The Myth of Tithonus: Ageing and Dementia in Ancient Greek Thought

Abstract

In Greek mythology, Tithonus was the husband of Eos, the goddess of dawn. Granted immortality without the gift of eternal youth, Tithonus became an illustration of senescence without physical or cognitive wellbeing, characterised by not only physical but also cognitive decline – this is one of the earliest literary representations of dementia in Western civilisation. As myths mirror the values and concerns of a society, the depictions of Tithonus across the eras are an interesting window into how the Ancient Greek society dealt with the process of ageing and cognitive decline. In this paper, we discuss what the myth of Tithonus reveals about senescence and its challenges in the classical world. Remarkably, we conclude that many of the contemporary views and burdens of old age and dementia date from Antiquity, suggesting that ageing and its burdens are inherent human concerns, not merely products of the modern context.