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95 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is a myth
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1) a lie (common definition) or story
2) something that is profoundly true- either myths tell the truth of a person, culture or nation, or they contain universal truths 3) a primitive mode of thinking 4) the product of external forces on us 5) product of our internal insights |
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"mythos"
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a tall tale
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Bernard De Fontenelle
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1657-1757
Externalist tendency Saw myth as irrational "absurd of course", but had a bit of truth at its core => scientific observation of the natural world/an attempt to explain the world told in a primitive way (authors have a primitive mentality); protoscience |
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David Hume
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1711-1776
Internalist He represents the high Enlightenment Saw myth as a completely primitive way of thinking Thought it was unnecessary Saw myth as a result of fear, irrational explanations of superstitions Irrationalist fantasy contrasted with the practical mentality of the Enlightenment |
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Heyne
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(1729-1812)
externalist thought myth was trying to explain a feeling of awe (awe is comprised of wonder and fear)- need a story to explain changed terminology from "fabula" to the "new" term, "mythus" He took myths more seriously and really delved into Greek texts Thought myth was a natural reaction of primitive humans (impulse) Have a primitive natural impulse that is to overreact Myths reflect the natural world=> particularist |
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Class's Definition of Myth
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A traditional tale with a secondary reference to something of collective importance, told by someone for some reason
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Metrodorus of Lamsacus
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5th Century BCE
The idea that Homer's characters represent/are personifications of other things => i.e. Achilles is the sun; Demeter is the liver We are humans are affiliated with the cosmos This theory is part of ALLEGORY: myths contain certain truths and have hidden meanings |
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Xenophanes
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6th Century BCE
The gods represent us, we make up the gods in our own image (cultural relativism argument) this theory is part of skepticism |
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Anonymous
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some of the myths should be censored
some myths can be corrupt or morally offensive |
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Plato
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429-347 BCE
If the heroes and gods carry out indecent and offensive acts, then humans will think these actions are okay Poets should be censored myths are powerful => they make things seem normal and can instill social values |
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Aristarchus
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210-144 BCE
Scholarly/literary approach => don't look for hidden meanings or implied moral values; instead, read the stories as stories |
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Euhemerus
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300 BCE
The gods and great heroes were originally normal humans who were deified Some individual performed a great act, and over time the stories told turned them into gods |
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Agamemnon
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Former king of Mycenae
Brother to Menelaus Head of the forces at Troy Odysseus encounters him while in the underworld He was murdered by his wife CLYTEMNESTRA and her lover, AEGISTHUS upon his return from Troy Later avenged by his son, ORESTES |
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Nestor
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King of Pylos
Warrior in Troy Storyteller figure in Odyssey (internal narrator- fills in gaps between Iliad and Odyssey) Known as a clever speaker Is visited by Telemachus in Book 3, hosts him on the beach, very hospitable => shows xenia Sends his son PISISTRATUS along with Telemachus to accompany him to Sparta |
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Odysseus
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one that suffers
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polytropos
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many twists and turns
part of the first lines of the Odyssey- implying Odysseus' journey as well as his sneakiness and deceitfulness |
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"ate"
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(ah-tay)
recklessness |
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proem
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1st few lines of each work
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"andra"
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man
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"menin"
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rage/wrath
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Laertes
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Odysseus' father, former king of Ithaca
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Proteus
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"old man of the sea"
Menelaus encounters him on his journey home He is hard to pin down but when he is caught he can't lie |
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Euryclea
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maid-servant
second mother to Telemachus Trustworthy Was Odysseus' maidservant as well, raised him as a child |
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Antinous
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the head suitor
nasty and rude deceptive bad example of xenia |
