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GREEK AND ROMAN STUDIES Classical Myths and Contemporary Questions What is a Myth? Issue: no single comprehensive definition of myth "Mythos": word, story...

GREEK AND ROMAN STUDIES Classical Myths and Contemporary Questions What is a Myth? Issue: no single comprehensive definition of myth "Mythos": word, story What is Classical Mythology? A possible definition: A classical myth is a story that, through its classical form, has attained a kind of immortality because its inherent archetypal beauty, profundity, and power have inspired rewarding renewal and transformation by subsequent generations. How Do We Make Sense of Classical Myths? Why Study Classical Mythology in the Twenty-First Century? Myth, Legend, and Folklore: what's the difference? Form Belief Time Place Attitude Principal Characters MYTH Fact Remote Different world: other Sacred Nonhuman past or earlier LEGEND Fact Recent World of today Secular or Human past sacred FOLKTALE Fiction Any time Any place Secular Human or nonhuman William R. Bascom's "Three Forms of Prose Narratives" Don Cupitt's definition of myth: "so we may say that a myth is typically a traditional sacred story of anonymous authorship and archetypal or universal significance which is recounted in a certain community and is often linked with ritual: that it tells of the deeds of superhuman beings (...); that is set outside historical time in primal or eschatological time or in the supernatural world" The narrowness of these definitions Form, content, and function A Three-Point Definition on a Mythological Corpus William G. Doty's definition of a "mythological corpus": a more inclusive definition Mythological context is a network: one story separated from its context cannot be considered a myth Meaning is never explicit Content is its values and meanings, not surface details Function is to offer ways of understanding and integrating experience Ancient and modern audiences: seeking meaning behind the myth Myth and Religion Myth and religion are intertwined in the Graeco-Roman world. Greek and Roman religions are often given authority by myths. Mircea Eliade and "sacred timelessness" Myths provide in the imagination a spiritual release from historical time Importance of creation/origin stories to give a sense to our existence Myth and Truth Issue: "Myth" equated with fiction and falsehood as opposed to science and fact Facts change in sciences and elsewhere Can we look at this from another perspective? Myth aims to represent the "higher reality" of human experience  This is independent of factual accuracy What is Classical Mythology exactly about? What do we mean by "classical"? Mythology: the study of myths The importance of Greek myths for the study of mythology Myths from Ancient Greece (or why context is important) "Ancient Greece" as a place The polis (city-state) Myths in the Archaic Period (750-490 BCE) The Iliad and the Odyssey Originally oral compositions o "Homer" as a shorthand expression The Homeric Hymns and Hesiod Homer, Hesiod, and the gods Panhellenic deities Myths in the Classical Period (490-323 BCE) In Athens, Greeks begin examining their myths Classical period as height of Greek commitment to reason and beauty Achievements in tragedy, history, and the visual arts Mythos ("myth") Philosophy and rationalization Logos ("rational argument") Opposed to mythos Myths in the Hellenistic Period (323-30 BCE) and Beyond Educated and retrospective responses Alexandrian scholars Roman conquest Classical mythology is the study of Primarily myths from the Archaic and Classical Periods Influences of the Ancient Near East and myths of Rome Myths from Ancient Rome Greek borrowings and what counts for Roman myths Roman power in the 1st century CE The debate over a Roman indigenous mythological system "Classical mythology" refers to both Greek and Roman myths Myths and the modern issue of interpretation Various approaches to interpreting myths: Etiological approach Rationalizing approach (Euhemerus) Allegorical approach (Max Müller) Myths and human psychology (Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung) Myths as explanations of societies and rituals: functionalism (J.g. Frazer, Malinowski) Structuralists (Claude Lévi-Strauss, Vladimir Propp, Walter Burkert) Comparative approach (Joseph Campbell) Feminist and Queer...what are the issues and challenges then in approaching the study of classical myths? How Do We Make Sense of Classical Myths? History Theory Comparison Reception Why Study Classical Mythology today? Learning outcomes If myth is difficult to the define in one way, also the approaches used can be many Some approaches can be more useful for specific myths and less for others Learning about approaches is also learning about the history of the study of mythology Myth and Etiology, Rationalism Etiological myth explains the origin of some fact or custom (i.e. the myth of Apollo driving his chariot) Natural Etymological Religious Euhemerus (300 B.C.) and the rationalizing approach: the gods were originally men, who later became deified for their great deeds Allegorical approach Allegorical approach interprets myth in a non-literal way, but as an extended metaphor Max Müller (19th century theorist): all myths are allegories of nature, and thus they describe meteorological and cosmological