Here's a breakdown of how they came to be:
* Oral Tradition: The earliest myths were passed down orally, from generation to generation. Bards and storytellers would weave tales of gods, heroes, and monsters, adapting and embellishing them over time.
* Early Writers: Around the 8th century BC, poets like Homer began writing down these stories, giving them a more fixed form. Homer's epic poems, *The Iliad* and *The Odyssey*, are foundational works of Greek mythology.
* Later Writers: Many other poets, playwrights, and historians continued to write about Greek mythology throughout the classical period. This included figures like Hesiod, Sophocles, and Euripides, who gave us famous myths like *Theogony* (Hesiod) and *Oedipus Rex* (Sophocles).
So, instead of a single inventor, Greek myths were a collaborative effort, shaped by:
* Anonymous Storytellers: The earliest keepers of these tales.
* Poets and Writers: Who captured them in written form.
* The People: Who listened, reinterpreted, and carried them on.
It's worth noting that Greek mythology is not just a collection of stories; it was an integral part of Greek culture, influencing their art, religion, and daily life.