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Penelope
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Odysseus' wife
Waits for him for 20 years to return Loves Odysseus and mourns him |
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"nostos/nostoi"
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homecoming
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Athena
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Also known as Tritogeneia
Daughter of Zeus Goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts Appears in the Odyssey often disguised as Mentor |
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Allegorism
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myths contain hidden truths => see METRODORUS OF LAMSACUS
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"fabula"
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Used during the Renaissance
stories, tall tales, tales |
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Herder
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1744-1803- Internalist Tendency
Believes that myths belong to individual people- the tie is the automatic welling up out of the human spirit Reveal and constitute national character Herder says that myth and poetry are the same as language and religion, and all are the definition of being human NOT an attempt to explain; is the automatic response to being alive |
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K.O. Muller
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1797-1840- Reaction to Hume and the Enlightenment- Externalist Tendency
Comes from internal and external Myths reflect the historical periods in which they are generated => like Euhemerism Shows the whole societal arrangement and political and social set up of the historical period |
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Jacob Grimm
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1785-1863
Tied to impulse to find the authentic Germany =>find among folk. Folklore outside of the city (too mixed). Go to the country to find out the truth connected to and followed by people. |
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Demodocus
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Bard in Odysseus
He is an example of what is in a well to do household and good hospitality His tale of Ares and Aphrodite (incestuous- this was the story that Plato thought should be censored) |
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Max Muller
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1823-1900
Studied sanskrit: dyaus pitar, Greek: Dzeus pater; Latin: Jupiter => there is a connection between pronunciations => shared theology, shared language => saw a set of mythological characters that are very old, come down from an indo-european background Myths: very interested in agriculture, fertility: have a very concrete language to describe abstract thought Myth is an epiphenomenon of language (it piggybacks off language) => myth is a disease of language |
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Poisedon
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He is the brother of Zeus, god of the sea, and Odysseus' divine antagonist
He is the father of Polyphemus, the Cyclops, and he vows to make Odysseus homecoming miserable since he blinded Polyphemus He is the patron god of the Phaecians |
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Cyclops
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in book 9, the have one eye
Odysseus spends a few days in Polyphemus' cave, and then blinds him Polyphemus is an example of bad xenia Also a barbarian: lack cultivation, farming, councils, built homes Odysseus makes a gift of wine to Polyphemus and in return Polyphemus' gift is first to eat his crew and then curse him (perversion of gift) |
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Lotus Eaters
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In Book 9, they eat lotus- stoners
The crew who goes to see them forget about home, don't want to leave the island Their lifestyle is attractive but Odysseus reminds the crew that if they stay there, then they will receive no glory or honor |
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Cicconians
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In Book 9
Live in the city of Ismarus This is Odysseus and his crew's first blunder that sweeps them off course on their way home They are too greedy and extend their stay- they plunder the city and then get attacked. some of the crew is lost |
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Aeolus
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Book 10- ruler of the winds, he is the king of his island, Aeolia
He stirs up a westerly wind to bring Odysseus and his men home, but the crew open up the bag and are blown off course again to the Laestrygonians |
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Laestrygonians
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Book 10
Giants, cannibals, eat the crew Antiphates is the king They also throw rocks at the ships in the harbor and sick all but Odysseus' ship |
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Circe
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A witch who lives on the island Aeaea
She turns Odysseus' men into pigs with her potion Odysseus is not affected because Hermes assists him and gives him a counterpotion and advice Turn men into creatures that cannot resist their animal impulses While on the island, ELPENOR, a member of the crew, falls off the roof and dies |
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Sirens
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They sing a seductive song that Odysseus hears- he now knows everything. it reveals the future
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Scylla
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A six-headed monster in the straits that Odysseus has to journey through
He chooses Scylla rather than its partner, Charybdis, and six of his men are eaten |
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Charybdis
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A whirlpool
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Cattle of the Sun
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Live on Thrinacia
