Hi there,
It appears that the Old Testament is older, both in terms of written
accounts and of origin. But the first complete account of Greek myths
(500 BC) predates the first complete Old Testament (100 AD).
Greek Myths: Originated circa 800 BC, but did not appear in written
form until 500 BC.
Old Testament: Based on Biblical chronology, the stories originate
5000 years ago... parts appeared in written form at least as far back
as the 10th century BC, but the oldest surviving ones are the Dead Sea
Scrolls, circa 1st century BC. The first complete Old Testament, as
used today, didn't appear until 100 AD.
GREEK MYTHS
===========
"Greek Myths are all that’s left of the ancient Greek religion. About
1200 b.c.e., the residents of, what we would call, Greece and Asia
Minor shared a common belief in a group of deities that came to be
known as The Olympians.
The oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod
and The Homeric Hymns, circa 800 b.c.e. That means that by the time
they were written down, these works had survived 400 years of
additions, subtractions and mutations to finally become the versions
we now call ’authentic’.
The ancient texts we call Greek Myths are mostly from the period known
as Classical Greece, circa 500 b.c.e. The stories behind the myths are
from a much earlier time but written versions don’t exist before
Classical times."
( taken from "Origins of Greek Mythology" )
http://www.messagenet.com/myths/neomyth.html
Also see the relevant entry at Encarta Encyclopedia:
http://encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?mod=1&ti=761570116&page=5#6
OLD TESTAMENT
=============
"In the 10th cent. B.C. the first of a series of editors collected
materials from earlier traditional folkloric and historical records
(i.e., both oral and written sources) to compose a narrative of the
history of the Hebrews who now found themselves united under David and
Solomon.
To Deuteronomy, scholars assign a late 7th-century B.C. origin.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, with a small portion in
Aramaic (parts of the books of Daniel, Ezra, and Jeremiah). The text
of the Hebrew Bible (called the Masoretic text, see Masora) had been
standardized by the 10th cent. A.D., but the only existing Hebrew
texts of biblical books before this time have been found at Qumran
[ 1st cent. B.C. ]"
(taken from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001 )
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ol/OldTesta.html
Timeline of Biblical Chronology:
http://chaos1.hypermart.net/old/tot.html
Keywords used:
"back to" BC "Greek mythology"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22back+to%22+BC+%22Greek+mythology%22
Open Directory category used:
http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Christianity/Bible/References_and_Tools/Old_Testament/
I trust this answers your question. If any portion of my answer is
unclear, please ask for clarification.
Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga |
