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Hero Discussion
 Why do people have heroes?
 Do heroes have to live virtuously in all areas of life
and have morals? Explain and provide an example.
 Can a person who has committed murder become a
hero? Explain and provide an example.
 Create a list of heroes (10) and admirable qualities.
 What do heroes have to do with myths?
 Create a group definition of a hero.
 Create a one word definition of a hero.
Answer the following
questions the best you
can:
 What is a myth?
 Are myths true or false? How do you know?
 Based on what you know about myths, how can you
make sense of myths?
 What is the difference between a myth and a
legend?
 What are the different ways to interpret a myth?
 What do myths have to do with heroes?
What is a myth?
 Some people use the word myth to mean fake, but…
 Mythology is the study of stories that were used to
explain the world and other human experiences.
What is a myth?
 Myths attempts to provide an etiology to explain the
unexplainable
 Etiology, coined from Greek work aition (“cause”),
means the study of first causes
 Myths provide moving or entertaining stories for
puzzling phenomena
What is a myth?
 Many myths serve a religious function, offering sacrifices
to the gods
 Humans petitioned for specific types of help:
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Hestia (Vesta) for safety of home and family
Athena (Minerva) for wisdom or courage
Demeter (Ceres) for abundant harvest
Artemis (Diana) for successful hunt
Ares (Mars) for military might
Hermes (Mercury) for traveler’s aid
Poiseidon (Neptune) for safe sea voyage
Zeus (Jupiter) for justice
Aphrodite (Venus) for love
What is a myth?
 Myths also explored terrifying aspects of life
 Myths pointed the way toward acceptable behavior
in interactions between gods and humans
The Sacred, Profane and
Heroic
 Hero comes from the Greek word heros
 Term refers to great men who have died and have
become protective local divinities through burial in
the soil
 In wartime, heroism has meant fearlessness in
battle, loyalty to allies and cause, slaughtering the
enemy
 In peaceful times, heroism has meant honor,
hospitality, loyalty, devotion, adventure
Tellers and Their Tales
 Myths of Greece and Rome come from an oral
tradition
 Homer and Hesiod, Greek poets, are recognized as
the oldest sources we have (eighth or seventh
century B.C.)
 Oracles were priests who received divine knowledge
about the future or past events
Contributions
 Knowledge of classical mythology comes through
the work of eight poets and writers:
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Homer (Greek poet, The Illiad and The Odyssey)
Sophocles (philosopher, plays about Oedipus)
Ovid (Roman poet)
Hesiod (Greek poet)
Aeschylus (dramatist)
Euripides (dramatist)
Apollodorus (mythographer)
Vergil (Roman poet)
Elements of Classical
Mythology
 Pantheon of gods, each with his/her own domain and
attributes
 Human and superhuman characters descended from gods
 Tales of unexplainable events
 Specific place at an unspecified time
 Separation or distance from humans
 Hand of destiny, cannot escape fate
 Reflection of culture that gave rise to them
 Myths are essential parts of specific cultures
In a Nutshell—What is a
myth?
 Classical myths are terrific, entertaining stories
 Myths explain the creation of the universe
 Elements the classical mythology helped establish a
distance between world of myths and everyday
worlds of people
Are myths true or false?
 Myths are metaphorically and symbolically true—
looking at aspects of human origins, culture,
questions (e.g., how did the earth get here? Who are
the gods? Where did that rock come from?)
 Myths are in fact false—think about science and
technology
How can you make sense
of myths?
 Analyze metaphors and symbols
 Compare/contrast characters, events, actions in
various myths
 Learning about specific cultures
 Understanding the hero’s journey
A Myth and a Legend?
 Myths are narratives believed to be true based on
particular societies but later found to be false
 Legends are narratives based on some element of
history making it realistic fiction, also elements of
religion are discovered
The Purposes of Myths
 Disguised history—modern day Turkey as historical
Troy
 Fables illustrating moral truths
 Pre-scientific explanation
 Entertaining Stories
 Analyzing the hero’s journey
Myths and Heroes?
 A hero completes a journey:
 Separation—
 The Call
 The Threshold
 Initiation and Transformation—
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The Challenges
The Abyss
The Transformation
The Revelation
The Atonement
 The Return
Discuss this with a person
near you:
Describe your
ultimate hero