1: Myth Flashcards
What did Homer refer to as myth (muthos)?
An emphatic utterance, command, threat (authoritative), words with emphasis, nothing about being true or false.
What does epos mean?
Literally means word, (speech, story or poem)
What did Hesiod refer to as myth?
He used words: aletheia (not forgetting), etumon (truth) vs pseudos (false), he said song can be made up but these words are distinct from muthos.
What does Pindar recognize that other poets didn’t?
True muthos vs false muthos, logos as a general account.
What does Plato talk about in his poems?
Logos vs muthos, true vs false, reason vs tradition. Muthos is something that can be false but it can complement logos.
What was different about how Aristotle referred to muthos?
He referred to it as a plot, tragedy is more philosophical than history, (more serious not truer).
What did Alan Cameron say mythology is?
a corpus of stories every educated person was expected to know
Definition of myth
A traditional story with collective importance.
what Latin word is tradition derived from? What does it mean?
Tradito, which refers to handing down or passing down
When stories are traditional they are also..
Anonymous (don’t have an author)
Do we have an official version of myth?
No just different interpretations, don’t have the actual myth
Describe ancient religion
Ancient religions are not based on doctrine or faith but are practiced, in actions.
What’s the connection between myth and ancient society
Myth can explain society to itself and to us.
What is mythography
The writing of myth, it privileges the particular artist and his values
