3: The development of myth Flashcards
minoans are greek speakers true or false
false
What are minoans named after?
King Minos
What greek word does labyrinth come from?
Labrys which means ax
Who developed into greeks
the indo-europeans
Where did the Indo-europeans come from, who are they in contact with when they arrive in greece?
They migrated from central asia they arrived in greece circa 2100, they are in contact with the minoans in this period
which age is the setting for many myths?
the bronze age
What is the dark age also known as?
The Iron Age.
What characterized the dark age
there was no writing, there is scant pottery and archeological evidence
what happened in the archaic period?
writing was rediscovered, a new system: the alphabet, was imported from phoenicia. commerce and trade coinage was introduced, democracy at athens replaced tyranny, and war with persia.
what happened in the classical period?
democracy in athens (freedom), spartan military valor, the peloponnesian war, sparta defeats athens.
what happened in the hellenistic period? Who ruled europe?
Infighting continues, philip of macedon unites the greek world, his son alexander the great takes the throne. Hellenistic kindoms (ruled by alexander generals). General Ptolemy ruled europe.
Nothing would have been possible in ancient greece without…
slavery
describe ancient greek religion
More about doing than believing, rituals involving magic practices, supernatural, believed in miasma, oracles (asking question getting answer from gods, god tells you something in dream).
what does miasma mean
Greek for pollution, like a stain, if you killed someone blood was considered a thing, metaphorical and literal, you’d have to be purified through ritual.
is there such thing as purely ‘Greek myth’? Why or why not?*
No there is no such thing as purely greek myth because there were outside influences, the biggest influence on the myths is near eastern influences.
Was transmission of myths an oral or written process?*
It is not a written process, Greek myth was not written down for a long time, one of the reasons we say myth is anonymous.
What does Aoidos mean in english? what did they do?
Means bard, (a kind of singer), they performed stories in their own way. Like homer incorporated different versions of myth into his own. They composed while performing, each performance is new/unique, the material is flexible.
What were the main genres of myth in archaic greece? list and describe
- Epic (epos, a long narrative poem about heroes). 2. hymn (a long narrative poem about gods). 3. Wisdom literature (near eastern, law agriculture, nature, catalogs of names (perserved knowledge and history like who’s related to who).
How was myth presented
In public, performed most often in a festival
what’s the difference between a aoidos and rhapsode?
The aoidos is inspired and composes while performing, a rhapsode is a ‘song stitcher’ that just refashions existing works.
What was myth like in the classical period?
Choral song, tragedy
who wrote tragedy, who did not that some people say did
Aeschylus , sophocles, euripedes wrote it, aristotle did not
