intro and creation Flashcards
a story that, through the classical form, has attained a kind of immortality because of its inherent archetypal beauty, profundity, and power that have inspired rewarding renewal and transformation by successive generations
myth (defined by the textbook)
what is true myth / myth proper
aka divine myth, main characters are gods, set outside human time, often explains a part of the world
what is legend or saga
great deeds of heroes and heroines, set in human time, narrate events of the past, usually have some historical truth or significance
what are folktales
myths where the characters are usually ordinary humans or animals, meant to entertain, teach, explain common practices,
what did the greeks call folktales
ainos (moral fable)
what are the three types of myth
divine myth, legend and saga, and folktales
where do classical myths come from
oral transmission, written sources, and art
what is a reason there are different versions of most myths
most were only told orally and changed as the were told, they became a but more consistant when they were written down
explaining a meaning of the myth, must have a reason/evidence for the present ideas
interpretation
a detailed examination of the myth’s elements and/or structure
analysis
the central idea is message of the myth (relatively specific)
theme
a reoccurring object, idea, symbol, literary device, or narrative pattern in a myth; can help develop the theme
motif
a very typical example of something; in Junguan psychology, an archaic universal event, figure, or motif
archetype
objects, characters, figures, colours, etc. used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. when used as a literary device, this means to imbue objects with meaning that is different from their literal meaning
symbolism
a thing regarded as representative of something else, especially something abstract; when we see this in myth, we see the story as having hidden meaning
metaphor
extended metaphor
allegory
this kind of interpretation sees the myth as explaining the cause of origin of some event, fact, or custom
etiological
structuralism, psychoanalytic theory, feminist theory, etc.
modern theories about myth
were the greeks more interested in orthodoxy or orthopraxy
orthopraxy
did the greek religion have set dogma or beliefs
no set beliefs, only behaviours one should follow
how did the greeks relate to the gods
ask something from them, try to appease them if upset, transactional relationship
how did Homer view the creation of the world
Oceanus and Tethys responsible or the gods, the earth a flat disk wiht hills, touched at the edges by the dome of the sky
how did hesiod view the origin of the world
had a systematic explanation of how everything came into being (the classic greek version)
who wrote the Theogony and what is it about
by Hesiod, tells of the origin of the gods and the world (cosmogony)
are the greek deities anthropomorphic
mostly yes, some of them are not
who is Ovid
a roman poet, wrote metamorphoses
who is Chaos in ovid’s metamorphoses
a crude and unformed mass of elements in strife, from which a god or some higher nature formed the order of the universe
are ovid’s stories much like the other versions
no, they are far removed in spririt and belief
who came from Chaos
Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, Eros, and Nyx
how is Chaos different to the greeks and roman’s
a void to the greeks, disorder to the roman’s
who are the children of Gaea and Uranus
the titans (12), the cyclopes, and the hecatonchcires
who are the titians
children of Ge and Uranus, deifications of parts of nature, usually considered in pairs
who is Hyperion
sun Titian, mate with Theia, father of Helius, Selene, and Eos (dawn)
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Who is Phaëthon
son of Helius who asks to drive the sun chariot for a day, is very unsuccessful and dies
how was Aphrodite born
from the sea foam that gathered around Uranus’s cast off bits
what is the hieros gamos
the sacred marriage, usually between earth and sky
who participated in the hieros gamos
Gaea and Uranus, Kronos and Rhea, Zeus and Hera
who is the mother of the nine muses
Mnemosyne
who are the first generation olympians
children of Cronus and Rhea, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, and zeus
how did Zeus overthrow his father
he hid on Crete until he was grown up, then tricked Cronus into throwing up his other children
why did Cronus swallow his children
for fear that they would overthrow him (like he did to his father)
where was Zeus born
either Crete or Greece
what story accounts for the historical amalgamation of the cultures of the people of Crete and the invaders from the north
the birth of Zeus (Hesiod) links the mother goddess of the people of Crete and and early version of Zeus brought by the Greek invaders
what is the Gigantomachy
