Class 102 Notes PDF

Sep 4, 2024 Syllabus make sure to get the required texts nov 22 paper due date = more comments, chances for revision/write on another topic dec 6 paper due date = less comments, no chance for rewrites Notes pay attention to slides with paintings/sculptures – tested ○ everyth...

Sep 4, 2024 Syllabus make sure to get the required texts nov 22 paper due date = more comments, chances for revision/write on another topic dec 6 paper due date = less comments, no chance for rewrites Notes pay attention to slides with paintings/sculptures – tested ○ everything in lecture is tested Sep 6, 2024 Intro: What is Classical Myth? (Lecture 1) → QUIZ #1 1] Intro -- Today's lecture is mostly about establishing parameters for the course, explaining what is and is not the object of study -- Also want to talk about a few basic cultural-background things 2] Geography and Chronology -- We're talking here about how mythology operated during a particular cultural unity that we can call "Greco-Roman antiquity," this periodization used in other fields too: -- From about 1000 BCE to about 500 CE, although almost everything we'll be looking at comes from about 750 CE (Homer) to 200 CE (Lucian) -- Geographically we're talking about Greece expanding later in the course into the whole Mediterranean world -- Dividing line between "Greek" and "Roman" can be fuzzy largely invented by people used for art, literature, and history ○ *be familiar with the order of the timeline should be aware of the general timeline (no need for specific dates, but should be aware of the order of the periods location will vary ○ Greek: specific to the Greek world (it was a relatively small world, grew over time) Greeks were colonial people, who expanded to many areas in the Mediterranean -- Several unifying factors to this period, prevalence of Greek myth is an important one but not only one, also several key points of development: -- From localized Greek to Hellenistic to Roman, broadening at every step as aspects of Greek culture are adopted by others  -- From lesser to greater sophistication, from a subsistence-agricultural society to one with large urban elite (though also lots of subsistence agriculture) -- From oral poetry to written literature (prose and poetry) that is part of a very self-conscious tradition referring back to the earlier stuff at this time, Rome was with greater sophistication Homer is a different poet, didn’t have much literacy ○ he composed poems more for fun, for traditions Ovid was very conscious of the writing traditions ○ his works were spread throughout ○ very hugely complex differences of the myths ○ he knew all the details, all the weird mythological facts mythology is a very conscious tradition 3] What Is Myth in General and What Are Greek Myths? -- Functional definition of a set of traditional, collectively important stories about the imagined distant past, typically involving gods or exceptional human beings: -- Traditional means that it's existed in a given culture as long as anyone can remember and isn't attached to any one author (legends, folktales) -- "Stories" is strangely difficult concept, myths are outlines that are turned into real narratives through cultural forms (art, literature, performance) -- Collective importance means that they are widely known within the culture, and are used to talk about a wide range of topics, explain phenomena myths are stories that people use to explain the phenomena in their culture, used to create connections you rely on the people to get the reference (ex; the person is like Hercules, you shouldn’t have to explain to them that Hercules is big and strong) myths are used to explain nature phenomena (ex; why there are seasons, why animals behave as they do, why crops grow during certain seasons) many theorizations of it the functional definition of a myth typically involves Gods or exceptional human beings ○ existed in a given culture for a long time ○ nobody invents a myth ○ it should have already existed (esp. within the culture of the people) and the authors are just giving their own versions; they don’t own the idea of myth this separates myth from important literature -- Greco-Roman myth is a set of such stories that were current in the Greek world from before 1000 BCE and in the rest of the Mediterranean world in later periods: -- Exact origins don't concern us too much here; as in any culture, there are influences from a lot of different places (Indo-European, Near East) -- People often think of myths as possible stories or explanations and can interact with lots of them from different cultures without "believing in" one exclusively -- Roman Empire esp. is a multi-cultural, multi-layered environment not everyone believes in myths though, since they are always exchanged and overlap  each culture has a different version/belief of the myths -- These myths concern a relatively small set of gods and a very extensive set of human heroic figures -- Greek myth less notable for complexity of divine myth or for variety of wild folktale elements, but heroic myth is uniquely rich and prevalent Greeks focused on 12 Gods and a few minor ones but focused more on exceptional humans Greek mythology is more oriented towards human beings -- Aren't nearly as concerned as some myth systems with upholding a given moral code or ideology not a lot of talking objects, plays in the natural world in Greek mythology Greek mythology mostly focuses on Gods with humanistic charactersistic interacting with heroic human beings -- Greek myth very early on gets adopted and assimilated by cultures all over Italy, serves similar role in Roman art and literature to Greek -- Continues on into modern culture as part of the heritage from GR world 4] Ways of Studying Mythology -- Since pretty much all cultures seem to have some set of stories that function in the way I've described, people are anxious to find commonalities across these cultural lines: -- This is more something anthropologists and psychologists are into than classical-studies types like me -- Important to realize myth systems are interestingly different as well as interestingly similar, not just variants on same template -- There are lots of different ways that myths can be used to understand the way human cultures work, though none of them really covers all mythology too well (no one "real meaning"): -- Evidence of worldview, how people explain natural phenomena and so forth -- How cultures explain their own specific practices and institutions -- Religious dimension, how cultures interact with the divine -- Expression of psychological fundamentals (Freud etc.) -- How cultures negotiate key cultural structures of opposition (Levi-Strauss etc.) -- Figurative readings and creative appropriation (often in modern literature) there are mythical explanations for the Olympic games -- Myth of Alcyone and Ceyx as told by Ovid (p. 262-271) is one of my favorites: minor characters -- Husband Ceyx leaves loving wife to attend to feud business, killed in shipwreck, lots about separation and longing for reunion -- Nice detail that she's related to Aeolus, king of the winds, prays to gods uselessly until they finally give in  -- Lovely final scene with bird metamorphosis -- Part of larger saga, characterization of gods, explanation of natural phenomenon just incidentally last thought when he was dying was him thinking of his wife his wife tried begging the Gods to bring back her husband but the Gods got annoyed ○ however, Hera gave up in the end and ended up allowing both Alcyone and Ceyx to turn into birds Sep 9, 2024 Myth, Religion, Culture (Lecture 2) 1] Intro -- Before proceeding to actual mythological material, want to look at how people relate myth to actual religious practice and other aspects of their lives -- Also start looking at cultural applications of myth, esp. art and literature 2] Myth and Ancient Religion -- For our purposes, people in the Greco-Roman (GR) world are polytheistic with not much centralized structure or ideological unity to their religious beliefs or practices: -- Not as concerned with morality or the afterlife, nor with theological explanations of the universe -- Heavily concerned with influencing gods' attitude toward humans in the here and now, usually through prayer and ritual (sacrifice) -- Very diverse from city to city, each has its own prominent cults (Artemis Orthia at Sparta, Hera at Argos, Poseidon at Corinth) there are moral taboos that Gods don’t like ○ more concerned about how human beings behave with them rather than how humans act with one another animal sacrifice different cities in the Greek world have different Gods they place more worship on ○ they all acknowledge the 12 Gods but they have other Gods that they centre around (basically a cult-like following ○ different Gods are worshiped in different degrees ex; Argos = Hera Artemis = Sparta Poseidon = Corinth -- Mythology is less exclusively associated with religion than is the case in modern monotheistic religions: -- People incorporate myth into many aspects of their lives that don't seem to have to do with the gods, is this secularizing the myth or sacralizing everyday life? -- Common frame of reference from people all over the Greek world who will have very different cult practices religion = actual interaction with the Gods mythology = telling stories about the Gods ○ the two are different ○ therefore, don’t always assume that all stories about the Gods have religious beliefs, but don’t also assume that religion can’t interplay ex; if stories were told in theather or stories mocking the gods = definitely not religiously practiced -- Myth still associated with ritual in several key contexts: -- As insight into nature of gods that one is worshipping -- As explanation of how or why a given ritual should take place -- By being formally told, enacted or depicted in the course of cult activity, or in cult buildings -- Religious knowledge and lore incorporated into the same poetry as myth (descriptions of sacrifice etc.) -- Issues arise around truth-value of mythological knowledge about gods, how poets or anyone else knows this, analogous but different to modern questions of historicity: -- Homer and Hesiod claim to be inspired by Muses, this isn't knowledge one can obtain by normal means -- There are always skeptics, by 6c BCE some people questioning whether gods are knowable or anthropomorphic gods make sense (Xenophanes) Muses are the ones who sing about the Gods to humans (usually thought to be beneficial, gives humans arts and stories, etc.) (not really harmful to humans, but can you believe their stories?) People start to question whether you can really know about the Gods the way Homer claims ○ Are they just human beings sitting in heaven more powerful than us? ○ Xenophanes start to claim that we worship Gods only because they look/act like us (we built the ideology) “if cows were to worship Gods, they’d be worshipping someone who looked like cows” however, no one really paid any attention to Xenophanes claims -- This is part of a wider re-evaluation of received cultural wisdom, not really akin to modern rationalism or materialist atheism -- Philosophers often think in terms of more abstract and elevated divine powers, uncomfortable with human-like imperfections -- Later philosophical critiques (Euhemerus, Epicurus 3c BCE) -- Christians also will eventually use myths for satirical purposes 3] Greco-Roman Myth through its Cultural Products -- Important distinction for the rest of the course between myths in themselves and the cultural products that embody them: -- A myth is a framework, a set of connected statements that we cannot have direct access to except in a given cultural context; someone has to tell the story no direct access to what a myth is, always deviated to a context told through stories/narratives ○ somebody is always telling the story, the actual myth hidden behind these is very hard to obtain -- I'm going to make sure you know the framework, but in many ways the cultural products are the most interesting part: -- Literature, esp. epic and tragic poetry -- Also visual artistic representations of all different kinds types of media that have survived are: ○ structrures (more marble than bronze) ○ mosaics (made out of coloured glass tiles) ○ ceramics (lasts forever, can’t reuse it, doesn’t burn, if it cracks can just stick together) *oil paintings = 95% of the time are from 1500s (don’t have oil paintings in greek mythology, except for a few exceptions)  -- Lots of other cultural practices, sub-literary texts etc. there are versions of our fairytales, stories that may have been lost but told for generations -- These have different social statuses, but none is authoritatively "the myth" -- Varying relationships to religious belief (Homer, Hymns vs. Ovid, Lucian) various media have their own social status ○ different prestiges: tragedy = more prestige mockery/humoristic = more streetview but just becaus they have different prestige, doesn’t mean that one is the true version of the myth -- Important to establish some things about the relationship between myths themselves and the literary and artistic forms in which we encounter them: there is no authoritative version, there are many different versions in myth ○ it’s a form of showing creativity ○ on the other hand, there are still rules to it, you have to follow these rules -- Perhaps best seen as a universe of characters and plots that authors use literary means to flesh out and give meaning to -- Analogies with fantasy and sci-fi -- Ancient sources treat this as a historical reality to which art gives access -- There is no one authoritative version from which authors deviate, although some variants are more common/standard than others -- There are certain things that all tellings of a given myth will have in common: -- Genealogies (mostly), elementary relationships, basic structure of events mostly set, but there are still variations within them ○ family dynamics can change (different fathers in different versions) -- Certain things you can't do (no version where Trojans win war) (no version where Achilles live on Earth) certain things have to be consistent, can’t just be making things up ○ elementary relationships have to stay the same ○ family relationships can be different ex; Zeus is always married to Hera, Hera always the enemy to Zeus’ other childrens Trojan always fighting the Greeks -- Also common sources of variation: -- Sometimes different names for same character, sometimes family relationships vary can have different names but the same characters (variations) ○ Dione and Zeus = Aphrodite alternative (more popular): Aphrodite emerged from the sea from a cloud of foam in this version, it suggests that Aphrodite came before Zeus -- Often one event will stay the same but there will variations about its causes or consequences -- These develop over time, earlier poets don't always know details (Achilles vulnerable)  become more complicated and acquire more variants over time (people filling in the gaps) ○ Achilles there’s a backstory where his mom dipped him in the water holding him by the heel in the river Homer: Achilles is not invulnerable, he can be wounded but no one can just physically beat him -- Sometimes people will try to reconcile variants or inconsistencies (Neoptolemus) different versions don’t create differences in religious beliefs ○ people consider both versions of Aphrodite’s upbringing ○ people did attempt to come up with explanations on inconsistencies (reconcile) ex; there are two versions of Aphrodite -- Creativity comes in terms of plot details and characterization: -- Can add new elements (Euripides' Medea; did Helen go to Troy?) to give a lot of backstories to things reverse things but the rest of the plot still works ○ ex; Medea her children died many arguments on how the children died and why they died (there are cults dedicated to the children Helen there are versions where Helen was not actually in Troy; a fake/ghost Helen was there instead ○ however, no version where the Trojan war never happened or they won -- Can re-interpret key characters (Odysseus from epic to tragedy) Achilles is always brave Odysseus is always smart ○ his different versions could be: smart and good smart and bad in tragedy, he’s always bad, he usually lies to people ○ his changes showcases the changes in social values Sep 11, 2024 Myth, Culture, and Literature (Lecture 3) 1] Intro -- Talked last time about conceptual generalities, now want to get more concrete about the kinds of literature we're dealing with -- Overview, then specific authors 2] Literature and Authors for This Course -- The literary heritage of GRA (Greco-Roman Antiquity) makes it unique among ancient civilizations:  Antiquity: certain kind of poetry, written in some type of metre, usually creates heroic myth ○ Ovid writes in this genre Epic: recited in some kind of performance (by Homer), but it’s also something people read; written throughout antiquity Tragedy: genre usually recounts heroic mythology in a different scale; usually shorter plays that were performed in public (1-2h, 50-80 pages) Didactic (Hesiod): instructional, supposed to teach about something -- Mythological material of one kind or another survives all sorts of genres: -- Epic poetry recounting heroic myths (Homer, also Ovid in his way) -- Tragedy doing the same on a different scale (Euripides, also Aeschylus, Sophocles) -- Hymns used (or looking like they were used) in cult activities -- Scholarly literature listing obscure mythological data for its own sake (Apollodorus) -- Comic plays and other works parodying mythology (Aristophanes, Plautus, also then Lucian) -- Other genres that mention myth in passing (history, philosophy) Seneca (mid 1c CE): writes tragedies in Latin Argonautica (early 200s): epic poet from antiquity Virgil (late 1c BCE): older contemporary of Ovid, writes tragedies in Latin Aeneid: wrote a poem about Aeneas (moves to Italy, becomes ancestor of Romans) (character in Trojan) -- Surviving ancient literature is a small fraction of what existed in antiquity, though the authors we have tend to be the more popular and important ones: -- Manuscript survival etc our sources of something are still relatively new -- Also large amounts of mythological fabric that never really made it into the literary canon and is irretrievably lost (esp. local mythology as opposed to Panhellenic) -- Hesiod is one of our earliest Greek poets (lived during ~700s) (the other is Homer), a basically oral poet from Boeotia in central Greece who lived in late 8c (probably) and is credited with two poems: -- Theogony ("Origin of the Gods"), a poem that details the creation of the universe and the origin of the current set of gods, order from chaos; supposed to teach about the origin of the universe; origin of the current Gods; it’s a didactic poem -- Synthesis of lots of different stories from different cultures not always consistent with each other; not consistent with itself; not consistent with Homer or different beliefs -- Works and Days, a sort of meditation on agriculture and human effort origins of humanities; didactic poem; teaches about agriculture; all about how if you work hard, the universe will help you and reward you but it also may not -- We know nothing concrete about him except what he says about himself in the poems, and you can't always believe that (Perses a real person?) Hesiod lived more in agriculture dominant world ○ therefore creates different world views between him and Ovid -- Homeric Hymns from later in the archaic period, maybe 6c; credited in antiquity to same person as Iliad and Odyssey, but that's not generally believed now: -- No idea who actual authors were, can only guess at performance context  -- Elaborate naming of god and listing of attributes, request for god's favor -- If narrative myth is included, it's as an explanation of some of the god's attributes or why this god should help you in your particular