They are Helios' cattle Odysseus is persuaded by his crew member, EURYLOCHUS, to stop there and rest. The crew eat the Cattle of the Sun, which are forbidden, and they all die except for Odysseus |
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Functionalism
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Malinowski (1884-1942)
Interested in the role myths play in the society in which they are told Social function in present, told to support and legitimize some social norm, make some behaviors and values seem old, tradition, even natural => assign values to social customs are rules -example: xenia |
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Structuralism
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Levi Strauss (1908)
The structure of human minds => binary oppositions What makes language really work is a set of binary oppositions Structuralist in myth => each myth is its own foreign language to be decoded Every myth is distillable to a set of oppositions and ultimately 1 core opposition What counts as a binary opposition: some core experience of what it means to be human => theories of kinship, food, reproduction, metabolism (anthropological) BINARY REMAINS UNRESOLVED |
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"huphaino"
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weaving - in many senses in the Odyssey
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Eumaeus
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the local swineherd who assists Odysseus
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"kleos"
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quest for honor and glory
from teh Greek root, to hear, you need fame, and people need to hear about you |
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Antikleia
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Odysseus' mother who has since passed
Odysseus meets her in the underworld |
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Zeus Xeinios
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Zeus' full name: zeus, god of guests and travellers
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Freudian Theory/Psychoanalysis
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1856-1939
We have primal urges- unconscious drives that move us to certain behavior Have an ultimate desire to dominate others because we are looking out for ourselves, most seen in food and sex Healthy people suppress these desires, which is good, because society can only function when these desires are repressed Repression can never be total, however, the urges are channeled into acceptable paths => in healthy people, the primal urges are the basis of all our motivations (diversion of our desires creates art, political, social structures) There are places where the repressed urges appear: in dreams Myth allows and entire culture to express its unconscious desires |
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Displacement
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part of psycho analysis
Allow yourself to express a primal urge but displace it onto a more acceptable target of that feeling => composite character is constructed, onto which we throw authorized and unauthorized desires example: Naomi Watts or Mom? |
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Condensation
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Part of psycho analysis
Brings together acceptable and unacceptable desires |
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Myth and Ritual
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Jane Harrison- 1850-1928
Myths are the "soundtrack" of rituals, whose original meaning has long since been lost Myths are a narrative to explain rituals, esp in antiquity Ritual is conserved and doesn't change, but needs explanation |
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"chthonic"
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of or relating to the ground or the earth
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Aegyptius
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A wise Ithacan elder who speaks in the council that Telemachus convenes in Book 2
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Icarius
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Penelope's father
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Halitherses
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a soothsayer who interprets a struggle between two eagles as Odysseus' imminent return in Book 2
He warns the suitors |
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Eurymachus
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Another suitor
Along with Antinous, he is defiant |
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Menelaus
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The king of Sparta, husband of Helen, who supposedly started the Trojan War
Brother of Agamemnon He hosts Telemachus in Book 3 |
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Phaecians
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Live on the island of Scheria
They host Odysseus on his final leg of his journey home They listen to his story and send him off They host a competition in his honor |
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Ino
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A sea nymph/goddess who lends Odysseus her veil that gives him protection
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Nausicaa
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The Phaecian princess
She finds Odysseus on the banks of the river She falls for Odysseus and leads him back into the city to the palace |
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Alcinous
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The King of Phaecia
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Arete
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The Queen of Phaecia
She will know how to get Odysseus back to Ithaca |
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Broadsea
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A young athlete in Phaecia, who insults Odysseus and eggs him on, until he reveals his true might and strength
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Theoclymenus
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A famous prophet's son who is fleeing manslaughter in Sparta.
