Intro to Greek Mythology

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Intro to Greek Mythology

• The Elements
• Purposes of Myth

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Phaeton
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Myth Defined

• Greek Mythos discourse or speech
• Dictionary A traditional story dealing with
  supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that
  informs or shapes the worldview of a people by
  explaining aspects of the natural world or
  delineating the customs or ideals of society.

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Elements of Greek Myth

• Interaction between gods and humans
• Gods as hypertrophied humans
• Gods as flawed beings
• Supernatural beings and monsters
• Larger than life, godly superheroes

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Purposes of Myth
THE TWELVE LABORS OF HERACLES
Herakles
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Myths Explain Natural Occurrences

• Examples?
• Elements (Gaea and Ouranos)
• Thunder and lightning (Zeus)
• Earthquakes (Poseidon)
• Seasons (Persephone Demeter)
• The sun rises (Greece Helios chariot Egypt Ra
  and Semektet)

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Myths Explain Fundamental Philosophical Questions

• Early Greeks as proto philosophers
• Attempting to answer fundamental questions
• Where did we come from?
• Who created the universe?
• Is there life after death?
• To explain is to control
• Comfort in knowing

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Myths Explain Culture Institutions

• Why women couldnt vote
• To explain is to control

• Athena and Poseidon both want to rule and
  protect Athens
• Gift contest
• Poseidonsaltwater well (useless)
• Athenaolive tree (olive, wood, oil)
• Men vote for Poseidon, women for Athena
• Athena wins
• Poseidon floods the Attic plain
• Athenians blame the women, take away vote

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Myths as Means to Instruct

• Myths often relay a message or moral
• Teach cultural traditions, values
• Icaruslife has limits
• Narcissus and the dangers of pride and self love

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Myths to Explain History

• A biased version of history
• Reinforce Greek culture and power
• Trojan War
• Crete and King Minos
• Founding of Rome
• Founded by sons of Mars
• Gave tellers sense of identity, sense of place

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Myths to Entertain

• People were illiterate in early Greece
• Couldnt read or write
• Entertainment in an oral culture
• Blood, shock, sex, exciting tales
• The Heroes
• Herakles, Odysseus, Theseus, Jason
• Stronger, smarter, more handsome than mere
  mortals
• Nobility in humanity
• Humans are better than gods

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Cultural Supremacy Civil Order

• Persuasion
• Greek superiority over non-Greeks
• Other as barbarians
• Religion Cult Ritual
• Maintained order
• Gave people reason to be loyal to a city
• Temples and sacrifices
• Feared retribution of the gods

Apollos Temple at Delphi
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Why Study Myth?
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(No Transcript)
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Myths to Understand Literature Art

• Mythical allusions and references
• Keats and the Romantics
• Shakespeare and many others
• Like Hyperion to a satyr (Hamlet)

Joseph Severn's miniature of Keats, 1819
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Brueghels Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
(1555)
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Truth in Myth

• Universal truths
• Stories about the human condition

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Archetypes Mythic Patterns

• Greek characters, places, themes have influenced
  (consciously or not) Western literature and art
• Journeys to the underworld
• Serpent figures
• Temptresses
• Finding connecting patterns

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Myth Language

• Word origins
• volcano
• Herculean
• aphrodisiac
• music
• atlas
• tantalize
• erotic
• Narcissism

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Myth Cultural Literacy

• According to E.D. Hirsch (Core Knowledge
  Foundation), knowledge of myths
• Makes us literate
• Enriches our understanding of the Western world
• Empowers us
• Illustrates shared culture

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Journal 1Intro to Myth Summary

• Summarize key details from this introduction
  (1/2-page minimum)
• What is myth?
• What are some of the purposes of myth?