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Chapter Three, Lecture One The Development of Classical Myth The Development of Classical Myth • Features of Greek myth appear in primordial past. • How did myth begin and develop in the historical periods? • Where do we look for evidence of their earliest origins, and how do we assess it? The Beginnings of Greek Myth • Neolithic fertility idols found throughout southeast Europe and Near East. – Fertility Idols from Thessaly – Cycladic Idols The Beginnings of Greek Myth • Potnia Thērōn • Is she Artemis? – Artemis as the Potnia Thērōn on the François Vase The Beginnings of Greek Myth • Indo-European myths • Linguistic analysis – Zeus and Jupiter < Dy – – The Indo-Europeans worshipped a sky god? • Comparative Analysis – “twin” – good versus evil? – social dichotomy? The Beginnings of Greek Myth • Writing as a method of transmission • Linear B tablets – Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Hermes, Enyalius, Paean, Eileithyia, Dionysus, Potnia. • Myths mostly transmitted orally by aoidoi The Beginnings of Greek Myth • Songs performed for entertainment by bards – Homer’s Demodocus • Dactylic hexameter • Rhythmic patterns and stock phrases The Influence of Near Eastern Myth • Non-Indo-European Mesopotamian sources of Greek myth – Mesopotamia Map • Greek myths of cosmic origins come from Near Eastern sources • Mesopotamian myths known only by report until recently • Cuneiform script decoded in the 19th century Sumerian Myth • Sumerians the earliest people in Mesopotamia (4000 B.C.) • First full-fledged cities • Each city had protective deity – “Lived” on the ziggurat Sumerian Myth • Myths preserved on tablets and seals – cuneiform (wedge shaped) • Seal Impressions – Gilgamesh/Enkidu cylinder seal Sumerian Myth An Sky God | Supreme Inanna Queen of Heaven | Sex and War Enlil Lord of the Storm | Tablets of Destiny Enki Lord of Earth | Sweet Ground Water | Trickster God One of Many Names for Mother Earth Ki Ereshkigal Queen of the Underworld Utu Sun God Sumerian Myths • Deities are anthropomorphic but indistinct – Hard to tell often who’s been represented • Filled with human emotions and motivations • Important in the Epic of Gilgamesh Semitic Myth • Semites – Modern term < Biblical “Schem” – Arrive in Mesopotamia in 2000 BC – Designates linguistic group • Sargon the Akkadian (2340 BC) • Adopted Sumerian culture Semitic Myth Sumerian Akkadian/Bablyonian An Anu Inanna Isthar Enlil Enlil or Marduk Enki Ea Ki ----- Ereshkigal ----- Utu Shamash Semitic Myth • Hammurabi (1750 BC) – Semitic Babylonians – Empire in Mesopotamia • The Ennuma Elish – “When on high . . .” – Creation account – Cult hymn Semitic Myth • Hebrews – Abraham (2000 BC?) • Migrated to Canaan and then to Egypt • Moses (1200 BC) – Monotheism (from Egyptian period of Akhenaten 1400 BC?) – Yahweh – The Exodus and Ten Commandments Semitic Myth • Invasion of Canaan – Battles with the Canaanites and the Philistines • Kingdom of David and Solomon (1000 BC) • Babylonian Exile (586–536) – Nebuchadnezzar • Collected their written and oral traditions • Completed around AD 90 Semitic Myth • Wrote with the “Phoenician alphabet” – syllabary of twenty-two signs without vowel signs • Easier than cuneiform but still difficult – Hence the prestige of readers (the rabbi) • Adapted into Arabic script and ultimately into the Greek alphabet Other Sources • Hittites (1600–1200 BC) – Central modern-day Turkey – Non-Semitic – Inherited and modified Babylonian myths • Egypt – Had few myths – Mostly proverbs, hymns, and clever short stories – Connected narratives come from Greek sources (Osiris and Isis) Next Lecture: Greek Origins