the giant war, when the earthborn(giants) fought the gods, and were eventually imprisoned underground near volcanoes
what does the Gigantomachy represent
the triumph of Greek civilization over disorder
how was the Gigantomachy won
Heracles (a mortal) fought with the gods, and Zeus took a special plant that made him invincible (made by the Earth for the giants)
who is Typhon
child of Gaea and Tartarus, from him came the evil and destructive winds
could Typhon have overthrown Zeus
yes, if Zeus had not “taken swift notice and thundered loudly and fiercely”
explain the succession motif in the creation myths
fuelled by prophesy, the idea that the son will overthrow the father, who scrambles to prevent or subvert it. As the generations go on, the deities become more human-like
why is the prevention of the succession motif different with Zeus than it was with Uranus and Cronus
rather than head on stopping it, Zeus tries to subvert it
how is Apollo connected with Hyperion and Helius
all related to the sun, storied previously connected with Hyperion or Helius were sometimes transferred to apollo
how is Artemis connected to Selene
moon goddesses, kind of merged into one
how are Apollo and Artemis different from Helius and Selene
Helius and Selene are personifications of the sun and moon, Apollo and Artemis are not
are there more than one accepted story for how humans were created
yes, often the creation of Zeus, sometimes with other gods, may be the creation of Prometheus, possibly from the same source as the deities
who is prometheus
son of Themis, name means forethought, trickster, nice to humans
how did prometheus trick the gods
he was in charge of separating the animals for sacrifice, so he put the good parts in one bowl and the bad in another, but disguised them as opposite so Zeus would pick the bad one for the sacrifice so humans could keep the good part
did the early humans have fire
maybe, Zeus may have stolen it from them because of Prometheus’ trick, then it was stolen back by prometheus in a fennel stalk
how was prometheus punished for stealing the fire
he was chained to a rock and an eagle came daily to eat his liver out, which grew back nightly
why is fire important in the story of prometheus
fire allows for technology and survival (cooking, metal working, heat, light (symbolic and literal), makes humans more like the gods)
what archetypes does prometheus fit
the culture god/hero who is responsible for the arts and sciences, and the heroic trickster
who is Pandora
woman, made by Hephaestus, taught by Athena and Hermes, made beautiful by Aphrodite. A gift to Epimetheus (afterthought)
what is the significance of hope in the story of Pandora
firstly hope is in the jar with the other evils, (is hope bad?) hope can be a blessing or a curse according to Prometheus Bound hope may have stayed the jar because it isn’t aggressive like the other evils, it can cause pain, but not the same kind of pain
why is the woman (pandora) responsible for the troubles of man (who came before her)
could be societal prejudices, the woman and jar could be seen as symbols of the lure of procreation, the womb, birth, life, the source of woes
who is Lycaon
zeus, disguised as a human, went to see if humans were actually very bad, he stayed with Lycaon who tried to kill Zeus in his sleep and tried to feed his guests a person. he got turned into a wolf
why was there a flood
Zeus was angry with how humanity was acting, evidence found in Lycaon, and decided to wipe out all of humanity for its wickedness
who survived the flood
Deucalion (son of prometheus) and Pyrrha (daughter of epimetheus) were saved because of their piety
how did Deucalion and Pyrrha repopulate the world after the flood
they asked the oracle of Themis what to do, they were told to walk out of the temple and throw stones (the great mother’s bones) over their shoulders, which grew into humans as they landed
what are the ages of man in order (according to Hesiod)
Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroes, Iron
what happened during the golden age
Cronus was king, immortals made a “golden race” of mortals, no old age, they died in their sleep
what happened in the silver age
second race of humans, lesser than the first, shorter lifespans, grew old, they did not wish to worship, so they were hid by Zeus. called blessed by mortals and are honoured
what happened in the Bronze Age
Zeus made a third race, terrible and mighty, they were destroyed by their own hand
what happened in the age of heroes
the fourth race, valiant in war and more just. a godlike race of men. age of the trojan war, some were sent to live in the isles of the blessed
what happened in the Iron age
fifth race of humans, age of trickery, slyness, hard work, familial bonds broke, etc. (not a good time, much conflict)
what did the story of the flood represent
renewal, cleansing, rebirth, also punishment