situation -- Ovid (more for a private read) (lives in a world with a lot of matrializtic values) is an Augustan Latin poet who lives centuries later in a very different world: -- Building on a much more developed literary culture, more self-conscious of poetry as separate from performative functions -- Part of a materially sophisticated world-empire as opposed to the rather materially simple world of archaic city-states -- Wrote lots of love poetry, much of it with mythological content, ex. Heroides, also poetic account of religious festival calendar (Fasti) -- Exile story -- Main work we'll be studying is the Metamorphoses: -- 15-book "epic," actually series of mythological vignettes all involving some mythical character turning into something else -- Connected through continuous narrative from creation to own time links the stories all involved with human beings turning into something else -- Notable for versatility and virtuosity, but also for having lots and lots of obscure details and being the fullest literary version of lots of myths Quizzes covered in lecture things in readings not designed to be difficult Quiz 1] everything before monday’s content (sept. 16) review lecture outlines and visuals (lecture materials are better guides!) skim on the readings significant names are important + general concepts/ideas Sep 13, 2024 Creation and The Titans (Lecture 4) 1] Intro -- Going to look at Hesiod's (and Ovid's) account of the creation of the universe: -- Initial stages under earlier gods -- Coming of the Olympians, who exist in our own time 2] Creation Myths and Hesiod -- Obviously, one of the main things lots of mythological systems do is explain creation of the universe (cosmogony), but there are lots of different ways to do it: how the universe came into existence? ○ cosmogony: the cosmos is the order of the universe cultures in account of how the universe currently exists, state state description the universe coming into being, a dynamic process hesiod’s poem → theogony = how the gods came into existence  -- What existed before? did the universe come from nothing? is there a pattern that our universe is a part of? multiverse? multiple worlds in which our universe fits in? -- What is role of humans and gods in process? is there a God that created everything? were human beings created the same time as everything else? is the universe an intentional product? was our universe organically made or spontaneously created? belief systems? (ex; christianity) ○ not all belief systems are like that ○ they have Gods but not imagining that Gods made the universe for a reason -- What is the "ethical trajectory" of the story? what the progress from whatever existed before and now ○ is it a happy or bad story? ○ was the previous state of thing before better now or bad? ○ do we have an ordered world now? ○ maybe creation didn’t happen correctly? -- Hesiod's poem reaches its current form about 700 BCE, comes out of a setting where lots of different stories will have been current: an attempt to answer these questions in the context of greek mythology ○ do not think of it as the traditional story that existed in Greek culture of the origin of the universe ○ creation myths are stories that largely has been written down by modern/western anthropologists but seen as inherit to other people collective story that particular people has believed since time in memorial, going back to ancestors, and so on so integrated into culture that nobody knows the origin of it a poem bt one person who identifies himself and takes a lot of material from different cultural sources ○ Greek, Indo-European sources, Syria, Iraq, etc.; Hesiod brings it together into one version -- Prologue gives you idea what he thinks he's doing and what the point of it is -- Clearly influenced by Near Eastern accounts and so forth, perhaps best seen as grafting these on to stories of existing Indo-European deities -- Difficult to say that this is what "the Greeks" believe about Creation Zeus and the Muses the purpose of mythology and its culture, origin of the universe ○ Hesiod gives the backstory -- Consistency is not a big priority; also not narrative clarity, since everything is based on genealogy -- Important to realize that single consistent interpretation of creation is not as important to Greek as to some belief systems  -- Not used in the same ceremonial or explanatory contexts -- Still, Hesiod clearly has in mind a chaos-to-order progression Titans = chaos agents Zeus = brings order and justice to the world -- Ovid has a very different version but same progression natural science explanation of the universe “a god” but anonymous, no objective, no personality → takes chaos and undivide mass and no stable order = brings all ot this into order, light stuff at the top and heavy stuff at the bottom ○ makes it into a sphere, places sky there, water there ○ creates climatic zones no individual characters. no real narrative beyond these physical processes at the end, there is a neat ordered world in which eventually takes place in Ovid’s stories//poem natural philosophy important to Ovid that the universe settled into an orderly form thought of as a spherical world due to mathematical calculations, circular shadows, and a geocentric model of the universe BUT they didn’t know the world was round 3] Hesiod's Creation and Succession -- Initial creation is not the world's most exciting event: -- Personifications of Chasm and Night etc. are very shadowy, scarcely characters at all; early introduction of Eros is important to become, came into existence chasm: west translation of the Greek word for “chaos”, uses this word to refer to a hole in the universe where things come out of ○ Tartarus: this being, recess, a palace underneath the Earth, a personification of a place it is not a personality/character but it’s introduced as a character ○ Eros: love and desire and reproductive a force that allows beings to create other beings the abstract force that allow the physical action of sex turn into a creative act -- Note that no god is consciously responsible for creation, and human beings are not in fact present -- First generation consists of Gē/Earth and her immediate progeny, both from herself and from Uranus, the Sky: -- Sky-Earth couple is in lots of creation mythologies (usually in this gender 2 configuration, except Egyptians), order of emergence is notable Sky and Earth are imagined as couple ○ Sky = male ○ Earth = female agriculture fertility, establishes an order on the universe in which somehow heavenly things are given high status in a patriarchal world (male) Hesiod: ○ Heaven = Uranus (Ouranos)  -- A lot of these are personifications of abstract concepts, they don't have a real personality or myths, it's more about Hesiod relating concepts to each other -- Three distinct races of beings from Uranus, Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers will have relatively minor role “Koiois and Kreios”: first generation of personified Gods that rules over the universe with a kind that has personalities ○ story of how Kronos castrated his father with a stone sickled and how Earth helped Kronos -- Titans and their revolt produces some pretty distinctive characters, many of whom will have a role in the next generation (Succession Myth, Enuma Elish): -- Titans don't have much independent mythology, but collectively often symbolize power without the restraint of law (stage in chaos-to-order) in the sense that not a lot happens in the Age of Titans Hesiod gives it his own spin -- Cronus repeats pattern of his father suppressing his own offspring, each generation fears the next He doesn't allow them to be born in fear of them overthrowing him Teaming up with their mother (earth) and they castrate Cronus He's gonna prevent them from growing up = eating them Powerful image -- Zeus repeats pattern of successful revolt, but on much larger scale with assist from Prometheus and Hundred-Handers in mythology, a lot of people trick each other ○ but the thing is, it’s very easy to trick the Greek Gods (they’re not very smart) ex; they think a rock is a child ○ by Kronos eating the rock, Zeua was allowed to grow up (Earth gives birth in a cave) Kronos eventually ends up throwing up (puking out Zeus’ siblings such as Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, etc.) Uranus + Gaia = Titans, Cyclopes (makes thunder, where Zeus gets his weapon), Hundred Handeus? ○ Uranus locked this people underground (in Tartarus) ○ After Zeus frees them, they give him powers (he is then able to defeat Kronos and lock him up) -- Hesiod sees this as the victory of justice and order over chaos and tyrannical power, analogous to his vision of human ethics. Imposes a lawful order on human society and he projects it onto the Gods Gaia doesn't want to be under this order  -- Will need to defend self against further threats in later generations: -- Typhoeus (Typhon) (serpent/reptilian monster, created by the Earth to overthrow Zeus’ order) and Echidna (female counterpart of Typhoeus) (a duck porcupine? → anteater, a mother to many monsters that gods will fight later on) Zeus defeats Typhoeus, similar to the war with Titans (lots of thunderbolts everywhere) in many myths, Typhon is imagined to be imprisoned in a volcano ○ volcanic eruptions are thought to be a way of imposing Zeus’ order -- Giants (Gigantomachy) Gigantes = Giants. Just another name for them reptilian , associated with snakes They can pull up mountains and stack them on top of each other. ○ Ex. having number 3 mountain + number 2 mountain + number 1 mountain (adding on top of each other) and throwing them onto the gods. AKA Gigantomachy “omachy” = war of __ ○ ex; gigantomachy = war of the giants Represent the last efforts to overthrow Zeus → not successful Notable that Greek mythology doesn't have an endpoint/epileptic? Myth Cosmic order may be fragile = gods have to work together No developed idea how/when the current age will end Sep 16, 2024 Zeus and The New Order (Lecture 5) → QUIZ #2 1] Intro -- Now going to see how the current order of gods gets into place, as Zeus overthrows Titans -- Also going to look at some characteristics of Zeus personally 2] Establishing the New Order -- After defeating Titans, Zeus places self at head of new family of his siblings and descendants, all with different functions: after defeating the Titans, his new role was to rule – had to make sure history doesn't repeat itself (had to stop the cycle of overthrowing, had to create a stable universe) -- This brings an end to "Succession Myth," brings in steady-state universe -- Zeus eats Metis (first wife, her name means cunning and intelligence (positive)) in order to prevent succession he puts her inside him (that’s why he possesses her qualities) ○ after putting her inside him, “the goddess could advise him of what was good or bad” ○ when he consumed her, she was already pregnant with Athena (later one, Athena is born from Zeus’ head) -- This is not actually a huge part of subsequent myth, most action is later -- Twelve (actually fourteen) Olympian gods are highest rank of divine beings Names come from existing gods (greek names with equivalent Latin names)  They wanted to appropriate it for themselves Ovid uses the Roman translation (Zeus = Jupiter, etc.) *Eros is not part of the 12 Gods (he was thought of as a child) -- Roles connected to function -- This can lead to different names – image two generations of Olympian Gods ○ they do function as a family ○ Zeus and his siblings are first generation → permanently young adult women and mature adult men ○ Zeus’ children are to be the second generation first gen. = nature second gen. = human-oriented but this is overgeneralized always thought to be 12 (except there are technically 14) ○ Hades doesn’t technically count because he lives underground ○ Hestia doesn’t really count because she’s a very religious figure, does not generate mythological narrative/interests ○ Hermes and Dionysus have their own stories on how they became Olympian Gods therefore, when they came in, Hades and Hestia were counted out because they didn’t have an important role/story Dionysus has a human mother -- Assimilated into Roman culture through syncretism -- Myth same, but differences in cult and religious importance -- Roman/Latin names are sometimes names of Italian gods that are matched up sometimes just alternate Greek names (Pluto, Bacchus, Apollo) -- Imagined as living on Mt. Olympus in Greek version of aristocratic luxury. -- Hes. sees these as a basically just and lawful community, his version of Zeus is pretty serious and dignified. He doesn't have much depictions of the gods in olympus doing their thing Have this idea of muses singing gloriously Vaguely comic aspects on how the gods are portrayed common theme in Greek mythology is the unruly and proper-like actions of the Gods -- Other versions (sometimes Homer) portray a rather unruly family with Zeus presiding over a series of conflicts in somewhat comic fashion Has a vague satirical concept → shows jupiter having difficulty keeping his authority together -- This is the flip side of patriarchal power, rules undermined by those who enforce them  -- The contrast is less of a problem than you might think, except for philosophers on one hand, Zeus represents a patriarchal ruler, all-powerful on the other hand, he is known for his wrong decision-making, including sexual violence and cycles of violence in general ○ the order Zeus brought about seems fragile (he wants to end the cycle of overthrowing) -- Most of the Titans are locked in Tartarus after losing war with Zeus, but some second-generation types get a place in the new order. The cosmic phenomena are still thought of as omg i forgot remember ko mamaya teka (BAHAH0 -- Atlas holds up the sky, which is nice of him second generation titas (titas daw) -- Helios is the sun, has several mortal children of interest (Phaethon, 2 Circe) but still subordinate to Apollo Responsible for the sun and moon to some degree, does not overlap. Associated with a lot of things BUT helios and Selene will always be associated with the sun and the moon (that’s just what they are, nothing more) (aray) (selene iwanan mo na si helios) (theme song nila baby youre my sun and moon) Helios is imagined as someone who sees everything, but he can’t really do anything about it ○ known to have a son name Phaeoton gets his father to give him the “keys” for the sun he couldn’t control the sun, so Zeus struck Phaeton in the sky and he died they had a good father dynamic -- Eos the dawn has noted affair with Tithonus The dawn goddess (3 siblings, sun moon and dawn) Eos and Selene are imagined as goddesses who have affairs with mortal men → does not work out no matter the mortal … babalik ako mamaya here Imagined as falling in love with Tithonus and she pursues him They have an affair but she makes a wish for him to be immortal and Zeus agrees but she doesn't ask for him to remain young, he ages and turns into a grasshopper. Puts him into a box to keep him for jumping away -- Selene the moon has same with Endymion also falls in love with a young man also named Endymion ○ imagined to be shepherds (so they wake up really early and still see the moon selene realizes the age problem (so she asks for him to be young and therefore he sleeps for eternity) -- Leto, Mnemosyne and Themis become Zeus' wives, sort of Gets to be second status wife to Zeus  Not 100% clear how it works but Zeus spends time with them and have children who become important -- Prometheus and Epimetheus have a history with mankind, more later Prometheus: creation and development of the human race -- Cronus as Saturn does continue to receive cult in Rome, oddly associated with Golden Age, Saturnalia in Hesiod, Cronus goes straight down to Tartarus and we never see him again in Roman myth, he is known as Saturn ○ there are associations where Saturn is associated with the Golden Age ○ there's this idea where he was in charge with the Golden Age but this is only associated with Roman myth. 3] Zeus' Function and Worship -- Zeus is originally a sky-god, we can see linguistic links to other Indo-European civilization, seems also to acquire Near-Eastern weather functions: Responsible for when you look up the sky, weather functions -- Most visible symbols are weather and high places Poetic diction referring to the sky as Zeus “what is Zeus like today? Vs. what is the sky like today?” -- Story of dividing cosmos with Poseidon and Hades Dividing the cosmos and Zeus getting the most desirable and powerful part of it In Hesiod, Zeus is in charge of everything. A ruler from the start. When dividing the cosmos, it departs from Hesiod’s storyline -- More broadly speaking, Z.'s functions cover the entire natural order, which is his creation and which he acts to preserve: in artworks, Zeus was always represented as a broad man with a beard (represents full adult) ○ if you didn’t have a beard = youthful always had a lighting bolt = his weapon also was associated with an eagle (eagles known to fly high, “rulers of the sky”) *test question: shows images and asks which God is it based on attributes (ex; if you see lighting bolts and eagles = Zeus) -- Human rulers, customs and laws have his protection, if just Associate themselves with Zeus Human customs and laws assume they are protected by Zeus If there is a major violation of the order of the society, Zeus notices it -- Persons who are outside of the protection of human institutions can appeal to him directly (strangers, beggars, suppliants) pays attention to people outside of that order ○ most people in Greek society have Gods they associate to ex; weaving = associate themselves with Athena ○ if you’re outside of these trades (ex; beggars who really need protection, needs, etc), they are often thought of to have a direct access to Zeus if you don’t help them, you have angered Zeus  -- If pagan Greeks want to think in terms of a henotheistic universal god, then they give that function to Zeus Henotheistic: top god.. babalik ako mamaya here The other gods are pushed to the side -- Z. is recipient of all kinds of individual prayers, though surprising few Greek city cults: for each God, we discuss the visual attributes, religious worship, and personalities ○ biggest festival to Zeus is not based on one city, all of Greece participates in it -- Biggest festival is a Panhellenic one, the Olympic festival (temple in Athens) -- Roman state cult of Jupiter Optimus Maximus is a different business the difference between Greece and Rome doesn’t really affect mythology Sep 18, 2024 Zeus and Hera (Lecture 6) 1] Intro -- Having gotten a sense of Zeus' place in the order of the universe and personality, we can look at some of the myth associated with him -- We can also consider some of the women in his life most of whom (with the exception of Hera) really don't want him in their lives 2] Hera -- Chief female deity of Greek pantheon, Zeus' sister and highest-status wife: Queen of the gods Mythology doesn't gloss over the fact Hera is Zeus’ sister ○ Sets them apart with human society (ex. Incest taboos) -- Some aspects of her cult indicate an original earth-goddess function, with corresponding idea of marriage with sky bringing fertility (a metaphor for sexuality) back then she had some “Earth Goddess” ○ not a major function of Hera, it is more towards Demeter who has that function ○ Hera’s role is mostly the consort/wife of Zeus, as well as a mother -- Mother of several children by Zeus, though none of them terribly high-status: Although, none of them are terribly high status -- Ares, Hephaestus (perhaps w/o Zeus), Hebe, Eileithyia Ares and hephaestus are not olympian gods. ○ They are low ranking/status, not respected Apollo and Athena has more status and a role which is an issue for Hera ○ Hera has a paradoxical idea that on one hand she is the goddess of marriage and motherhood But on the other hand, she's imaging what a good wife should be and believes she