4: Origins and interpretation Flashcards
(28 cards)
who was callimachus?*
Researcher, librarian, poet: he wrote the Aitia
what does apollodoros mean?
library
what did poet Vergil write? what was it about
He wrote the Aeneid an epic poem set in the aftermath of the trojan war, about how the roman bloodline was established in Rome.
What did poet Ovid write? what was it about?
he wrote the Metamorphoses, 15 books, all involving change.
What did early religion put attention on? Why
fertility, it mattered because it was dangerous and hard and important.
what figures did they make to understand the world
female figures
Who was potnia theron?*
A goddess, mistress of beasts, royalty (all forms of life were connected to her on pottery).
Where was the greek alphabet imported from
Phoenicia
What does Enuma Elish mean? what was this story?
It means “when on high”, its the hebrew bible, the babylonian creation story.
what does cuneiform mean what was it
“Wedge shaped”, writing carved with an instrument instead of pen.
What is polytheism?
They worshipped lots of gods
what gods did the sumerians worship? what were they the gods of?
An=sky, Inanna= queen of heaven, love and war, Enlil=lord of storm, An’s agent on earth, Enki= lord of earth
what are the two trends in interpreting myth?
- Focuses on representation/symbolism, something is something else, ‘what is it’ approach. 2. Teleological focusing on the purpose, the ‘what does it mean’ approach (ancient theory and rationalism)
what did xenophanes believe?
Something in myth reflects society
what’s an allegory, and who was an important allegorical thinker?
X is really about Y, theagenes natural forces were allegories.
what is euhemerism?*
idea that gods were great humans and the things we identify as gods are mortals
what does moral allegory mean
particularly medieval, myths represented lessons
explain theory distorts
you can make it say what you want it to say people can shape them.
what does the birth of venus/aphordite represent? (in art)
Divinity perfectionism she emerged into our world and hit physical reality she had to put on clothes.
what is the enlightenment rationalism way of thinking?
to understand the world
what is the romanticism way of thinking?
Anti-enlightenment, aren’t interested in scientific truth, things that are harder to pin down: feelings nature, myth was thought to be lost truth.
What did Bachofen believe (romantic tendency)
Matriarchal society of 3 phases (instead of victims of male oppression), based off the amazons, preceded the patriarchy.
what was tylor’s animism
he believed that everything has a soul
what did frazer write, what specific myth
The Golden Bough, the king of the wood.
