What Exactly is Mythology?? a. Stories created to explain behavior and nature. ii. Man had not received spiritual enlightenment through

Transcription

1 What Exactly is Mythology?? I. What is Mythology? a. Stories created to explain behavior and nature i. Science had not been developed as an explanation for these occurrences ii. Man had not received spiritual enlightenment through _religion b. Told by word of mouth and handed down from generation to generation; not written down until the advent of the following: i. _Hesoid - 8 th century BC Greek poet who collected myths ii. _Ovid - 1 st century BC Roman poet who collected myths iii. Resulted in Greek and Roman _names for the same gods; Greek gods were usually more animated and full of character than _Roman gods c. Thought of as a _Greek creation, but every major _culture has their own myths (Norse, Medieval, etc.) Norse: Thor (Adventures in Babysitting); Anglo-Saxon:Beowulf II. Why do we study Mythology? a. References to mythology in _literature and _media i. _Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, etc. (Romeo & Juliet: She hath Diana s wit. )

2 ii. _Allusions used throughout Western culture (What does allude to mean?) b. Mythology and _music i. The term music comes from the _Muses, which were the goddesses of the _arts (Gods were the earliest musicians: Athena-flute(never played); Hermes-lyre (gave to Apollo) and shepherd pipe; Pan-pipe of reeds) ii. Myths tell the creation of musical instruments c. Mythological references in art i. _Paintings : Ex. Boticelli s _Venus ii. _Sculptures : Ex. Venus de Milo ( apple in Greek; depicts Aphrodite; thought to be representation of Venus holding golden apple presented to her by Paris of Troy; fragment of apple and arm found near it). d. Beautiful and entertaining stories

3 The Olympic Council Greek Name Latin Name Realm Symbols Zeus Jupiter (Jove) King of the gods; ruler eagle, oak, thunderbolt of mankind Poseidon Neptune sea, horses, earthquakes trident, dolphins, horses Phoebus Apollo Phoebus Apollo note same name sun, music, poetry, medicine lyre, arrows, sun, chariot Hermes Mercury messenger of the gods; commerce, theft winged cap and sandals Ares Mars war sword, shield, dogs, vultures Hephaestus Vulcan fire and workers in Anvil, forge metal Hera Juno Queen of the gods; wife of Zeus; pomegranate, peacock, cuckoo patroness of married women Demeter Ceres agriculture sheaf of wheat, Artemis Diana moon, hunting, patroness of maidens (unmarried young women) poppies, cornucopia crescent, stag, arrows Pallas Athena Minerva wisdom, war, weaving Ageis (the shield), owl, shield, olive tree Aphrodite Venus love and beauty doves, sparrows Hestia Vestia hearth and home hearth fire The Epic The Epic 1. A long _narrative poem that tells the _adventures of larger-than-life _heroes, who, in some way, embody the _values of their civilization.

4 2. Sometimes called _heroic poems ; later epics sometimes called _literary epics because they were created to be like earlier heroic poems. 3. Characteristics of an epic: a. A physically _impressive hero of national or historical _importance b. A vast _setting involving much of the known world and sometimes the land of the _dead as well c. Action such as a _quest or _journey taken in search of something of _value d. Evidence of supernatural forces at work e. Glorification of the _hero at the end f. Rooted in a specific _culture and _society 4. Probably told to an audience who could not _read or _write (told aloud) 5. Stories had a basic _plot, but there was much _improvisation 6. A _formula story: Ex: the _hero, beautiful _damsel in Homer distress, much _repetition to help the audience remember and give the minstrel time to think ahead

5 1. No one knows who he was for _sure ; may have been a _blind minstrel or _rhapsodes, which were singers of _tales, historians, entertainers, myth makers, etc. 2. Some believe that there may have been two Homers 3. _Oral tradition - minstrels traveled from town to town telling _stories and bringing _news 4. Homer gathered the _Trojan War tales into two epics: The Trojan War a. The Illiad: story of the ten year Trojan War, _war epic b. The Odyssey: story of a Greek _soldier, Odysseus, attempting to return _home from the Trojan War, the _journey epic (other journey epics: The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars) c. Both stories set in _1200 B.C. ; gathered into story form about _750 B.C. ; some disagreement over the _style, about whether _Homer wrote both (the ancient Greeks believed he did) 1. What caused the Trojan War? a. _Thetis (a sea nymph, immortal) and _Peleus (mortal) getting _married b. All gods and goddesses were invited except one: _Eris (the goddess of _discord ) i. She s upset and wants _revenge