doesn't measure up to the standard Hebe = symbolizes youth Eileithyia = Goddess of childbirth -- Principally symbolizes female forms of authority corresponding to Zeus' masculine functions, so esp. looks out for marriage and childbirth Zeus = male head, patriarch Hera = corresponding to the female role, highest status of a mother  ○ especially looks out for marriage and childbirth women esp. look up to her during marriage and child-birth, asks for guidance about their family life -- Thought of as attractive young adult woman (cow-eyes and white arms), often accompanied by peacock Goddesses don't age above 20 Hera is imagined to be an attractive and sexually desired woman (by zeus and other people) Curious … ? calls her the “white arm goddess” = common greek thing. Beauty is associated with pale skin Referred to as “cow eyes” = frequently compares beautiful women to horses and cows Often accompanied by a peacock Hera doesn’t really do much in Greek mythology ○ however, she still does her role: protection of her marriage with Zeus → jealousy (her constant fights against Zeus’ mistresses) enemy of the Trojan War, always on the sides of the Greeks (obtains a vindictive/villainous image) has a bad rep. ○ but still obtains a lot of temples (a lot in Sicily) her temples are associated with family -- Not actually that much mythology independent of Zeus, though recipient of important cults at Argos and Samos, also in Sicily: -- Appears in Homer and Virgil as resolute enemy of the Trojans -- Persecuting villain in myths involving Zeus' children by other women 5] Zeus' Marriage and Extramarital Activities -- This is the first of many parts of this course that will deal with sexual violence, reasons to deal with material (other than that it's there): social realities differ ○ responses (the actions and physical violence) from societies changes to a degree -- Important to realize that these are various kinds of assault and rape, not to pretend otherwise -- Understand how cultures process sexual violence in ways that erase or enable or manage it -- Disguise it as romance, humor, also figuring experiences of survivors there’s going to be parts of Ovid that will make you laugh but it’s actually something serious ○ that’s just how the literature works -- In ancient literature sexual violence is generally recognized but normalized as part of unequal power relationship, low valuation of disempowered persons: texts don’t really claim that Zeus has consensual sex with the women, but it does normalize it ○ it’s part of a low evaluation of disempowered persons high-status person = they have the right to treat you as less human (esp. regarding you body)  exploiter (usually a man) are usually of higher status and the exploited (usually women) are usually enslaved treated from different perspectives ○ there are texts written by men the reflect a wide variety of empathetic emotions ○ while there is a wide range, there is no recognition that the world does not revolve around men men’s world includes sexual desire and the natural urge for domination, violence included -- Women's pain and fear recognized, but mostly from perspective of male voyeurism and domination-fantasy -- What can we do with more seemingly empathetic presentations? -- Men's actions seen as part of natural sexual desire of male in a dominant role, violence potentially included these actions are not just from the past, it still happens today ○ there many be better responses to it and better ways of denormalizing it, but it still does happen -- This still goes on, recognize it in your own culture -- Myths can be reappropriated or reunderstood from reverse perspective -- Léda Davies' Persephone Bound -- Odd paradox that Z. is this often rather impersonal figure of cosmic order and justice, but when fully anthropomorphized, he's not exactly dignified: Hesiod’s version of Z. = a normal “God”, but we don’t see/read about his normal life -- Marriage to Hera portrayed in highly stereotypical terms, has several other goddesses as wives (actual Greek society is not polygamous in this way) their marriage is portrayed as very stereotypically most of Z. wives are second-generation Titans *chart should also include Maia (Mother of Hermes) their affair is less important? any physical sex with a God always ends badly (esp. with Z.) ○ but they do produce a lot of children who become important later on Hera and Zeus are still together despite what Zeus does ○ Hera is imagined as a sexually attractive woman there was a time where Hera wanted to distract Zeus (In the IIliad, Hera wanted to distract Zeus because he wanted the Trojans to win, but Hera hated the Trojans so she wanted to distract him)  therefore, she goes to Aphrodite and borrows Ero and puts on some type of 😭 lingerie ○ and it doesn’t take Zeus much to get going -- Lots of liaisons with mortal women, which always end badly for the women but tend to produce lots of children who become figures of heroic myth -- Also some male-male liasons -- Ethical contradiction was noticed in antiquity, though only in terms of Zeus' lack of dignity, not for sake of women involved -- Lucian shows how you can make fun of this -- Zeus' "affairs" show a consistent pattern in which Z. turns into something or someone in order to "seduce" a woman, who becomes pregnant and is persecuted by Hera: Z. never visits a woman as himself ○ he always has to turn himself into something else (he does this to seduce a woman) ○ the woman always gets pregnant (always typically a boy) ○ his sexual desires usually drive his “love” for women when that boy grows up, they are usually heroes (they are not mortals but they don’t have powers) however, both the woman and the child will be persecuted/tormented by Hera Hera is not interested in moral responsibilities -- Cloud for Io, details in Ovid: Io is assaulted by Z. Ovid starts the story indirectly ○ Jove = Jupiter = Zeus ○ Juno = Hera ○ Ovid changes point of views Z. acts very egotistical (she is worthy of his love) ○ he starts showing off then Io runs off however, Z. does not bother to chase her, instead, he makes a cloud chamber (covers the world in darkness) then he assaults her Hera looks around and suddenly sees a dark cloud (she finds this suspicious because it is a sunny day) ○ she’s concerned about her status (Z. committing adultery is an insult to her status) ○ she comes down from Heaven and Z. senses her coming so he transforms Io into a cow they start negotiating about the cow and Juno puts Z. into a corner and Z. has to give her the cow Hera then imprisons Io  Ovid imagines Io in cow form trying to talk about her experience ○ her friends don’t recognize her, she has no way of communicating it kind of symbolizes someone who’s experiences sexual violence (they can’t speak up about it, they don’t see the world the same [they feel they don’t fit in anymore], they feel silenced) Ovid thinks of Io’s experience as a social injustice this type of story shows the world where Ovid grew up in Io does have a happy ending ○ she gets turned back into a human ○ her child becomes the ruler of Egypt -- Everyone else's story until the end -- Comic doofusy Zeus, Hera all jealous -- Io is silenced, alienated from her world and that's the part of the experience Ovid gives us the many ways Zeus has turned into: -- Bull for Europa Europa is a princess ○ she decides that hopping on a bull was a good idea so then they do their act gives birth to the three judges of the Underworld (Cretans) -- Swan for Leda Leda royal family of Sparta ○ she is imagined as laying eggs one of these eggs include Helen of Troy (kind of the prologue for the Trojan War) -- Shower for Danae Persioses is born -- Satyr for Antiope gave birth to the royal family of thieves -- Husband for Alcmene she thinks she’s having sex with her husband but it was actually Z. ○ the real husband shows up two days later which ;eaves her confuse she births twins Z. = Hercules the other is her husband’s -- Self for Semele (not a good idea) she is burned by Z.’s radiance? -- Artemis for Callisto (ick) in order to have sex with Artemis’ friends ○ he turns himself as his own daufhter and uses it as a form of intimacy  ○ Callisto gets turned into a bear she births bears who turn into constellations -- Eagle for Ganymede (special case on many levels) he is a prince of troy (the only male Z. interacted with) ○ he is a target of sexual violence ○ he is taken into Olympus and given the job as a cup bearer we don’t know how Hera feels about it (he doesn’t get persecuted like the other women) takeaways: ○ Z. gets whatever he wants ○ portrays the gender differences → injustice Sep 23, 2024 Hestia and Demeter (Lecture 7) 1] Intro -- Zeus has two sisters, one much more mythologically interesting than the other -- HH to Demeter is great example of how many things one myth can do 2] Hestia -- Hestia is good example of how religious significance does not necessarily correlate with mythological importance: she has almost 0 mythological importance ○ but there is still a lot of devotion to her -- Sister of Zeus, never marries, tends hearth assumed to be a virgin permanently, no relationship to sexuality she has one job: tend the hearth of Olympus (basically a fireplace) ○ as long as the fire was going = the family was still functioning ○ her job was to make sure the fire kept going ○ her personality is someone who does an important job (and you don’t notice it being done, but you will notice when it is not done) basically, she does not leave Olympus ○ there is a temple of her that includes the Vestel Virgins their job was to keep the fire going they were taken in as children and died tending the fire -- Associated with an important cultural institution, receives prayers and so forth, (esp. in Roman contexts, Vestal virgins) but no mythology to speak of readings talk about her in a domestic context ○ slayer of Argus = Hermes he’s also another God that doesn’t have that much mythological significance, but still has a lot of domestic influence 