Download CLASSICAL RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

MASSJ CLASSICS
APPRECIATION
WEEK
MARCH 14 - 17, 2017
CLASSICAL
RELIGION AND
MYTHOLOGY
WELCOME
Salvete MassJCL!
This week is Classics Week, and the theme for this year is mythology and religion! Each day, we will study a different ancient civilization and the stories and
religion that originates from that region. I highly encourage you to do the publicity and service projects for each day, or make up your own! Publicity points
are doubled this week, so remember to take advantage of that, and I hope you all
have a great Classics Week!
E Corde,
Anusha Kulkarni
MassJCL First Vice President
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Day 4:
Rome
Day 3:
Day 1:
Greece
Mesopotamia
Day 2:
Egypt
Ancient Greece
March 14, 2017
Mythology
Greek Mythology is given to
us as a collection of stories by various authors. Some are famous like Homer,
Hesiod, and Sophocles while others like Apollonius lurk in the
shadows but give us amazing stories. Greek Mythology is like a
tree beginning with the myths of Creation
with Chaos serving as a dark void from
which all gods, humans, and monsters
have descended. Eventually, after the war
against the Titans and the Giants, the gods
solidified their power under the almighty
Zeus and the Olympian gods. These gods
through intermingling with humans gave
us beloved heroes like Heracles, Jason,
Odysseus, and more. The Greeks gave us
glorious stories of war like the Iliad and love
stories of loyalty and devotion like Baucis
and Philemon. Today, celebrate some of
these amazing stories that this civilization
gives us!
Ancient Greek religion is a collection of rituals and mythology
originating in Ancient Greece. The Greek religion is a polytheistic religion centered around a twelve major gods and an
Afterlife. Greek culture never had a single body of priests that
would dictate the practices and scripture of the religion, instead practices and ceremonies were conducted locally in the individual city-states.
The practices usually took place in elaborate temples and altars dedicated to specifics gods or even heroes and mythological kings. Some practices even included
animal sacrifices to receive goodwill from
the gods. Some practices included mystery religions like the Mysteries of Eleusis
for Demeter. These were secret religious
cults that member needed to be initiated
into.
Religion
Publicity
Service
- Greek Myths are sometimes interesting and funny to read. Within your
club try recreating some
of your favorite myths either on video or live!
- There are many family-friendly Mythology
books to find. Organize
a trip to your local library
and read myths to children to help foster their
love of the classics!
- As any Mythologist will
know, the Greek Pantheon
is quite extensive. Run a poll
throughout your club to determine who your club’s favorite god or goddess is!
Social
Media
Make sure you keep all of your
Social Media accounts up to
date! Post the results of your
poll or share your favorite myth
or monster!
mythology
Egyptian
Mythology
is centered
around deities that represent natural phenomenon. The sources for Egyptian Mythology include stories passed down through
oral tradition, artwork, temples, and funerary texts. Their fundamental order of the universe circle around the word Ma’at that
means order. Egyptians believe that they are the maintainers of
Ma’at. One of the major gods is Ra, the sun god, who rules with
advice from Thoth. There is also the myth of Osiris who was Ra’s
successor and was deposed by his brother Set. Osiris became
the king of the dead after his murder at the hands of his brother.
Osiris’s sister Isis gave birth to their son, Horus, who became
the war-god and the protector of the Pharaohs. THere are many
other gods with their own stories but their major stories center
around Ra, Thoth, Horus, Isis, Osiris, Nephthys, and Set.
Religion
Ancient Egyptian Religion
is a set of Religious beliefs
and rituals that is linked by
a common focus on the interaction between the human world and
the divine world. Their pantheon was a series of gods that were
deified phenomenon of nature. Their religion also included the
Pharaoh, or leader of the Egyptian people. To the Egyptians, the
Pharaoh was a human who was simultaneously viewed as a god
and therefore was the intermediary between the Egyptian people
and the gods. Egyptian religion also included deep beliefs about
death and the afterlife. They believe that their ka, or life force,
must be rejoined with their ba, soul, to live on as an akh returning
to the preserved body each night to receive new life each night.
Their afterlife also include the weighing of the heart, or actions of
the person while they were alive, ritual to decide the destination
of the akh.
