Introduction to Mythology

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Introduction to Mythology

• Honors English 9
• Forsyth/Bernstein

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Myth/ology

• Mythos- which in Classical Greek means roughly
  the oral speech

the science or study of
Mythology is the study of stories originally
passed by oral recitation.
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What is a myth?

• A traditional story created by ancient man (with
  unknown authorship) that explains natural
  phenomenon, cultural customs and institutions,
  history, and religious rites.
• All nations have their own myths.
• Egyptians Baal
• Greeks Romans Jupiter
• Scandinavians Odin
• Danish Beowulf
• English King Arthur
• America -

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What is a myth?

• Made up of
• Gods goddesses (deities), monsters, heroes,
  creation stories, the natural world
• Passed from generation to generation by word of
  mouth until they were written down which
  preserved them in form.
• Purposes
• To explain science (they were way off)
• And to entertain by telling stories

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Why study mythology?

• Music
• the word music comes form the Greek word
  muse. A lot of myths tell the story of the
  invention of musical instruments.
• the first opera ever was written about the theme
  of Greeks Orpheus and Eurydice
• famous composers wrote about themes found in
  myths
• Art
• famous painters sculptors like Michelangelo and
  Botticelli depicted gods and goddess and
  mythological stories
• History
• myths contain important links to the past
• many of our terms come from the past
• janitor Janus (Roman God)
• June Juno
• Labyrinth

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Why study mythology?

• Greek Roman Writers
• Myths as we have them are a creation of great
  poets
• It offers the first written record of Greece
• The Creation
• Creation stories explain the existence of the
  gods, goddess, and mankind
• Anthropomorphic characterized by shapes or
  characteristics of a god, animal, or inanimate
  thing
• Polytheism belief in worship of many gods
• Monotheism belief in worship of one god

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