Personification in Greek Myth

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

Hello again, TEGH.

Probably best to remember that "Greek" refers to a lot of disparate cultures sharing (probably) a linguistic base with numerous dialects and extends for an immense period of time.
We know from Evans' discovery of Linear-B tablets (and Ventris' subsequent deciphering of them) that they were in common use at the Palace of Knossos c 1450 BC and since language/written script does not develop overnight it can be assumed that they had been in general usage for some time prior.  In addition, there is Linear A which may well be an early form.  Linear B is a primitive form of Greek which means these myths developed over at least 1,500 years ( assuming the re-founding of the Palace culture on Crete after the Thera eruption c 1625 BC ) down to the beginning of the Common Era.

The thing is unlike Sumeria where we have tantalizing excerpts of ancient mythology going back to the Early Bronze Age (c 3000 BC) we have no hard evidence for the beginnings of the Greek mythology.  Even Linear B does not seem to have been used for literature as we know it but more for record-keeping which would have been exceedingly important to a commercial culture like the Minoan.  That leaves open the probability of oral tales being passed down from generation to generation and we know what happens with that.  To make matters worse the likelihood of syncretism as the various tales spread around the so-called Greek world means that ideas would have been adapted to fit local designs and usages and we are not likely to ever find any record of such. 

Probably easiest to think of it in terms of primitive peoples trying to make a modicum of sense out of the world given their limited ability to explore it.