Mythology

Classical Mythology – belonging to the Greek and Roman traditions

Myths• Mythos – the Greek word that refers to the

spoken word or speech; denotes a tale, story, or narrative, different from the historic tale, which is called logos and is regarded as verifiable.

• Have connections with all aspects of human life and experience; they refer to the origins and the nature of the universe, the gods and mankind; they claim to reveal historical facts or may describe psychological truths; make emotional valuations and concern themselves with moral, physical, or ontological issues; convey beliefs, superstitions, rituals, literary images, social ideas; use symbols and allegories as well as reason, philosophy, and ethical values.

Main Myths

• Divine – consist of tales referring to the gods, such as the creation of the world, the origin of the gods.

• Heroic – related to kingdoms on earth, heroes, and heroines,; events in these tales are normally located in real geographical places such as Mycenae or Rhodes

Myth Foundations

• Found in divine presence; heroic linked to divine through three devices– Divine intervention in human affairs– Any kind of reference to the gods or to

someone related to them– Genealogy establishing descent from the

gods

Myth Characteristics• Touches on any field of human life and

experience• Perceived as a single all-embracing tale which is

assumed to have been delivered to men by the gods, being in virtue of that circumstance both true and sacred.

• Neither to be believed nor to be disbelieved,– Belief is in the realm of religion, magic, and

superstition– Disbelief belongs to the profane view, which is alien to

the myths

Myth Definitions• Prose narratives which in the society in which they are told, are considered

to be truthful accounts of what happened in the remote past• Mistaken explanations of phenomena, whether of human life or of external

nature• Story of the deeds of supernatural beings• Result of the working of naïve imagination upon the facts of experience• Pre-scientific and imaginative attempt to explain some phenomenon, real or

supposed, which excites the curiosity of the myth-maker• Explanation of some natural process made in a period when such

explanations were religious and magical rather than scientific• Reduction to narrative shorthand of ritual mime performed on public

festivals; recorded pictorially on temple walls, vases, etc.• Entertaining stories in their own right, full of human and supernatural

characters to like or despise, exploits to admire or fear, events to follow with interest and suspense. They help explain the natural world

Terms• Fairy Tale – simple story; supernatural beings; benefit of children;

simple message: “good guy always wins”• Fable – animals act like and talk like humans in order to tell

message. Aesop’s Fables – tortoise and the hare= slow, sure, and steady can win a race

• Parable – objects and people are used in a story to tell message; Bible

• Legend – actual event in the past is exaggerated; becomes a legend: Daniel Boone killed a bear when he was only three

• Myth - helps explain unexplainable event; creation of universe, why volcanoes erupt, how evil started, how fire came about. Eventually, humanity could explain many myths scientifically.

• Science Fiction – present-day myths; stories about science that have not yet been explained. “Ender’s Game”

• Epic – a long story-poem; adventures of a hero, who displays superhuman strength, skill, or cunning. “Beowulf”

• Folk Tale – fictional story, most often told orally, that tells a timeless story about traditions and beliefs of a group. Similar to fairy tales. Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel

The Epic Hero• Reflects the values and ideas of his

culture or society• Struggles for values and ideas that are

important to the culture or society• Fights against values and ideas that the

culture or society rejects• Helped/hindered by divine beings• Seeks revenge in the end for injustices

and wrongs committed against him, his family, and his society

Epic Hero Traits• Excels in skill, strength, and courage• Succeeds in war and adventure• Values honor and glory• Usually has a guide• Battles demons or monsters• Generous to his followers; ruthless to his enemies• Man of action• Accepts challenges and sometimes invites problems• Sometimes makes rash decisions and takes unnecessary risks• Meets monsters and temptations• Encounters women who tempt him• Descends into darkness (often the underworld)• Achieves his goal

Greek Mythology

• Common outlook on life• Form the richest collection of stories in Western

culture, outside of the Bible• Greeks cherished life and believed in living it to

the fullest degree, since death was an inevitable fact.– Pursued fame with astonishing energy.– Tough, restless, ambitious, hard living– Imaginative, feisty, and vengeful– Admired strength, beauty, and intelligence– Man was the measure of all things

Olympian godsMirrored Greek qualities

quarrelsome, unforgiving, enjoyed fighting and banqueting.

• Zeus – supreme deity; grand dispenser of justice• Hera – wife and sister of Zeus; jealous; vindictive; goddess of marriage and childbirth• Poseidon – brother of Zeus; god of the sea, horses; moody• Demeter – sister of Zeus; goddess of vegetation and fertility; mother of Persephone

(kidnapped by Hades); creation of the seasons• Apollo – son of Zeus; god of light, intelligence, healing, arts. Most important shrine at

Delphi• Artemis – Apollo’s twin sister; goddess of chastity, moon• Aphrodite – goddess of love and beauty; born of the sea-foam or daughter of Zeus;

represents power of attraction that binds people together• Athena – goddess of wisdom, guardian of Athens, warrior who sprang fully armed

from the head of Zeus after he swallowed the Titaness Metis• Hestia – goddess of the family and peace• Ares – son of Zeus and Hera; bully, coward; disliked by parents• Hermes – messenger of the gods; conductor of souls to the netherworld; god of

sleep; clever, god of commerce and thievery; guided men on journeys; depicted with helmet and winged sandals

• Hades – god of the underworld; region of the dead; abducted Persephone and made her his queen. (six months of the year)

