The Dichotomies of the Myth of Europe Laying at the Foundation of our Social Consciousness

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to argue that if Europeans wish to become a real Union they should pay more attention to the ethical
and aesthetical values that are deep in the roots of our ancient continent, starting from the mythology. At the very heart of the myth -
based story of Europe we find the dynamism of the transformation of our continent, full of beauty, charm, violence, regeneration and
hybridization.The story of the „Myth of Europe“ should arouse in us the awareness that first and foremost the European race represents
a social unity rather than a racial one. While talking about the “mythical Europe“, the dichotomies taken into account aim at stressing the
fact that a single united Europe, within the today’s geopolitical reality, could be founded less on biological and natural factors and in a
higher degree on the living memory, the shared hopes and sufferings, as well as on the self-criticism towards excessive pride and most
of all on the memory of the common myths. Only by recuperating “the defiance of the common symbols” we could claim our belonging to
a Community.