Mythology

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Mythology
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Major Purposes of Unit

• Mythology created because man (any time, any
  place) wanted answers to the unknown.
• A myth is a story that attempts to give meaning
  to the mysteries of the world passed along
  through word of mouth as stories and songs.

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Major Purposes of Unit

• A myth is an explanation of something in nature
  how, for instance, anything and everything in the
  universe came into existence
• We ALL have traditions Mythology is spread
  through EVERY culture.
• We will use Greek Mythology as our major example
  because of allusions in literature and culture
  today.

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How Myths Began

• For at least 2,000 years, scholars have
  speculated how myths began.
• Some believe
• Myths began as historical events that became
  distorted over time
• Myths are mans attempt to explain natural
  occurrences that they could not understand
• Myths justify social and individual conventions
  of the people of their time

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What Myths Tell Us about Society

• Myths are collective representations of the
  institutions and values of that society or
  important parts within it.
• These representations determine how the
  individuals in the society act and think.

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Influence of Mythology

• Geography, climate, government, and other
  societal aspects influence the myths of various
  people.
• Despite the differences related to these factors,
  all myths have certain features in common.
• For example, a recent study of the fairy tale
  Cinderella showed that there are over 400 hundred
  variations of the same tale.

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Distinctive Qualities of Greek Myth

• A world view that places human consciousness
  squarely at the center of the universe, humanism
  asserts the value of the individual human being.
• Greek authors portray their gods very much like
  themselves through anthropomorphism, or ascribing
  human form to supernatural beings.

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Chief Contributors of Mythology

• Homer (Greek, 8th Century BC)
• Hesiod (Greek, 8th Century BC)
• Virgil (Roman, 1st Century BC)
• Ovid (Roman, 1st Century BC-AD)

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Types of Myths

• Folk Tale usually told for pleasure (NOT
  factual), and deals with lesser people (common
  folk) and witches, elves, fairies, etc..
• Fable takes an abstract idea and makes it
  understandable to the masses. Teaches a lesson.

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Types of Myths Cont

• Romance larger than life hero. Love story in
  which the hero pursues happiness or a woman.
• Fairy Tale addresses internal problems the
  quest to overcome the self. Not factual.

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Types of Myths Cont.

• Parable similar to fable, but from the Bible
  (Jesus).
• Allegoryexpression by means of symbolic
  fictional figures and actions of truth or
  generalizations about human existence.

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Types of Myths Cont.

• Saga Collections of a narratives about a
  particular city or family, such as the
  interconnected tales about Troy and Thebes.
• Legend a tradition that has some nucleus of
  historical truth, as opposed to an account that
  is entirely fictional.

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Types of Heroes

• Monster Slayer most primitive type. Kills
  monsters and makes the world better (ie Bilbo)
• Pure Hero fights for personal glory and fame, no
  matter the cause no fear of death lives to die
  in battle (ie Achilles).
• Noble Warrior fights for a dying, but
  illuminated culture knows he is doomed (ie King
  Arthur).

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Types of Heroes

• Conqueror fights to establish a kingship or
  build a city (ie Caesar).
• Metaphysical fights forces within himself (ie
  Gilgamesh of Babylonia)

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The Hero

• Physical vs. Mental Abilities
• Heroic Saga prose narrative of historic or
  legendary figures
• Quest a chivalrous enterprise in medieval
  romance usually involving an adventurous journey

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Characteristics of a Hero

• Unusual origins
• Extraordinary
• Performs a difficult task (quest)
• Powerful enemies
• Enemies force hero to do additional tasks
• Can work miracles

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Characteristics of a Hero

• Helped by powerful friends not always human
  (advice, weapons)
• Suffering ends in disaster
• Because of this disaster, he may die but he will
  achieve greater glory after death
• Will leave the world better than he found it

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Three Stages of a Hero

• Separation decision to embark leave known
  world
• Initiation the quest itself
• Return reborn makes new knowledge known to
  others