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GEOMYTHOLOGY
LEGENDS OF THE EARTH
GEOMYTHOLOGY IS…
The study of myths created by prescientific cultures to explain geological
events such as earthquakes, floods,
fossils, and other natural features.
TWO TYPES OF
GEOMYTHOLOGY
1. Folk explanations of notable geologic
features
2. Garbled descriptions of catastrophic
geologic events
THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND EARTHQUAKES
Tremors were the result of struggling giants
imprisoned in the Earth by Zeus
Large magnitude tectonic quakes with
tsunamis were attributed to Poseidon,
the Earth-shaking god of the sea
THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND
VOLCANOES
Hawaiian volcanoes inspired stories
about the fire goddess Pele digging
a series of great fire pits as she
traveled across the islands
Mt. Etna,
Europe’s
most active
volcano, is
said to
erupt
because of
Typhon’s
attempts to
escape the
mountain.
He was
imprisoned
there by
Zeus
Virgil and Pliny the Elder suggested that
the giant, one-eyed Cyclopes
personified other active volcanoes in
the Mediterranean
OTHER GEOMYTHS
• Legends of “birdless places” originated in regions
where toxic natural gases are released from vents
in the Earth, affecting plant and wildlife.
• The image of the cave-dwelling, fire-breathing
Chimera, which dwelled in what is now Turkey,
was influenced by spontaneously burning natural
gas wells in Asia Minor.
• Cosmic wars, in which the gods destroyed giant
monsters and buried them underground, account
for fossils of pre-historic elephants and other large
mammals.
THE FUTURE OF
GEOMYTHOLOGY
• The permanent and safe disposal of thousands of
tons of radioactive material from nuclear reactors
and weapons may influence geologists to think
geomythologically.
• This waste is expected to remain radioactive for
100,000 years.
• The plan is to bury the waste deep underground
and prevent it from being disturbed for 10,000
years.
• To do this warnings must remain effective until the
year 12,000 A.D.
• Written and visual markers of menacing
design
• To warn civilizations ahead of the danger
buried underground
CREATE YOUR OWN
GEOMYTH/GEOCHARACTER
• IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN MYTH
• IN THE FORM OF A COLORED
DRAWING
WRITTEN EXAMPLES
• HAWAIIAN LEGEND: PELE
• ZEUS VS. TYPHON
DRAWINGS/GEOCHARACTERS
global warming
BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS
POLLUTION
NUCLEAR
WAR