Flashcards in Midterm Deck (138)
Loading flashcards...
1
Why did humans establish myths? (2)
- They began to settle after realizing cosmic order (e.g. cycle of days, seasons, moon)
- They became agriculturally-based
2
What are early examples of mythological thinking and human consciousness? (3)
- Religious practices (e.g. burial sites with objects to be used in the afterlife)
- Bear skulls (cycle of hibernation and sleep)
- Venus figurines
3
What do the Venus figurines represent? Where were they found? (3)
- Fertility
- A matriarchal order before the patriarchy
- Commonly found next to fireplaces, the heart of the home
4
What does myth/mythos mean?
Speech or story; originally oral then written down around 1000 BC
5
What does mythology mean?
A collection of stories
6
What are the functions/purposes of myths? (5)
1) Give historical facts (e.g. Trojan War)
2) Express religious rites (e.g. worship of gods)
3) Often aetiological (express aspects of nature/origin)
4) Express human feelings and emotions (leads to psychology)
5) Express philosophical ideas
7
What are sagas/legends?
Stories with their basis in history
8
What are folktales/fairy tales? (3)
- Stories with fantastic beings (e.g. monsters)
- Heroes who win in the end
- A world of magic
9
Mircea Eliade
A historian who emphasized the relationship between myths, rituals, and rites and provided explanations to individuals and society
10
Myths and aetiology (2)
- Explains nature and facts
- Okay for creation and origins, but doesn't include heroic myths
11
Myths as allegory and metaphor
Suggests that myths contain other meanings, but leaves out complexities
12
Myths and rationalism
Suggests that individuals who did great deeds were deified, but doesn't consider aetiological myths
13
Freud (4)
- Used myths as analysis for inner human
- Recurring patterns, symbols, motifs, (e.g. Oedipus complex)
- Reflect incoherent vision and impulses of the sleep world (e.g. the Legend of the Minotaur, Saga of the House of Atreus)
- Telling myths as a form of catharsis
14
Jung (3)
- "Collective consciousness" -- archetypes and heroic patterns
- Emphasizes the dependence of all societies on myths (important but overvalues similarities in the minds of individual human societies)
15
J.G. Frazer and Jane Harrison (3)
- The Golden Bough
- Links myth to ritual and religion
- Limiting
16
Robert Graves (2)
- Emphasis on archaeological and literary
- Stresses ritual
17
Bronislav Malinowski (3)
- Anthropologist
- Stranded near New Guinea in WWI to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world
- Explores myth not in cosmic terms but as charters of social customs and beliefs
18
Claude Lévi-Strauss (2)
- Relation of myth to society
- Makes meaningful connections between different myths, but they are oversimplified
19
Vladimir Propp (2)
- Heroic sequence (e.g. Heracles, Theseus, Perseus, Jason)
- But can't do it for others
20
Walter Burkett (2)
- Combines structural with historical/cultural
- Tales are founded on basic biological or cultural
21
Importance of making meaning of myths
It's important to identify patterns, but not all myths fit into patterns
22
What is comparative studies?
They show structures and motifs in Greek literature that are common to mythologies of the world
23
Joseph Campbell (3)
- His work encompasses oral literal, and material mythology
- Looks at shared spiritual values and legends of various people's over the centuries
- Sometimes overlooks the complexity of Greek and Roman myths
24
Feminist approaches to myth (2)
- Often focus on psychological and social situations of female characters
- Examine the position of women in ancient society (yet cannot impose modern values onto the classical world)
25
Women in Greek society (3)
- Were citizens but couldn't vote
- Took part in society (e.g. religious ceremonies)
- Women had the education (went to the theatre, etc)
26
Common themes of Greek myths (4)
- Blinding passion
- Little distinction between love and abduction
- Homosexuality was respected and practiced
- Homer inspired poets, who inspired drama, who inspired philosophy
27
Who was Hesiod? (2)
- An epic poet
- Wrote 2 important texts around 700 BC
28
What is Theogony?
Hesiod's poem about the creation of the world, the origins of the Gods and of humans
29
How does Theogony begin? (2)
1) With the invocation of the muses
2) There are 9 of them, they are associated with the arts
30
