Download Greek Mythology What is Myth?

Intro to Greek
Mythology
The Elements
and Purposes of Myth
Myth Defined
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Greek Mythos=“discourse” or “speech”
Dictionary: A traditional story dealing with
supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes
that informs or shapes the world view of a
people, by explaining aspects of the
natural world or delineating the customs
or ideals of society.
Elements of Greek Myth
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Interaction between gods and humans
Gods as hypertrophied humans
Gods as flawed beings
Supernatural beings and monsters
Larger than life, godly “superheroes”
Myths Explain Natural Occurrences
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Examples?
Gaea and Ouranos
Thunder and lightning (Zeus)
Earthquakes (Poseidon)
Seasons (Persephone &
Demeter)
The sun rises (Greece: Helios’
chariot, Egypt: Ra and
Semektet)
Myths Explain Fundamental
Philosophical Questions
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Early Greeks as proto
philosophers
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Attempting to answer
fundamental questions
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Where did we come
from?
Who created the
universe?
Is there life after
death?
To explain is to control
Comfort in knowing
Myths Explain Culture and Institutions
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Why women
couldn’t vote
To explain is to control
 Athena and Poseidon both want to rule and protect Athens
 Gift contest
 Poseidon=saltwater well (useless)
 Athena=olive tree (olive, wood, oil)
 Men vote for Poseidon, women for Athena
 Athena wins
 Poseidon flood the Attic plain
 Athenians blame the women, take away vote
Myths as Means to Instruct
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Myths often relay a
message or moral
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Teach cultural
traditions, values
Icarus—life has limits
Narcissus and the
dangers of pride and
self love
Myths to Explain History
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A biased version of
history
Reinforce Greek culture
and power
Trojan War
Crete and King Minos
Founding of Rome
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Founded by sons of Mars
Gave tellers sense of
identity, sense of place
Myths to Entertain
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People were illiterate in early
Greece
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Entertainment in an oral
culture
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Couldn’t read or write
Blood, shock, exciting tales
The Heroes
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Herakles, Odysseus, Theseus,
Jason
Stronger, smarter, more
handsome than mere mortals
Nobility in humanity
Humans are better than gods
Cultural Supremacy
and Civil Order
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Persuasion
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Greek superiority over nonGreeks
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Other as “barbarians”
Religion: Cult & Ritual
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Maintained order
Gave people reason to be
loyal to a city
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Temples and sacrifices
Feared retribution of the
gods
Apollo’s Temple at Delphi
To Understand Literature and Art
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Mythical allusions and
references
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Keats and the
Romantics
Shakespeare and
many others
“Like Hyperion to a
satyr” (Hamlet)
Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (1555)
Truth in Myth
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Universal truths
Stories about the
human condition
Archetypes and Mythic Patterns
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Greek characters, places, themes have
influenced (consciously or not) Western
literature and art
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Journeys to the underworld
Serpent figures
And others…
Finding connecting patterns
Myth and Language
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Word origins
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Volcano
Herculean
music
atlas
tantalize
Narcissism
Journal #1—Intro to Myth
What purpose did Mythology serve in
Ancient Greece, and what purpose does it
serve today? Support your answer with
evidence from the slide show as well as
examples of modern-day allusions to Greek
Mythology.