Titans • Gaea – the earth; she and son, Uranus, produced the Titans; Titans – old gods taken

over by the Olympian gods• Cronus – chief titan; overthrew father; married sister, Rhea; produced Olympian gods• Rhea – sister and wife to Cronus; saved Zeus from being eaten by Cronus;

substituted with a stone.• Oceanus and Tethys; produced the rivers and the 3,000 ocean nymphs• Hyperion – Titan of light, father of the sun, moon, and dawn• Mnemosyne – Titanesse of memory; mother of the muses• Themis – Titanesse of justice and order; gave birth to the fates and the seasons• Prometheus – wisest Titan; “forethought”; created mankind; gave man fire; best part

of sacrificial animals; chained to Caucasus Mtns. Eagle feeds on his liver daily.• Epimetheus – stupid Titan; “afterthought”’ accepted gift of Pandora;• Pandor’s Box – unleashed all the evils of the world on mankind. Pandora – first

woman. Curiosity of women bring evil to the world. Beauty and evil together within women.

• Atlas – for warring against Zeus, was forced to bear the vault of the heavens upon his shoulders at the edge of the world.

Other gods• Cyclopes – one-eyed monsters; children of Gaea and Uranus; helped Zeus against

the Titans• Giants – created by Uranus’ blood when Cronus mutilated him• Furies – pursued and punished sinners; sprang from the blood of Uranus• Pan – son of Hermes; god of flocks; musician; pursued various nymphs; rejected for

his ugliness• Iris – goddess of the rainbow• Satyrs – men with horses’ haunches and tails; two-legged• Centaurs – savage beasts; half-horse and half-man; four-legged• Sirens – sisters who sat on the rocks by the sea and lured sailors to their deaths by

singing to them.• Helios – sun god• Proteus – son of Poseidon; ability to prophesy and to change his shape at will• Triton – trumpeter of the sea; depicted blowing a large conch shell• Fates – three goddesses who determine the lives of mortals

– Clotho wove the thread of life– Lachesis measured it out– Atropos cut it off with her scissors of death

Mythology VocabularyWord or Phrase Modern Definition Reference to Mythology

Pandora’s Box Unpredictable “can of worms” that releases many

problems

Out of curiosity, Pandora opened a box and released all

human ills; hope remained

Titanic Having great magnitude, force, or power

From the Titans; had enormous strength

Cornucopia Curved goat’s horn overflowing with fruit, ears of corn; abundance

Plutus – son of Jason and Ceres; god of wealth; shape of Venus’s basket

Phoenix Legendary bird; lived 500 years ago; burned itself to ashes on a pyre; rose alive from ashes to live another period; symbol of immortality

Egyptian mythology

The Midas Touch Everything a person does is successful, especially concerning money

Legendary king given the power of turning everything to gold with a touch

Mythology VocabularyWord or Phrase Modern Definition Reference to Mythology

Nemesis One that inflicts vengeance Greek goddess of vengeance

Olympian A being of lofty and superior attainments

The Olympian gods who were powerful, beautiful, etc.

Jovial Good-humor Relates to Jove (Jupiter); his characteristics

Typhoon Tropical cyclone in Philippines or China Sea

Father of the winds; typhon - a monster with a tremendous voice; father of Cerberus (3-headed dog; guards the gates of Hades) and the sphinx

Narcissist In love with his/her own body; egocentric

Narcissus; beautiful youth who falls in love with his own reflection and is changed into the narcissus flower

Mythology VocabularyWord or Phrase Modern Definition Reference to Mythology

Chronic Marked by a long duration or frequent recurrence; constantly troubling

Greek – Chronos

Roman – Chronus; father of Zeus; personification of time

Achilles’ heel A vulnerable point Achilles – weak point – his heel; shot in the heel by Paris with an arrow, guided by Apollo

Labyrinth Maze, something extremely complex

Greek – Labyrinthos; minotaur lived in the labyrinth – impossible to escape

Volcano A vent in the crust of the earth; molten rock and steam exit

Roman – vulcan; god of fire and warmth; ugly god, created beautiful art; injured by Zeus ( his father) when he defended Hera in a quarrel

Mythology Vocabulary

Word or Phrase Modern Definition Reference to Mythology

Calliope Musical keyboard; looks like an organ

Greek Kalliope; muse of heroic poetry; mother of Orpheus; beautiful voice

Herculean Extraordinary strength or power

Hercules; task that could only be accomplished by Hercules

Chimerical Imaginary

Fantastically improbable; pure fancy

Chimaira; fire-breathing she-monster; lion’s head, goat’s body, serpent’s tail; imaginary monster with incongruous parts

Atlas One who bears a heavy burden; bone at the top of our spinal chord; holds up our head

Titan-Atlas; fought Zeus and was forced to support the heavens on his shoulders

Arachniphobia Fear of spiders Greek – arachne – spider; phobos – fear

Arachne was a beautiful princess who wove beautiful tapestries. Challenged Athena to a contest and lost; humiliated, tried to hang herself, but Athena prevented it by changing her into a spider

Allusions

• Reference to a historical, literary, Biblical, mythological, or other well-known person or event.

• Used to enrich an idea and are designed to have a specific effect on the reader

Allusion Example

• I thought to myself, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, when my opponent gave me a present.– Story: Trojan war; the Greeks gave a wooden

horse to the Trojans as a gift of reconciliation; soldiers were hidden inside ready to attack

– Meaning: the speaker is being cautious about accepting something that doesn’t make sense and that might not be a pleasant surprise