phenomena Myth and Psychology: Sigmund Freud (Booooo) The metaphorical approach took many forms and was reshaped by the theories of psychologists and psychoanalysts ○ Sigmund Freud (1956-1939): a controversial approach ○ Oedipus complex ○ Importance of dreams as fulfillment of repressed wishes ○ and dream-work (1.condensation;.displacement; 3. representation) ○ Myths and dreams similar in arrangement of symbols ○ Oedipal drama leads to patriarchy and beginning of religion and the arts Myth and Psychology (part 2): Carl Jung Carl Jung (1875-1961) Myths are a projection of our collective unconscious Myths contain archetypes (images that are the traditional expressions of collective dreams: patterns of behaviours) Anima and Animus Emphasis on the psychological dependence of all societies on their traditional myths Reception: wide range of devotion and criticism of both Freud and Jung's ideas. Both theories remain fundamental to some new approaches Myth and Society Ritualist approach: "myth implies ritual, ritual implies myth, they are one and the same" (Leach, 1954) J. G. Frazer (1854-1941) and Jane Harrison (1850-1928) Myth as social charters: the approach of Bronislav Malinowski (1884-1942) challenged the universality of Freud's Oedipus complex psychological functionalism myths explains existing facts and institutions by reference to tradition Both theories valuable but don't shed light on all myths Structuralist Interpretations of Myth Structuralism can be defined as a way to analyze myths into their components parts Vladimir Propp (1895-1970) and Russian folktales: All Russian folktales have same linear structure Units of this structure are called motifemes Focused on Quest narratives Claude Lévi-Strauss (1907-2009): Myth as mode of communication in which structure is critical Binary structure of human mind Myth as society's way of resolving conflicts between ideas in a nonlinear way very useful for succession myths rather than Classical times renditions of myths Structuralist Interpretations of Myth (part 2) Walter Burkert (1931-2015): combines structuralism and classical scholarship "Myth is a traditional tale applied." Burkert's four theses: 1. Myth belongs to the more general class of traditional tales. 2. the identity of a traditional tale is to be found in a structure of sense within the tale itself. 3. Tale structures are founded on basic biological or cultural programs of actions 4. myth is a traditional tale with secondary partial reference to something of collective importance Comparative Study and Classical Mythology Oral and literary myth Distinction between early oral storytelling and later written texts Literary texts are "mythology" too Joseph Campbell (1904-1987): popular comparative mythologist Less serious attention to classical myths Greek Creation Myths Part 1 Creation stories: why they matter A couple of things to remember: Anthropomorphic deities, but they do not have coherent identities or psychological features A variety of stories, a variety of identities Creation Myths: a little bit of history Hesiod (between 750-650 BCE) Hesiod gives the first literary explanation of how the gods, the universe and humankind came to be Theogony: account of the genealogy of the gods Works and Days: "farmer's almanac" donating the myth of Pandora and the Myth of the Five Ages of humankind. Historical Settings: Poems attributed to Homer and Hesiod recited orally for generations Epic hexameter, formulae and epithets Homer and Hesiod are of religious significance but were not considered "sacred scriptures." The Late Bronze Age (1600-1150 BCE): Mycenae Three distinct regional civilizations in the Bronze Age Crete, the Cyclades, and mainland Greece The Bronze Age is also called the "Mycenaean Age" Mycenae and other Late Bronze Age settlements Linear B administrative records The settlement at Mycende Complex social and economic networks The mystery of the end of the Mycendean Age The Iron Age (1150-700 BCE): the village of Ascra Events of Hesiod's Works and Days take place in Ascra Hesiod's dispute with his brother Perses Archaeological evidence at Ascra Farming life: characteristics and obligations Was Hesiod a real individual? What about Homer? is that truly important? The Archaic Period (750-490 BCE): Olympia Increase in populations and colonization The emergence of tyrants Fostered the emergence of civic identities Self-recognition as "Hellenes" Panhellenic sanctuaries Contribution of Homer and Hesiod to Greek religious understanding Panhellenism and Greek Deities Panhellenism and the cultural unification of the Greeks Developing coherence of divine identities and representations But the unified personality of a god or goddess is inaccurate Variation and cult titles The Theogony There are more than Hesiod's Theogony, but none of them reached the same cultural authority. A collection of different types of oral poems Hymns, catalogues, and dramatic tales Hymns to divinities: prayer and praise To the Muses (1-115) To Hekate (413-455) Catalogues First catalogue of early features of existence Second catalogue: mothers and suffering The Theogony: structure part 2 Dramatic Tales The first generation of gods: Kronos's castration of Ouranos Birth of the Olympians The secret birth of Zeus and liberation of other Olympians Zeus's victory over his enemies, including Typhoios Zeus's defeat