Greek Mythology What is Myth?
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Transcript Greek Mythology What is Myth?
Intro to Greek
Mythology
The Elements
and Purposes of Myth
Myth Defined
Greek Mythos=“discourse” or “speech”
Dictionary: A traditional story dealing with
supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes
that informs or shapes the world view of a
people, by explaining aspects of the
natural world or delineating the customs
or ideals of society.
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”
Myths Explain Natural Occurrences
Examples?
Gaea and Ouranos
Thunder and lightning (Zeus)
Earthquakes (Poseidon)
Seasons (Persephone &
Demeter)
The sun rises (Greece: Helios’
chariot, Egypt: Ra and
Semektet)
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
Myths Explain Culture and Institutions
Why women
couldn’t vote
To explain is to control
Athena and Poseidon both want to rule and protect Athens
Gift contest
Poseidon=saltwater well (useless)
Athena=olive tree (olive, wood, oil)
Men vote for Poseidon, women for Athena
Athena wins
Poseidon flood the Attic plain
Athenians blame the women, take away vote
Myths as Means to Instruct
Myths often relay a
message or moral
Teach cultural
traditions, values
Icarus—life has limits
Narcissus and the
dangers of pride and
self love
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
Myths to Entertain
People were illiterate in early
Greece
Entertainment in an oral
culture
Couldn’t read or write
Blood, shock, exciting tales
The Heroes
Herakles, Odysseus, Theseus,
Jason
Stronger, smarter, more
handsome than mere mortals
Nobility in humanity
Humans are better than gods
Cultural Supremacy
and Civil Order
Persuasion
Greek superiority over nonGreeks
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
Apollo’s Temple at Delphi
To Understand Literature and Art
Mythical allusions and
references
Keats and the
Romantics
Shakespeare and
many others
“Like Hyperion to a
satyr” (Hamlet)
Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (1555)
Truth in Myth
Universal truths
Stories about the
human condition
Archetypes and Mythic Patterns
Greek characters, places, themes have
influenced (consciously or not) Western
literature and art
Journeys to the underworld
Serpent figures
And others…
Finding connecting patterns
Myth and Language
Word origins
Volcano
Herculean
music
atlas
tantalize
Narcissism
Journal #1—Intro to Myth
What purpose did Mythology serve in
Ancient Greece, and what purpose does it
serve today? Support your answer with
evidence from the slide show as well as
examples of modern-day allusions to Greek
Mythology.