Lecture Outline Introduction to Myth I Myth a myths and mythology Interchangeable Mythology The study of myths or o Can mean all of the myths in a culture b myth as untrue story NOT in this course Myth implies that it is untrue c myths are true II Definition of myth In this class myths are true because the original tellers of them believe them to be true a provisional definition A myth is a story about gods Okay definition it is a story with a beginning middle and end fuller definition A myth is a traditional story that usually involves gods or other powerful supernatural beings Added or other powerful supernatural beings not necessarily have to be gods Added traditional handed down by generations traditional story handed down from one generation to the next often orally III Types of traditional story b c a Myth 1 gods 2 remote past b Legend 1 heroes 2 recent past c Folktale 1 lesser supernatural figures witches giants or ordinary people 2 no set time Once upon a time IV Versions of myths a original version of a myth Can never get back to the original version of a myth It is lost in time We only have the version that is handed down through generations b different tellers different versions of a myth Every time someone tells a myth it changes c literary versions of a myth Fossilized in text Most myths we will look at are literary versions What is the author trying to do with that myth Why do they put it in their work V Approaches to myth VI Gods Heroes Tricksters a modern theoretical approaches Why do people create think in terms of myths b our approach Why does a specific culture or literary author tell a particular myth a gods goddesses powerful important supernatural beings Somehow powerful and important to the running of the universe In control of concepts like love and weather b heroes figures in whom the gods take a special interest It is the special interest that the gods take in the hero that makes them a hero Can be negative attention for example Heracles For example the gods help the heroes battle through quests c tricksters amoral shape shifting deceivers instigators sometimes culture heroes Amoral Do not operate by the same moral code as people Neither good nor bad they do what they do We cannot understand what they do Culture Hero Figure that helps human beings create their civilizations for example Prometheus VII Important Concepts a polytheism belief in many poly gods the The belief and worship of many gods b anthropomorphism conception of gods in shape morph of human beings anthropo Conceiving of gods in the shape of human beings Thinking that gods look AND act like human beings They have human emotions c binaturalism conception of gods with two natures 1 binatural physical space god e g Sky Earth Sea 2 binatural abstract concept god e g Love Victory Envy 3 binatural thing god e g Vedic gods Agni fire and Soma sacred drink d syncretism adaptation of one culture s mythic beliefs by another culture 1 Sumerian Inanna Akkadian Ishtar Inanna Sumerian god of love and sex Akkadians adopted all the beliefs about Inanna and believed they were about Ishtar because she was their god of love and sex 2 Greek Zeus Roman Jupiter Same idea as above e spheres of influence areas with which gods are associated have power 1 Ishtar goddess of sexual desire war morning evening star Venus 2 Zeus god of rain lightning kingship hospitality f primordial waters 1 waters that exist at beginning of or even before creation 2 in many creation myths 3 usually precedes sea and other bodies of water VIII Three main rubrics for this course a creation myths stories that tell how universe gods humans earth sky etc came into being b hero myths stories about heroes adventures c myths of the afterlife stories about what happens to gods humans after death IX Dating system for course X Cf a BCE Before Common Era and CE Common Era b instead of BC Before Christ and AD Anno Domini a cf abbreviation for Latin confer b compare XI C a c around about b c 1000 BCE around 1000 BCE a Mesopotamia modern day Iraq and Syria b Canaan modern day Syria Lebanon Jordan Israel c Israel d Anatolia Asia Minor modern day Turkey e Egypt XII Ancient Near East ANE Note that ancient Greece is NOT part of ANE
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