contrived tale, but a true account’, Phd. 61b; Epict. 3, 24, 18; SIG 382, 7; Philo, Congr. Erud. Grat. 61 al.; Joseph.; apolog. exc. Mel.) w. πλάνη 2 Cl 13:3. Pl. (cp. Diod S 1, 93, 3; 2, 46, 6; 23, 13 [all three μῦθοι πεπλασμένοι]; Philo, Exsecr. 162 τοὺς ἄπλαστον ἀλήθειαν ἀντὶ πεπλασμένων μύθων μεταδιώκοντας; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 256) σεσοφισμένοις μ. ἐξακολουθεῖν follow cleverly devised tales 2 Pt 1:16 (Jos., Ant. 1, 22 τ. μύθοις ἐξακολουθεῖν; cp the contrast between the πράξεις ἐναργεῖς [‘manifest performance’] of Isis in Egypt and the inferior Hellenic μυθολογία Diod. Sic. 1, 25, 4; New Docs 4, 80; on Gr-Rom. historians’ concern for the truth of history as opposed to mythography s. Spicq 2, 532–33). Of erroneous instruction Ἰουδαϊκοὶ μ. Tit 1:14. βέβηλοι καὶ γραώδεις μ. frivolous old wives’ tales 1 Ti 4:7 (cp. Lucian, Philops. 9 γραῶν μῦθοι; Ael. Aristid. 45 p. 133 D. As early as Pla., Gorg. 527a μ. ὥσπερ γραός; Ps-Xenophon, Ep. 7). W. γενεαλογίαι (q.v.) 1:4. ἐπὶ τοὺς μ. ἐκτρέπεσθαι turn to legends 2 Ti 4:4.—EHoffmann, Qua ratione ἔπος, μῦθος, αἶνος λόγος … adhibita sint, diss. Gött. 1922; LMueller, Wort u. Begriff Mythos im kl. Griech., diss. Hamburg, ’54; KGoldammer, ZNW 48, ’57, 93–100; CBarrett, ET 68, ’57, 345–48; 359–62.—DELG. M-M. EDNT. TRE XXIII 597–661. TW. Spicq. Sv.
Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά παλαιοχριστιανική Λογοτεχνία. 2015.