UNIT 01

1
UNIT 01

• LLT CXXI
• Classical Mythology

2
Types of Traditional Tale

• Divine or True Myth
• Primordial or fantastical time
• Supernatural main characters
• Aetiological function explains why something
  happens
  
• Legend
• Historical time
• Heroic (larger than life, but human) main
  characters
  
• Historical function commemorate great people and
  events
  
• Folktale
• Happens in once upon a time
• Anti-heroic (animals, jokers) main characters
• Didactic function teach a lesson or represent a
  moral

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Aetiology

• From the Greek aiteo, to ask
• Gives the reason why a feature of the universe
  was created, or how a custom came about
  
• Closely allied to the concept of true myth
• Example Myth of Demeter and Persephone
• Example hieros gamos

4
Animistic vs. Anthropomorphic

• Animism
• attributing god or goddesshood to inanimate
  objects, features of the universe, and/or forces
  of nature
  
• Little or no discernible human personailly
• Examples Uranus, Gaia, Nyx, Erebus, the Clock
• Anthropomorphism
• Believing universe is controlled by deities in
  human form
  
• Superhuman positive qualities beauty, strength,
  immortality
  
• Superhuman negative qualities lust, greed,
  stupidity
  
• Examples Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Clockette

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Euhemerism

• Who was Euhemerus?
• Greek philosopher and international man of
  mystery
  
• Late fourth century BC (that is, the late 300s
  BC)
  
• Lived after the time of Alexander the Great
• Euhemeruss theory
• Mythology is an attempt to explain natural events
  (aetiology)
  
• The Greek gods were originally mortal kings and
  heroes
  
• Considered somewhat atheistic

6
Brief Timeline of Greek History

• ca. 2000 BC Clash of the Indigenous and
  Achaean civilizations
  
• 2000-1100 BC Mycenean Age (formed by Indigenous
  and Achaeans)
  
• 2000-1450 BC Minoan Civilization on Crete
• 1200 BC Traditional date of the fall of Troy
• 1100 BC-750 BC Dark Age (myths passed on
  orally)
  
• 1100 BC - 800 BC Archaic Age (Homer and Hesiod)
• 480 BC - 323 BC Classical Period
• 323 BC - 31 BC Hellenistic-Roman Period

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The Mediterranean World, 600 BC
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Achaeans vs Indigenous Greeks

• Indigenous Greeks
• Matriarchal mom ruled the roost peace-loving
• Worshipped a Mother Earth-type goddess or
  goddesses
  
• Spoke a non-IE language
• Achaeans
• Patriarchal dad ruled the roost, warlike
• Worshiped a crew of anthropomorphic gods
• Spoke an Indo-European language, forerunner of
  Ancient Greek
  
• Mycenaean Greeks
• Result of the intermingling on January 1, 2000
  BC
  
• Officially the warlike Achaeans won out
• The tendencies of the Indigenous Greeks were
  still retained
  

9
Literacy and Non-Literacy

• Creators of types of writing
• Cuneiform (Sumerians 3000 BC), hieroglyphics
  (Ancient Egyptians)
  
• Linear A- Indigenous Greeks (we cannot read),
• Linear B-Mycenaeans (pictographic)
• Consequences of end of the Mycenean Era
• Greek civilization forgot how to write Dark
  Ages
  
• Literacy brought back in by Phoenicians in the
  mid 700s BC
  
• Traditional stories assumed written form
• Changes in written vs. oral literature
• Very little additional invention left
• Becomes more artistic than popular

10
Hesiods Theogony (750 BC)

• Cosmology vs. Theogony
• Cosmology belief that earth was created with
  purpose by Deity
  
• Theogony birth of the Gods in Ancient Greek
• Hesiods theory of universal creation from Chaos
  (cosmic void)
  
• Gaia - Earth
• Tartarus - underworld (boundary)
• Eros - desire/love
• Erebus -darkness under earth
• Night - darkness above earth

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The First and Second Generations

• 1st generation Gaias self-produced offspring
  (parthenogenesis)
  
• Uranus
• Pontus
• Mountains
• 2nd generation Gaias offspring with Uranus
  (hieros gamos)
  
• The 12 Titans
• The 3 Hecatonchires (Hundred-Handers)
• The 3 Cyclopes (Goggle-Eyes)
• Animistic vs. anthropomorphic
• 1st generation completely animistic
• 2nd generation transitional some
  anthropomorphic, some not

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Hieros Gamos sacred marriage

• Original, aetiological function
• Usually involves sky god and earth goddess
• Storms sex rain semen
• Vegetation offspring
• Not inherently ridiculous
• Greeks were applying a model based on a known
  process
  
• Affected, however, by trend toward
  anthropomorphism
  
• Three Ancient Greek examples
• Uranus and Gaia animistic
• Cronus and Rhea transitional
• Zeus and Hera anthropomorphic

