The Origin of Entrepreneurship Through the Lens of Mythology

This chapter focuses on the origin of entrepreneurship or, more specifically, on the locus (internal to the individual or external, that is referable to the context) from which the impetus, the force to start entrepreneurship processes, derives. Over the years, entrepreneurship scholars have proposed several approaches to investigate this topic (demand for entrepreneurship vs. supply of entrepreneurship, pull vs. push factors, the role of nature or nurture in entrepreneurship) and consistent advances in entrepreneurship studies have been achieved. Indeed, on the basis of the approaches above, entrepreneurship scholars have ended up with addressing their attention toward factors affecting the internal or external origin of entrepreneurship, rather than the locus itself. For this reason, these studies are far from offering satisfying results and new avenues of research need to be opened up. Of course this chapter is not in the position to offer definitive results; nevertheless, it will try to shed some light on this issue by recalling some assumptions rooted in another field of knowledge—in particular in the field of mythology. May the genesis of Greek gods clarify the origin of entrepreneurship? Mutual references and feasible overlaps between mythology and entrepreneurship reveal intriguing insights and allow to overcome existing limits and to proceed with studies about the origin of entrepreneurship.