3] Demeter -- Demeter and daughter Persephone (aka Kore, "the young girl") are primary agricultural deities of the Greek Pantheon:  Homeric hymns : referred to as Deo and her roman name: ceres -- Agriculture seen as a skill that primitive human beings lacked but acquired through the generosity of Demeter Responsible specifically for the fertility of the earth, human skills and effort necessary to turn fertility to crops that they can eat Thought of as a skill that separate-ish (distinct) human beings from everybody else Human beings had to acquire this skill = got it from Demeter -- Connected with civilization and lawful existence more generally, D. sometimes has epithet of thesmophoros (law-bringer) Demeter = an order god (good way) Epithet = worship = writing prayers to give to a God, call them a lot of alternative names. The more names and complex, the better She liked the name “thesmophoros” (law-bringer) because it brought the meaning of a community that has rules and norms and ways or ordered living that we adhered to is something Demeter looks out for Her role matches her personality -- Personality fundamentally benign and beneficent, doesn't favor particular cities or fight in wars Demeter is well disposed towards human beings and allows agricultural to happen without making a big fuss but human beings have to pray often Does not fight in wars, hardly mentioned in homeric myth = she’s a neural party for all human beings and doesn't want to favor one side over the other Is not associated with any life partners (except for Zeus) but her personality is heavily related to her daughter = a mother without being anybody’s wife ○ When she’s being worshiped, it comes with Persephone (Persophone is nothing without Demeter) (they’re a packaged deal) Hera and Demeter (at least in sculptures) looks very similar and hard to differentiate Demeter is associated with agriculture (when she holds agricultural symbols, you know that it’s her) ○ grain, fruits and vegetables are associated with her ○ staff = associated with many of the Goddesses -- Has several important cults and festivals: --Thesmophoria in autumn is a women's ritual to ensure fertility of newly planted crops, celebrated all over Greek world fertility ritual that happens in autumn (each city has a different way of celebrating it, but it always at the same time) ○ happens in autumn because that’s when grains are planted (then they grow in spring) ○ a ritual associated with women (typically married women) they get together and leave the city to go to a rural district women could form a community that had its own structure women in Greece typically are associated as being housewives and staying at home, however, the Thesmophoria gives an exception to that --Eleusinian Mysteries are a located specifically in a city south of Athens -- Mystery religions as secret rituals promising better afterlife “Secret ritual” only some people were initiated into it and can participate into it. Important in the ancient world A lot of people involved (the athenians, he only named one TT) Demeter settles in ?? and homeric hymns functions as a foundation story  Claims to offer a better afterlife to those who were initiated into the ritual = an explanation of what happens to you when you die “Victory over death”, overcoming death, coming back to life = these myths are deployed into religious context by cults with some variation of the afterlife Aetiology: myth that explains why something is something in the world today (specific human institutions or a natural phenomenon) ○ Ex; it explains the seasons we have today (why nothing grows in the winter) Etymology: explanation of a word (why a word looks the way it does) ○ Ex. apollo killing a snake = the snake’s flesh rotted (teka let me go back to this mamaya) -- Homeric hymns from later in the archaic period, maybe 6c; credited in antiquity to same person as Illiad and Odyssey, but that's not generally believed now -- no idea who the actual authors were, can only guess in performance context -- elaborate naming of God and listing of attributes, request for God’s favor List geographical places with accordance of the Gods -- if narrative myth is included, its as an explanation of some of the god’s attributes of why this god should help you in your particular situation in the case of Demeter, the narrative is associated with Elusis?? BAHAH okok 4] Demeter Mythology and the Homeric Hymn -- Basic story of Persephone and Hades seems like a fairly straightforward explanation of-natural-phenomena myth, Homeric Hymn does a lot with it: Why does agricultural fertility only happen in two seasons? It’s because Demeter is with her daughter at those times = she is happy but when she’s not with her daughter = agricultural fertility does not happen -- Vivid description of a particularly striking scene of kidnapping of Persophone -- Both mother and daughter objects of pathos in a situation that's less unrealistic than one might suppose Persophone admires a flower, then all of a sudden the Earth opens in front of her and Hades appears and takes her ○ showcases her helplessness the hymn concentrates a lot on the emotions of the daughter and her mother ○ this is a world where young girls are married off to (without their consent) ○ adult men often make these decisions themselves (without consultation of their daughters or wives) incest ancient taboos did exist but an exception was that daughters were permitted to marry their father’s brothers (uncles) ○ however, it was not allowed if the brother came from the mother’s side -- Lots of recurring motifs in visit of god to earth: Demeter doesn't know what happens, talks to a goddess … who tells her where she last saw her. Runs into Helios? who tells her that Hades took her -- Disguised as stranger or marginal figure, though still somewhat recognizable  Incognito Male = shepherds, herding people marginalized in society? Female = enslaved women and ancient women in a society that has deep prejudices against the ancient and in particular, has the idea that women who are no longer of age to bear women are useless (?) They don't know what to do with these women Gods are still recognizable Ex. when Demeter disguised herself as a servant for someones house (brb ako dito gusto ko ienjoy story muna) ○ Sexual humor is part of this story (Iambe cheering up Demeter, she’s a girls girl) -- Partial epiphany (somewhat humorous), lots of play with the incongruity there were already questions on who Persophone was going to marry (Gods believed that Hades was already the best choice) ○ it was not like they were going to marry her off to a human ○ basically the choice was Hades or no one Sep 25, 2024 -- Visit provides foundational myth for the Eleusinian Mysteries: -- Demophoon introduces theme of immortality, human limits being transcended by people who emerge from ignorance (Thetis parallel) The idea that human beings can achieve immortality and a key to doing it is overcoming a kind of ignorance -- Lots of the geographical and ritual specifics of the cult included as well -- Nice offhand reference to Iambe -- Final episode with Demeter creating famine is nice example of how Greeks imagine the internal politics of Olympus: -- Preserving the natural order is a difficult task, divine personalities and strange goings-on constantly threaten to send things out of control Zeus’ job is to assert control over it -- Z.'s commands all fail, has to send Hermes with persuasive powers -- Hades' dirty trick, Persephone's ambiguous feelings? Persephone turns out to have eaten some of the pomegranate ○ however much she eats = determines how long winter is (ex; 4 seeds = 4 months) not clear whether Persophone eats the pomegranate intentionally or not however, she has to be specific when telling Demeter and she tells her that Hades forced her to do it (but we have to question if she’s just changing the story for her mother = ambiguous) ○ Is it a coming of age story? a woman who is forced to accept a situation in which she’s been violently abducted? (pomegranate being the symbol of sexual assault, will she have to just live with it?) Persephone granted to go back to Olympus to her mother ○ but Hades tells her that she still has the status as his wife Hades makes her eat as there is a rule that if she eats something from Hades/underworld, Persephone has to stay. He compromises that he’s allowed to go back to her mother. Persephone goes back and forth.  They have no kids = no fertility in the realm of death Bruh my laptop is about to take off and class just started hala BAHAHAH hindi ko pa naririnig so okat lang BAHAH Omg why is this happening to me good morning daw -- Ovid gives basically same narrative details, but different tone and emphasis: sets the whole thing in Sicily → particularly sacred to Demeter (it was a land growing place) Ovid likes to make stories where humans turn into animals -- None of the material involving Eleusis (not interested in it), important setting is Sicily -- Details get different explanations (barley juice, newt) -- Comic aspects involving Aphrodite (Venus), Persephone as virgin Venus trying to maintain her own power → always irked that there are always 3 virgin Goddesses (not relating to sexuality) ○ gets Cupid to work for her -- Lots of minor characters get changed along the way -- Léda Davies' Persephone Bound (contemporary circus-theatre production) sets myth in contemporary college life, abduction as date rape: Everybody else making decisions for Persephone to express herself -- Focuses a lot on the question of who judges consent -- Presentations in contemporary pop culture is surprisingly positive (romance novels) There are several romance novels that are explicit (persephone = some kind of variation of her and hades = perfect, tension around fear turning into joy) It does turn into a lasting situation (in marriage, persephone has a long existence of being Hades’ wife) Kamukha nya yung guy konti rachel ABAHAHAH the girl looks very familiar idk