In The Greeks and the Irrational , E. R. Dodds discusses the 
emotional instability and manias of the Homeric heroes: “And 
we may also ask ourselves why a people so civilized, clear-
headed, and rational as the Ionians did not eliminate from their 
national epics these links with Borneo and the primitive past, 
just as they eliminated the fear of the dead . . . .” (p. 13) But it 
is his next page that is especially helpful:

      “His own behavior. . . has become alien to him. He cannot 
     understand it. It is for him no part of his Ego.” This is a 
     perfectly true observation, and its relevance to some of 
     the phenomena we have been considering cannot, I think, 
     be doubted. Nilsson is also, I believe, right in holding that 
     experiences of this sort played a part—along with other 
     elements, such as the Minoan tradition of protecting 
     goddesses—in building up that machinery of physical