Ancient Egypt
March 15, 2017
Publicity
Service
- Research and create Flyers and Bookmarks about about various Egyptian
deities during Latin Classes.
- Have a “mummy flashmob” either
at school or a public location of your
choice.
- Write letters to refugees! There is a
lot of controversy in the world about
these people and these people are
suffering. Talk about the Classics and
some of the stories that you learned
about this week!
Social Media
Hint: “walk like an Egyptian” is a good Make sure to post about
song to play
your school’s celebrations.
Post about some of the service activities or a video of
yout Mummy Flashmob.
Mesopotamian
Mythology
was
polytheistic with
male and female
deities that were usually worshipped by different cities. Some
of the gods included: Enki, Ashur, Enlil, and Ishtar. Each of the
different gods were worshipped by specific cities and often these
cities would view their god as more important than the others.
Of all of these gods, the general consensus was that the most important of these gods was Enlil. Mesopotamian Mythology also
had its share of epic poems. The most famous of which is the Epic
of Gilgamesh that told the story of the demigod and arrogant king, Gilgamesh, and his friendship with
the man Enkidu and his quest for immortality after his best friend’s death. This
story also bears resemblance to the
myths of the Great Flood in other
religions.
Mesopotamian Religion is
the collective name for the
beliefs and practices of the
civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia, the four main nations in the Mesopotamian region circa 3500 BC - 400 AD. Their religion was
polytheistic. A Mesopotamian city would be a home to a certain
prominent deity with the deity having a temple devoted to them.
These temples were called Ziggurats which ascended towards the
sky in a series of steps. These Ziggurats were originally built as
homes for the gods. An image of the god was presented with food
and changed everyday as if it were a person. Some rituals
included the worship of a personal deity in one’s
home. The Mesopotamian civilizations had
a basic belief in the underworld in that
they had a god governing it and that
everyone descended there after
death.
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mythology Religion
Publicity
March 16, 2017
- Put up posters about each of the
Mesopotamian gods and what they
did around your school.
Service
Get your club, some colorful fleece,
scizzors, and some good music and
you have everything you need for
Project Linus!
- Present a PowerPoint about some
Mesopotamian stories to your classSocial Media
mates!
Post some pictures of your publicity and serivce activities online and share some of the interesting things that you learned.
mythology
Roman Mythology is a collection of traditional stories pertaining to the legendary origins of Rome. Much of Roman Mythology is derived from Greek mythology with the exception of a
few stories. For example the love story of Pomona and Vertumnus is not traditionally found in Greek Mythology. Another major story that is not given to us in Greek mythology are
the founding stories of Rome. Virgil’s Aeneid tells the story
of Aeneas’ flight from Troy to found the city and dynasty that
would eventually become Rome. His descendant, Romulus,
would eventually found Rome. Roman Mythology also adopted foreign gods into their Pantheon. Mithras, Isis, and Cybele
were brought by generals to the Roman Pantheon where they
were welcomed and worshipped.
.
Religion
Roman Religion encompassed the ethnic religion of Rome and
the various religious practices that they adopted from conquered
peoples. The Roman were highly religious and gave thanks to the
gods for their successes in battle and life. During the Monarchy,
Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, instituted many of
Rome’s religious traditions. At one point he was even associated
with a nymph. In the Republic, many high ranking officials like
consuls and Praetors were previously priests or heads of Religion. In the Monarchy, the Emperor was considered the head of
the state. Like many other Ancient religions, Rome had its fair
share of sacrificial practices, at some points even sacrificing humans in return for victory. Added to the public religious practices like the Vestal Virgins, were the Lares and the Penates, the
family gods, in the home. These gods were family specific and
were usually ancestors. This tradition was brought by Aeneas
when he fled Troy with the Lares and the Penates in his hands.
Publicity
- Make a video modernizing a Roman
myth and post it on YouTube.
- Have a Toga Parade through your
school with members of your club
posing as various mythological figures!
Service
- Talk to your local elementary school
about Roman Mythology and how it is
important to people today!
Post about some of your
Social Media fravoirte Roman Myths and
stories and maybe your Toga
Parade!
Ancient Rome
March 17, 2017