where i’ve seen her Sorry naman LOL baka malabo lang mata ko *watch Kaos (netflix) -- One other kind of amusing (in a macabre way) myth about Demeter is the punishment of Erysichthon, who cuts down sacred trees and is cursed with eternal hunger darkly humorous myth about Erysichthon ○ rich man who’s a total jerk (like all men) cuts sacred trees because of Demeter and Demeter gets mad = she gets angry = curses him with hunger and never be satisfied ○ he’s imagined to be eating everything in sight (spends all his fortune), he runs out of things to eat and is still hungry and ends up eating his own body ○ this is imagined as an allegory of the capitalistic destruction of the Earth using the Earth = leads to destruction -- Gods' punishments reflect their benefits (Demeter feeds but can cause hunger) Omg my laptop is going off again donr forget me daw rachel BAHAH Ay omg di ko sya makakalimutan ang ingay ingay bAHAHHA Sep 25, 2024 Poseidon and Hades (Lecture 8) 1] Intro -- These are Zeus' subordinate (though often seen as older) brothers: he has two brothers (Hades and Poseidon) ○ seen as lesser than Zeus ○ has their own realms -- We’ll get to Poseidon today, Hades on Monday -- Also want, in context of Hades, to look at mythology about underworld more generally 2] Poseidon -- Usually portrayed as very similar in appearance to Zeus, and with similar personality traits, though P. distinctly less powerful and somewhat less civilized Portrayed as the god of the sea A bearded man who holds a trident/spear for fishing or he’s seen to be in an aquatic settings with fishy things haha He’s a version of Zeus but less powerful, has a certain autonomy within his own realm but not on the same level as Zeus. If a competition between Zeus and Poseidon were to occur, Zeus would win. -- Three main concerns are the sea, earthquakes and horses (?) Not invested in the social order/keeping the universe together because his main realm of activity is the sea. In the Greek imagination, the sea is a place human beings cant naturally live in, in ancient mediterranean: people used transportation (boats) a lot but stayed close to the coast, they thought of the sea as “no need to spend a lot of time here than you have to”. The sea is thought of to be an unpredictable place (storms, sea can turn into an environment to kill people. Poseidon’s personality is the reflection of the sea The god of earthquakes = the idea that earthquakes are unpredictable phenomenon to storm (under the same heading), earthquakes are happening because poseidon strikes the earth with his trident Horses = origin going back to poseidon being 2 different gods , developed in central asia (chariots, horses, in the waves (?)) -- Often associated with savage and unpredictable forces such as storms, less close to human activity than Zeus or many other gods Does not interact with human beings much. Has cult and cult activities but usually occurs in the sea faring cities or regions close to the sea ○ Ex. cape sounion (there is a temple)) dangerous to sail around this area = give in to Poseidon sometimes -- Lots of cult activities, including in inland cities (inland bodies of waters sometimes sacred to him) -- Major cult site at Isthmia near Corinth, Isthmian Games Poseidon is worshiped around the area of Corinth -- Married to sea-goddess named Amphitrite (sea Goddess), has usual quota of liaisons with women, but these often produce monsters or horses rather than heroes: there are many sea Goddesses (many go back to before) ○ Amphritite is not a regular Olympian God, not the same as Hera ○ like Zeus, she has many sexual activities  unlike Zeus they don’t produce mortal heroes, rather they produce monsters mostly horses -- Amphitrite has one son with him, a benign sea-creature named Triton -- Gorgon Medusa, result is Pegasus and several monsters in later generations usually imagined as her in pre-gordon = human form -- Also horse Areion with Demeter -- Cyclopes in Homer are apparently his sons by sea-goddesses problem for Theseus? -- Human sons include Theseus (sometimes); Pelias (villain n Jason myths); Neleus (father of Nestor, in Illiad), also strange story of Caenis/Caeneus (two names because they experience a sex transition) Caenis/Caeneus is a human woman at first Zeus then becomes interested in her and rapes her ○ however, Poseidon felt bad for her (for some reason) and asked her what she wanted she asked Poseidon to never be vulnerable ever again and therefore he turns her into a man = Caeneus he’s a man, an indestructible man (can’t be harmed by weapons or physical 😰 blows) ○ somebody will manage to kill him doe (dun dun dunnn) (who do u think killed him or how do u think he got killed) it was me -- Not as closely involved with human communities as some gods, but on edges -- Competition with Athena over gifts to Athens competition on who will become the patron of Athens ○ Poseidon = water spring (exception is that it’s salt water, so it’s not really helpful) ○ Athena = olive tree -- Builds walls of Troy, gets stiffed on money, fights for Greeks in war -- Enemy of Odysseus deals with Poseidon because he’s in the sea most of the time he blinds one of the Cyclops ○ therefore the Cyclops curse Odysseus ○ he had to perform a ritual were he has to carry an Ore? until no one recognizes what he was carrying then he had to bury it *when Cyclops are mentioned, assume that they are the Poseidon Cyclops (mortals) -- P. part of a long succession of sea-gods, inc. Oceanus and Nereus, who all seem to have an infinite supply of daughters who figure in mythology These two are minor, known as older generation Gods ○ Nereus children: Nereids Amphritite is a Nereid ○ Oceanus children: Oceanids -- Thetis is forcibly married to a mortal, Peleus -- Galatea gets into a love-triangle involving a Cyclops (from Poseidon), doesn't end well Galatea (water nymph) is imagined to be being in love with a human named Acis  ○ however Cyclops see Galatea and falls in love with her and he kills Acis ○ there are different versions where Galatea and Acis do work out 3] Hades -- Third brother has by far the least personality of the three, also the least mythology, other than his abduction of Persephone, which we've already seen: -- Thought of as not living on Olympus but in kingdom under the earth Hades doesn’t go to Olympus much he is seen to have similar features to Zeus (bearded man) -- Does not receive cult, name not usually mentioned except in paraphrases, of which Pluto ("the rich one") is one his name is usually like a curse ○ referred to him as paraphrases such as Aidoneus, Pluto he’s thought of as rich as in like he has tons of minerals, jewels underground -- Personality traits heavily dependent on function (inescapable, hospitable, not susceptible to prayer, not socially sought out) -- Not actually evil though or fundamentally opposed to Zeus' order -- Overt personification of death, Thanatos (Greek word for death), is a slightly different, subordinate deity no one ever prays to Hades since he’s associated with death however, he’s not actually evil ○ Hades does not hate Zeus, he does not want to overthrow him ○ he is part of Zeus’ order, he’s not good or evil, he’s just part of the order of the world Thanatos is like the worker for Hades (he’s the closest representation to the Grimm Reaper), he manages death ○ Hades doesn’t want to make you die sooner, he just wants to ensure that you die eventually (which everyone does) -- Seems to have one very minor love-affair (Menthe) and no mortal children, marriage with Persephone also has no children, death apparently infertile if it’s not war with life, then it’s still consistent with life ○ therefore, you can’t grow life in death Menthe (Mint) is a normal human being ○ Persephone finds out and she gets angry and stabs her to death this is why there’s an association that when you crush mint = more flavour 4] The Mythological Underworld -- This is a tricky business: mythology is not actually there to explain what happens after you die, and poets (e.g. Homer, Virgil) are not necessarily giving a coherent guide: -- Ancient Greek culture had less formal understanding of life after death than some others, though various religious cults did offer salvation after death -- Also no explanation of why death happens or idea that once it didn't -- Mythological underworld is basically a place without life, not a reward or punishment, except for some exceptional cases  for our purposes, it’s fictional ○ people don’t go to a good/bad place, they go to a boring place ○ people are not actively rewarded/punished they feel the absence of being alive, people remember their past lives ○ there’s some instances where souls haunt the living people, especially when they are not buried properly -- Souls are conscious but can't really do or experience anything -- Reincarnation is sometimes part of the deal, but not a major theme soul are kind or recycled ○ they go into the river of Lethe where they will not remember their past lives -- Hades' underground, unpleasant realm (aka Orcus, Acheron, Tartarus) has a fairly standardized geography and cast of characters: imagined as dark, foggy, and just very gloomy it inspires fear (not a pleasant experience) -- Surrounded by several rivers, of which the most significant is the Styx, although Lethe occasionally gets some play forms the border between the dead and the living ○ once you cross the Styx you can’t really cross back (unless you’re an exceptional figure) -- Guarded from outside by ferryman Charon and dog Cerberus, dead souls guided by Hermes (Psychopompus) Charon is imagined to be a man on a boat who he brings people on it ○ he only takes dead people (will not take living people) ○ he requires to be paid (you need to give him a coin) this is proven to be true because people were buried with a coin in their mouths if they were not properly buried = haunts relatives until proper burial Cerberus looks scary but will chase you if you try to escape ○ chthonic = associated with the