He hops aboard Telemachus' ship back to Ithaca He interprets a hawk carrying a dove to mean that there is strength in Odysseus' line |
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Piraeus
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A loyal crewman of Telemachus who is entrusted to look after Theoclymenus
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Amphinomus
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Another suitor, more thoughtful and rational, who convinces the suitors not to kill Telemachus and wait for a sign from the gods
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Melanthius
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A goatherd in Ithaca, subordinate of the suitors, who insults Eumaeus and Odysseus and kicks Odysseus on their way to the palace
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Arnaeus (Irus)
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Another beggar who fights Odysseus when he comes to the palace
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Melantho
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A servant in the palace, who betrays Odysseus and Telemachus
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Philoetius
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A loyal and kindly swineherd who says he has not yet given up hope that Odysseus will come back
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Ctesippus
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A wealthy and arrogant suitor who throws a cow's hoof at Odysseus
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Narratology
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Propp (1895-1970)
Myths are the way they are because they are stories- stories unfold according to a certain scientific logic Beginning middle and end There is a logic to how stories are told Two Pieces to Propp’s theory: -mythines: 37 of them -Larger groupings: preparations, complication, donor cycle, combat cycle, pursuit and rescue, false hero cycle, reward cycle -within these cycles are more detailed mythines 1) the list is exhausted 2) not every tale will contain every single mythine 3)whatever mythines the myth does contain, they must be in numerical order: 1, 7, 12, 16- order must come in the narrative, according to 1-33 4) can have multiple tales within the one larger tale -Roles: -villain, donor, helper, dispatcher, hero, false hero (only shows up in false hero section) -any given role could match up with a character 1-1, or, any single character could have multiple roles, or roles could switch between characters |
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Jungian
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Jung (1875-1961)
Certain stock of archaic thoughts that is inherent in the human mind -Is handed down from generation to generation -Involuntary psychological processes that are imprinted in our minds -Examples: archetype of the devouring mother; the loving mother; the androgyne (both male and female); shadow; the self -All human beings have a full lexicon of archetypes in their minds that are activated during conflict- they express themselves as a language that allow us to express our powerful psychological needs -If the needs are not met, we will be unsuccessful as an organism -Myths and dreams are expressions of our inner psychological worlds -Key process: individuation – process by which we struggle to understand ourselves psychologically- we are self-consciously aware of the fact that we are alive. Coming to terms with this. The myths and dreams are dramatizations of individual stories. -Interpretation/Application of Theory: Look at a single character inside the myth Look at the myth as if it were the dream of that particular character |
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Hesiod
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Raised in Boetia
Wrote in last third of 8th century Wrote Theogony, Works and Days |
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Chaos
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Empty space, chasm in Theogony
Gives birth to Nyx (Night) and Erebos (Darkness)- Erebos and Night produce Day There are various permutations of Night in the genealogy Exists before creation |
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Tartarus
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The underworld - lowest part of Hades/beneath Hades
Primordial deity |
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Eros
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sexual love
Primordial deity desire |
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Gaia
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Earth
Gives birth to Ourea (Mountains) Ouranos (Sky) and Pontos (Sea) by parthogenesis With Ouranos (sky) gives birth to the 12 Titans Also with Ouranos gives birth to the 3 Cyclopes (Kyklopes) and three Hundred-Handers |
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Twelve Titans
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Okeanos, Koios, Kreios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne (=memory), Phoebe, Tethys, and Kronos
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Kronos
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Son of Gaia and Sky, slices off his father's genitals for keeping them in Gaia, and locking them up
He is the father of Zeus with Rhea |
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Ouranos/Sky
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Produces the 12 Titans and other deities with Gaia
He is threatened by his wife's ability to reproduce, tries to keep them stuffed in her, Kronos slices off his genitals From his genitals Aphrodite is born |
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Enuma Elish
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Babylonian epic
story of the creation of the universe the supreme god Marduk, overthrows Tiamat (theomachy) Song of praise for the king of the gods |
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Gilgamesh
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The Sumerian epic, oldest myth in existence
An was the sky god and supreme god Inanna was the queen goddess and goddess of sexual love and war Enlil was the storm god and one active in earthly events |
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"Kingship in Heaven"
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The Hittite myth
The first god Alalu is overthrown by Anu who is overthrown by Kumarbi cuts off genitals, is impregnated... |
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Hierophant
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Chief religious official in the Eleusinian rituals
Was the high priest at Eleusis for life, and always came from the family of the Eumolpids He revealed the HIERA (sacred objects) to the initiates |
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Hierophantides
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the two priestesses- one for Demeter, one for Persephone
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Dadouchos
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The torchbearer in the Eleusinian mysteries
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Hierokeryx
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The herald of the initiates
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Priest at the Altar
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Responsible for the sacrifice of animals
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Kallichoron
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The well at Eleusis
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