Extra Credit: C.S. Lewis Lecture and the Theorists

In his lecture "C.S. Lewis, Narnia and the Classics," Jonathan Kirkpatrick explained the great appeal classical Greek and Roman myths had for C.S. Lewis. In fact, it was because he had been told that he should never believe these myths that he began to reason that if these stories are false, than Christianity, which is also based on old stories, must also be false. After C.S. Lewis renounces his faith, he eventually returns to Christianity by way of the Greek and Roman classics. He reasons that all myths (Greek, Roman, Christian) have value for the individual, but Christianity is the only "myth" that actually happened. Lewis also believed that Christianity was the only religion that had a perfect mix of mystery (the "thick") and  and rational  ethics("the clear").
C.S. Lewis's  view of the Greek and Roman classics rejects Plato's view that art does not lead to truth. Plato would dismiss works that Lewis believed very influential, saying that it harms reason by causing us "to express our grief...which is insatiably greedy for tears" (74). Plato would see no use in the thick mystery of the myths since they distract from truth. However, Sir Philip Sidney would agree with CS Lewis, finding value in the myths since they go beyond just representing nature to creating "heroes, demigods, cylcopes...." (257). The creator of these myths has certainly shown something genius because he is "not enclosed within the narrow warrant of [nature's] gifts but freely ranging only within the zodiac of his own wit" (257). Both Sidney and Lewis would agree that the mystery in myths is part of their significance and value, whereas Plato would maintain that these myths were contradictory to the truth and reason.