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The Twelve Titans

• Children of Gaia and Uranus
• Oceanus and Tethys
• Hyperion and Theia
• Coeus and Phoebe
• Cronus and Rhea
• Mnemosyne (mother of the Muses)
• Themis (mother of Prometheus and Epimetheus)
• Crius
• Iapetus
• Transitional status
• Some with genuine personalities
• Some inanimate objects

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Hieros Gamos (I)

• Uranus as master of the Universe
• Uranus displeased by Hecatonchires and Cyclopes
• Forces Gaia to take them back
• Gaia angry and asks each of the Titans to avenge
  their siblings
  
• Only Cronus, the youngest, is willing
• Uranus's castration
• Cronus sneaks up with a sickle after sex takes
  place
  
• Uranus deprived of his two qualifications for
  rule
  
• Aphrodite and the Furies born
• Changing of the Guard
• Uranus and Gaia go back to their animistic
  functions
  
• Cronus and Rhea become second Hieros Gamos

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Dinner with Cronus
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Hieros Gamos (II)

• The Deception of Cronus
• Cronus and Rhea have 6 sons, afraid of being
  overthrown by prophesy, he swallows kids
  
• Cronus human stupidity, jealousy Rhea
  protective, maternal
  
• Rhea gets advice from Gaia, tricks Cronus eating
  rock and has son
  
• Zeus raised on Crete by Amalthea, goat nurse.
• Titanomachy (aka Clash of the Titans)
• Old Gods (Titans) v. new gods (olympians-cronus
  children who have been vomited up)
  
• Zeus has aid from Themis(Right and Justice)
• Prometheus - foresight (sided w/ Zeus),
• Epimetheus - hindsight  (sided w/ Cronus)-
  banished to Tartarus

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Hieros Gamos (III)

• Three Ancient Greek examples
• Uranus and Gaia animistic
• Cronus and Rhea transitional
• Zeus and Hera anthropomorphic
• Zeus and Hera fully anthropomorphic
• Zeus has bad temper, cheats on Hera
• Hera has bad temper, gets even with Zeuss
  lovers
  
• Still, sometimes get it on
• Ethical Leadership Questions
• Is Zeus a good role model? Is he trying?
• Are gods and humans difficult to lead?

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Challenges to Zeuss authority

• Zeus and first wife Metis
• Metis would bear a son stronger than his father
• Zeus swallows wisdom
• "HITTITE CRONUS MYTH
• Parallel from Hittite civilization in Turkey
  (around 1500 BC)
  
• Uranus Alalush Sky
• Cronus Anu castrated by son
• Zeus Kumarbi
• ??? Teshub storm God/Anarchy
• Zeus two challenges- Gigantonomachy
  Typhonomachy
  
• Gaia births 2 giants who bld up mt. to
  Zeus-defeated
  
• Gaia and Tartarus births Typhon, storm
  deity-defeated

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Hesiod vs. Ovid

• Weltanschauung
• German word for outlook on the world
• Every civilization in every generation has at
  least one
  
• Hesiod
• Greek, circa 750 BC
• Believed in Greek myths as fundamentally true
• Very depressing outlook on life
• Ovid
• Roman, 43 BC- 17 AD
• Believed in Greco-Roman myths as subject matter
  for his poetry
  
• Rather more optimistic outlook on life

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Creation of Humankind

• Judeo-Christian tradition
• God created humans as pinnacle of Creation
• Humans therefore dear to God
• Creation via Prometheus
• Man created first, then Woman
• Prometheus and the trick at Mekone
• Pandoras Box
• Ages of Humankind
• Humans as metal metaphor
• Hesiods version fundamentally pessimistic
• Ovids adaptation less so Weltanschauung

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Syncretism

• Syncretism
• Greek word for the growing togetherof divergent
  cultures
  
• Much more of a process than it is an event
• Achaeans and Indigenous Greeks
• Some time after January 1, 2000 BC
• Resulted in formation of Mycenean culture
• Probably an instance of cultural competency
• Greeks and Romans
• Happened in Southern Italy between 800 and 500
  BC
  
• Resulted in formation of Greco-Roman culture
• Definite instance of acquiring cultural
  competency
  

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Olympian Values

• Old views versus new
• Hieros Gamos
• Weltanschauung
• Animism vs. Anthropomorphism
• Examining our sources for cultural competency
• Greeks and Romans wrote very few sociology
  texbooks
  
• We have to comb through Greek and Roman
  literature
  
• Examination of our own culture is equally
  instructive
  
• Good examples
• Family life of Zeus and Hera
• Poseidon and various sea gods
• Prometheus

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Where Do We Go From Here?

• Sep 09        Unit 1.3 Origins of
  Humankind    (Powell, Chapter 5)
  
• Sep 11        Blended Day
• Sep 16         Unit 1.4 The Older Olympian
  Gods  (Powell, Chapter 6) 
  
• Sep 18         Hour Exam 1