of Typhoios demonstrates his power Zeus's transformation of the universe from a chaotic place into a cosmos "Start from the Muses" Vv. 23-35 Hymn to the Muses: "Start from the Muses", Claims that the Muses visited him and inspired him: But the Muses can also be liars! (Vv. 27-29) First catalogue: the first gods (vv. 116-136) The first deities: Chaos and Eros Chaos: "yawning void". Issues: How to interpret Chaos: a void, a beginning or a first principle "Then": 1) it is temporal (next) - a sequence in time; 2) the meaning is that they are generated from Chaos Ovid's interpretation Mighty Eros (Love) & alternate creation myth Aristophanes' Birds (5th century BC): "There was no race of immortals before Eros caused all things to mingle. From the mingling of couples, Urano, Ocean, Ge and the immortal race of all the blessed gods came to be." Gaia: mother Earth Gaia: archetypal fertile female goddess "Gaia first brought forth starry Uranus, equal to herself" Gaia + Uranus: a union of earth and sky common in mythology hieros gamos: "sacred marriage" of earth-mother and sky-father Oceanids and Sun-gods: the descendant of the Titans Oceanus + Tethys = thousands of Oceanids Hyperion (sun god) + Theia = Helius: also, a sun-god Selene: goddess of the moon Eos: goddess of the dawn Apollo and Artemis: later connected with sun and moon (Phoebus/Phoebe "the bright one") Interpretative Approaches at the start The start of the Catalogue and creation of the Universe: Müller and Allegory of nature approach Feminist concerns: fundamental female deity, but it is intruded on by masculine conception of the divine (Graeco-Roman societies were patriarchal) Structuralist binary motifs with apparent oppositions (chaos/order; masculine/feminine; sky/earth etc) Castration of Uranus Vv. 154-159; 171-187 Uranus despises his children Stuffs them right back into Gaia Cronos volunteers to take action Cronus castrates Uranus and throws genitals onto sea From the white foam around Uranus' severed genitals is born Aphrodite Freudian psychological interpretation: male's unconscious is fearful of being deprived of his sexual potency which springs from his guilt. Birth of Aphrodite VV. 188-202 From the white foam around Uranus' severed genitals is born Aphrodite Cronus, Rhea, and the Birth of Zeus (VV:456-471) Cronus and Rhea become the parents of (the Olympians): Hestia, Demeter, Hera Hades, Poseidon, Zeus Cronus fears prophecy Cronus "kept vigilant watch and lying in wait he swallowed his children" Rhea's Plan VV. 482-494 Pregnant Rhea consults Gaia and Uranus Rhea goes to island of Crete, gives birth to Zeus on Mt. Dicte Curetes (Rhea's attendants) guard Zeus and make noise to drown out his crying Rhea gives Cronus a stone concealed in a blanket Cronus swallows stone and Zeus grows up in secret The Birth of Zeus Alternate tradition that Zeus was born in Arcadia, not on Crete On Mt. Dicte on Crete, Zeus nursed by nymphs with the milk of a goat named Amalthea Myth of Zeus' birth reflects an attempt to link Zeus, male Indo-European god, and Rhea, Near Eastern goddess of fertility Zeus and Power Zeus freed his uncles from Tartarus, the Hecatoncheires (Hundred-handers) whom Uranus had imprisoned Titanomachy: fight between the Olympians, led by Zeus, and the Titans The fight against Typhoeus (child of Earth and Tartarus). This monster embodies confusion of realms, and represent social anarchy Zeus did not create the human world, he brought order, the Kosmos, but mostly for the gods! Zeus: the catalogues of his marriages A way of contain and control female reproduction Vv. 891-905 - the birth of Athena Prometheus, a titan Battle of wits between Prometheus and Zeus Prometheus (forethinker) vs. Epimetheus (after thinker) Prometheus tricks Zeus In eating bones hidden in delicious fat. (Explanation of animal sacrifices in ancient Greece) Zeus takes the fire away form the humans Prometheus's punishments: an eagle eternally eating his regenerating liver Pandora (all-gifted): "that's just how Zeus, the high lord of Thunder, made women a curse for mortal men" The Creation of Mortals ○ Various versions Olympians in some versions, they are created by Zeus, or Zeus and some of the In Theogony, it seems Hesiod is following the dominant tradition: Prometheus is the creator of man (from clay) - comparison to the creation of Adam one version has Athena breathing life into the clay shaped as man by Prometheus How does Zeus punish Prometheus' action? ○ Prometheus's punishments: ○ an eagle eternally eating his liver which keeps regenerating ○ The creation of Pandora (all-gifted): "that's just how Zeus, the high lord of Thunder, made women a curse for mortal men" Pandora "The sheer deception, irresistible to men" v.593 Hesiod, Theogony: Version 1 Hephaistos creates a woman out of clay Decked out by Athena "A great infestation among mortal men" A bad wife: pain and misery all the time A good wife: Life balanced between good and evil Prometheus is wholly defeated, and Zeus has outsmarted him! Pandora The all-gifted A second versions of the myth appears in Works and Days Hephaestus makes woman from clay but other gods add gifts Given to Epimetheus despite Prometheus' warning Pandora opens jar, releases misery, diseases, evils Only Hope left in the jar: is that good or bad? Pandora's box (Works and Days): was it really a box? Pithos: food container