6 ii. She throws a Golden _Apple into the celebration that reads: _To the Fairest this causes a big _fight 1. _Hera - Queen of the Gods, says she is 2. _Athena - Goddess of Wisdom (who prefers _reason ), says she is 3. _Aphrodite - Goddess of Love, says she is iii. _Zeus is asked to judge who is the fairest (one is his _daughter, one is his _sister, and the other is his _lover ); he asks an _impartial person to judge iv. _Paris is chosen to judge 1. A young _sheepherder 2. Son of King _Priam and Queen _Hecuba 3. He doesn t know that the oracle predicted that he would _destroy Troy 2. The Judgment of Paris a. _Hera offers him to be King of the _world - he will get _power and wealth if he chooses her b. _Athena offers him great _victories and _wisdom if he chooses her

7 c. _Aphrodite offers him the most beautiful _woman in the world if he chooses her d. _Paris gives the Golden _Apple to _Aphrodite i. He said she _deserved it ii. The other two want revenge 3. The most beautiful _mortal woman in Greece is _Helen of Troy a. She has hundreds of _boyfriends/suitors who have asked for her hand in _marriage ; she can t _decide b. Solemn Oath of Suitors all _boyfriends pledge to _defend whomever she chooses c. Her father chooses _Menelaus, King of Sparta, over everyone else i. _Helen never _loved him ii. She fell in _love with _Paris when he came to _Sparta iii. She left with him _willingly to return to _Troy iv. Remember the _Solemn Oath of Suitors - they pledge to get her back for _Menelaus v. So, Helen is said to be The _face that launched a thousand ships

8 4. Important things to know a. _Odysseus - pretended to be _mad so he didn t have to go to _war ; he plows the _beach, so others put his baby _son in his path as a test; Odysseus _swerved, proving that he was _sane b. _Agamemnon - Greek _Commander-in- Chief, brother of _Menelaus, vows to fight for _Helen c. _Achilles - greatest _warrior ; when he was born the _Oracle said he would _die in a war, so his mother made him immortal by dunking him in the _River Styx, but she missed part of his heel i. Another oracle said the _war would not be won without _Achilles, so his mom makes him wear _girl s clothes and hide among _maidens ii. _Odysseus was sent to find him and trick him with _jewels d. _Aulis - meeting place where everyone meets with their _ships ; _impossible to sail from this port with strong north _winds

9 e. _Sacrifice of Iphigenia - she is the daughter of Agamemnon ; she must be sacrificed_ in order to be able to set _sail and appease _Artemis ; Agamemnon lies to his _wife and says that he has arranged for her to be _married to Achilles, when she arrives she is _sacrificed f. Greek landing at _Troy - oracle said the first _man to set _foot on shore would _die ; finally, _Protesilaus takes the plunge, he is _killed but manages to _kill four Trojans before his death g. _Trojan War - _nine year struggle; _stalemate ; Achilles has a fight with _Agamemnon and quits _fighting ; they realize they can t _win the war without _Achilles h. _Patroclus - Achilles best _friend, begs Achilles to come back to the _war, Achilles says _no so Patroclus asks to _wear Achilles _armor i. Patroclus is _killed by _Hector who thinks he has killed _Achilles ii. Achilles is so _upset that he returns to the _war and kills _Hector, who was the most famous _Trojan warrior

10 i. _Hector - Paris oldest _brother, is dragged behind a _chariot (driven by Achilles ) for 3 days; King Priam begs for the return of _Hector s body and Achilles gives in j. _Paris is now ready to _avenge the death of his brother; he shoots an _arrow guided by _Apollo and hits the one spot on his _heel - Achilles _dies k. _Trojan Horse - this is a plan by Odysseus ; Greeks say they surrender and offer the horse as a _peace offering to the _Trojans l. _Trojans rejoice, party, and pass out; in the early _morning hours, the _Greeks descend from the _belly of the wooden horse and open the _gates to _Troy to allow the rest of the Greek _soldiers in to _destroy Troy m. _Aenaeas was the only Trojan man left to get away ; he will later be the _founder of _Rome

11 5. So, after ten years of fighting, the _Greeks set sail for home (the name of the epic poem that tells the story of the Trojan War is the Iliad )- this is where The Odyssey begins with _Odysseus journey home!