Earth and the ground ○ 3 heads is standard for Cerberus but Hesiod says he has 50 dead souls are guided by Hermes ○ he walks you down there and makes sure you find Charon ○ his job title is Pyschopompus which kinda means he’s leading your soul -- Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus, sons of Zeus act as judges, though exactly what this entails is not too clear imagined as the judges of the underworld (but it’s not very clear because if there’s no punishment/rewards then what is the point of judgement?) ○ they are all sons of Zeus ○ Rhadamanthus is the most fair -- Realms of Elysium (reward) and Tartarus provide eternal reward and punishment respectively for a few extreme cases, esp. notable criminals: (usually the ones who have wronged the Gods) -- Tityus, son of Earth who tried to rape Leto, has liver eternally pecked out sexual desire is imagined to begin in the liver -- Tantalus, as poor dinner host, is perpetually just out of range of food he is a son of Zeus he killed his son and put him into a soup ○ he wanted to test whether the Gods would know that was his son (since they don’t want any human sacrifices) ○ of course they kenew, therefore, he was cursed to be forever hungry and can’t reach the fruits basket where the word ‘tantalizing’ came from -- Sisyphus tried to cheat death, for which he is punished by rolling a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down again most famous the most clever man on Earth ○ once death came to him, he got him arrested ○ he went to Hades and told him that his wife didn’t give him a proper burial so he asked Zeus to go up on Earth so his wife can give him a proper burial (Hades lets him cuz the Gods are not really smart) ○ eventually, death does take him and he’s punished -- Daughters of Danaus (Danaids) all killed their cousins/bridegrooms on their wedding night; punished by pouring water into leaky vessels --- Ixion tried to rape Hera, produced instead the Centaurs, but got tied to wheel of fire, which might be the sun Oct 2, 2024 Midterm MC choices long answer (paragraphs) ○ “study guide” will be posted on e-class study guide posted on eclass! ○ A: relative easy questions: “who is this?” “what is this object?” will be shown on the screen (not on paper) ○ B: similar to quizzes ○ C: one word answers/short phrases, often will have multiple answers “name any person who fits this category” ○ D: several sentences (2-3 sentences) genealogy, give background info name a specific myth they’re a part of  if they are a significant person in the readin, you need to name the readings and why they’re significant the list given is good tool for what will be given on the written portion (the list does not indicate all you need to know for the midterm) Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus (Lecture 9) 1] Intro -- Time now for a very different set of gods, part of second generation of Olympians. -- Tend to have roles reflecting human society rather than natural world Centered in human activity -- Allow us to examine how myth constructs social concepts Distinctive class and gender roles that they enact Men and women are enacting idealized stereotype versions of the role, different social classes would’ve, in society (ex. Love triangle) 2] Hephaestus (second ml) -- Hephaestus (Vulcan is his latin name) is not terribly significant mythologically, but an interesting figure for myth as a reflection of society: not that significant mythologically (though he’s not like Hestia) ○ he’s an interesting figure for myth (according to Homer) -- Son of Hera (certainly) and Zeus (maybe, or maybe no father) not clear in all version if he is the son of Zeus ○ there are versions where Hera gave birth to him spontaneously -- Target of domestic abuse, thrown out of heaven by either Hera or Zeus, and permanently injured, works in volcanoes, or maybe Lemnos sort of a “hard-lucked” God ○ in some versions, when he was born, he was born with some sort of physical disability and Hera is appalled by this and throws him out of heaven (he eventually returns) ○ another version where Zeus and Hera where fighting, he takes Hera’s side, Zeus gets mad and throws him out to Earth = becomes handicapped due to this has a permanent disability he is also a powerful character in terms of skills (particularly fire) ○ he is the God of fire as something that we use (especially in craft-oriented, male dominated society) ○ imagined to be working with volcanoes he has many cults ○ thought to be the “working man God” “artisan/craftsman God” (the God that actuall does work) -- In Homer, stands out from other Olympians as manual laborer with bodily imperfections as opposed to aristocratic leisure and perfection of gods Portrayed as a strange outsider to the olympian community → he was thrown out and had to come back ○ Some versions he doesn't wanna come back and Dionysus has to get him drunk to come back -- Makes nice stuff for gods and people  Gods are imagined a physically perfect -- Some mythological associations with Athens due to either helping Athena found the city or unsuccessfully trying to rape her it didn’t work doesn’t have human offsprings -- Sometimes husband of Aphrodite (most desirable female in the universe), but all this seems to mean is that he is forever cuckolded (by Ares) and jealous, though gets revenge has a stereotypical love triangle with Ares he got Aphrodite (in some versions) as a form of reward for all the useful things he’s built ○ Aphrodite wasn’t really into him he’s symbolized with a hammer or some type of metal ornament ○ there are some artists that do depict his physical disability ○ he’s not depicted with having the ideal body of a God ex; paintings that show him walking a weird way, his feet drawn backwards food of the Gods: Ambrosia drink of the Gods: Nectar ○ these sustain their eternal beings (it doesn’t necessarily make them immortals) ○ has the same idea as humans with food (it sustains us) 3] Ares (first ml) -- One of two gods of warfare, takes responsibility for the chaotic and destructive side of warfare, which is opposed to the good order of the community: Other is Athena Division of labor Athena: warfare as a way of potentially protecting a community and maintaining social order Ares: anti-social, a chaos god. Largely malevolent aspect of warfare but is also embodies warfare as an expression of masculinity, masculine aggression, etc. toxic masculinity. -- Also war as expression of masculinity and vitility, hence attraction to Aphrodite -- Relatively few cults, often outside of central city spaces -- Doesn't necessarily get lots of communal prayers for victory prayers.dedications form individual fighting men who associated him with their particular expression of courage and fighting strength -- Cult functions of Roman Mars are different and considerably more prominent Portrayed always with armour, specifically a helmet. Left ahdn is holding a spear Idealized nude physique The roman iamgination of how the warfare and divine works ○ Mars? is considered war prominent than Ares ○ They just have a simpler idea of how to integrate war into religion I have something sa throat ko and i wanna cough pero ang awkward cough ka na, may three free trial ka LOL HAHAAH TRIAL -- Personality is usually thought of as violent and unruly, no real benevolence toward humanity, though some associations with military prowess, macho sex appeal: he doesn’t really like human beings ○ the only thing he’ll do for humans is make them fight each other or give them macho sex appeal -- Disliked by gods, including own parents Zeus can’t stand him because all he’s about is starting/bragging fights -- Participates in warfare (alongside human beings), though not usually on any particular side -- Sometimes defeated, e.g. by Otus and Ephialtes (Aloadae) he doesn’t always win though ○ he moves around the sides (randomess of warfare) Aloadae makes an assault to the Gods and are successful in tying up Ares and had to be resucued ○ there’s this idea where Ares can be wounded -- Associated with Thrace, "savage" region north of Greece -- Notable for adulterous relationship with Aphrodite, scene of them getting caught is famous in art and poetry: Stereotype love triangle 🙁 Aphrodite married to a boring, stable guy but attracted to a dangerous bad boy, man in uniform guy (ano to wattpad story?) (second ml lang si Hephae ) Ongoing affair and had children including: -- Children include Phobos and Deimos (both meaning "fear"); Eros and 2 Harmonia, who is the wife of Cadmus, founder of Thebes Phobos and Deimos: fear and terror … Eros: imagined as their child Harmonia: ^ too ? -- Has lots of human children, but few are significant heroes, many are marginal and disreputable figures (Thracian Diomedes, Tereus) Diomedes: the one who Hercules kills has affairs with other women but he’s mostly known for his affair with Aphrodite ○ mostly known for them being caught in their love affair ○ Hephaestus always setting up traps to catch them one story where he lays a net and when they do the deed he catches them in the net all the Gods laugh at Aphrodite and Ares, but they’re also laughing at Hephaestus 4] Aphrodite -- Embodies sexual and erotic/romantic desire in all its aspects, from married procreative love to adultery to prostitution: Goddess of sexual/erotic/romantic desire To forms of sexual violence Associated with sexual attraction that we … ??? Goddess of romeo and juliet and also zeus and IO Associated with a one way form of attraction  The greeks imagined romance as a one way relationship ○ One way forms of attractions are more interesting to them Homeric hymns: ○ Scene: when she comes to earth, walking in the countryside. Animals (small and large (?)) stop being savage and brutal and want to make love and not war Aphrodite is thought of as the opposite of Ares (opposite of warfare) = the opposition creates attraction -- Extremely ambivalent, capable of doing both great harm and great good, needs to be propitiated and respected Capable of ben