Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi

Abstract

Mythology, unlike Western societies, was introduced tothe Ottoman Empire at a late time. The concept, interpreted as "esâtîrü'l-evvelîn" (ancient narratives/tales) based on the verse, was ignored in daily life and literature for a long time.,It was even observed that certain mythological concepts (mostly Iranian mythology) were frequently used in Divan literature, and thus, these concepts kept mythological traces of many nations (Indian, Chinese, Greek, etc.). However, the fact that mythology was not then considered a serious business and not found scientific reinforced the cultural distance of the Ottomans from the West. Apart from the military and administrative advances followed by the emergence of Westernization, the desire to Westernize literature paved the way for many new topics and concepts. Mythology, first introduced with philosophical and didactic translation works took a literary form withMuhaverât-ı Hikemiyye by Münif Pasha (1859),Telemak by Yusuf Kamil Pasha (1862), the first copyright works of intellectuals such as Şemseddin Sâmi and Nâbîzade Nâzım, and, the use of mythological concepts in the poems of poets such as Şinâsi and Abdülhak Hâmid. Although it was seen that the concepts were covered on a rudimentary level in these works, the mythological orientation that commenced in that period created one of the branches of the literature opening to the West by making great influences on the future figures.