CS2200 Mid1 - week1-5 PDF

Preview

Summary

week1-5...

Description

! find more resources at oneclass.com ! 1 - INTRODUCTION OF GREEK MYTHOLOGIES !OVERVIEW !• Etymology of myth: from the Greek word muthos = “a spoken word, an utterance, a thing that is said” !• Etymology of traditional ! - trado- = “to hand over, to transmit” (Latin) ! - tra- = “across” (Greek) - dit- = “to give” ! - ion- = “the act of” ! - -al = “pertaining to” !• Myth: a traditional shared narrative, often shared by common cultures ! - originally passed down from generations to generations as a cultural legacy ! - orally transmitted • there was no system that allowed the poets to write down stories, therefore the original authors were unknown ! when literacy came to Greece, the myths have been passed around for a long while • ! • during which, myths changed as they were transmitted over space & time ! !FUNCTIONS OF MYTHS !• A myth expresses, reinforces, justifies & challenges culture values → changing a myth = changing cultural values ! - different communities had different laws in Greece, but they had general agreements on rules ! - myths are the satires that supported the rules & justified the practices ! - the function of myths are fundamental to social orders in Greek society ! “The function of ... myths is to express dramatically the ideology under which a society lives; not only to hold out to its ! conscience the values it recognizes and the ideals it pursues from generation to generation, but above all to express ! its very being and structure, the elements, the connections, the balances, the tensions that constitute it; to justify the ! rules and traditional practices without which everything within a society would disintegrate.” Essentially: !• !(1) Expresses societal ideology - myth expresses, reinforced, justified & challenged: cultural values, practices, desires & fears ! - reflects the values, expresses its being, structures, elements & connections ! - Example: Zeus leading a divine patriarchy !(2) Justifies societal laws ! - justify traditional practices that are fundamental for the society to function !(3) Explains the unknown ! - myths are a way fro a culture to make sense the unknown, the inexplicable & the mysterious ! - mostly explanations of natural phenomenons - Example: thunder in nature = Zeus’ thunder ! !TYPES OF MYTH! !1. Divine myth ! - explain or reflect the natural universe & 3. Fable - didactic, teaches a lesson → usually about phenomena (ex: stars, earthquakes, rainbows, ! everyday moral behaviours through simple & not weather, tidal waves etc.) ! reflects ancient Greek social structure (ex: complex stories ! - consisted of animals that behave as humans patriarchy, aristocracy) ! - Ex: The Fox and The Crow Major characters: anthropomorphic, divine gods ! • anthropomorphic = human-shaped, behave & ! 4. Folktale looked as humans ! - Reflects a fantasy of power structures inversion (ex: • they were immortal & ageless slaying a omsnter, moving from poverty to wealth, • ex: the Family of Olympians ! overthrowing a tyrant) ! ! ! 2. Legend / saga involves tricksters & kings & common mortals ! - explains historical phenomena (ex: foundations of ! - contrasting legends, which are mostly tragedies, ! cities, ruins, wars and hereditary kingships) folktales are mostly happy endings with comical ! ! - mostly gods and exemplary humans, demigods ! passages ! ! and heroes ! - ex: Odysseus blinding the Cyclops ! ! ! - ex: the Trojan War find more resources at oneclass com

! find more resources at oneclass.com !EVIDENCES FOR CLASSCIAL MYTHOLOGY! !1. Text 5. Painting - Villa of Venus papyrus fragmentation, Sappho Cologne poems ! - fragment of Roman wall paintings (papyrus fragments intact) ! Archaic narrative poetry = Homers & Hesiod 6. Mosaics = Theseus and the Minotaur ! 7. Coins 2. Vase paintings ! - wine bowls / crater 8. Funerary objects ! - Anything that is buried with important people to - pot shreds from Excavation in Crete !3. Archaeological sites honour them - Etruscan mirror = depicting Paris & Helen - Lions’ Gate, Mycenae ! - Mask of Agamemnon! - Apollo’s temple, Delphi ! Sculptures = Birth of Aphrodite; Hermes & Dionysus 4. ! ! MAJOR PERIODS OF GREEK HISTORY! !1. Minoan Civilization (3000–1400 BCE) 4. Archaic Period (800–480 BCE) !• based on the island of Crete • AKA the Iron Age !• non-Indoeuropean & non-Greek • Culture: - growing interest in science Architectures: open palaces, no fortication = Knossos • ! - growth of city-states indicate they were not worried about invaders ! - Panhellenic Olympic games were held (776 BC), Culture: • ! - Naval domination of Eastern !Mediterranean AKA Panathenaean games ! ! shifted in social orders: democracy established in Sophisticated in arts & engineering ! - advance plumbing systems Athens (510 BC) ! - consisted of female figurines! with double-axes - Participated in the Persian Wars ! - cultures were influenced by Egypt (labrys), bull imageries → “Bull Fresco at ! ! Knossos” • Language: Phoenician alphabet was adopted ! - Rise in trades & travel → came into contact with Language: The inhabitants were ! not linguistically • ! ! literacy, started recording down myths related to the Greeks = therefore ! probably had ! ! - Homer, Hesiod & lyric poetry different cultures than the Greeks ! !2. Mycenaean Civilization (1650–1150 BCE) 5. Classical Period (480–323 BCE) !• Indoeuropean • AKA the Golden Age • Most rich in evidences !• Architectures: Palaces were placed on hill-tops indicates that they were worried about invasions • Athenian dominance in Greek confederacy = ! Pericles, a major statesman from surrounding cities ! Athenian empire was built based on naval strength Culture: • !• - Aristocratic social hierarchy • flowering of art, drama, architecture & education → ! - absorbed some elements from Minoan culture Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato ! - known reason for decline Evolving democracy • !• Language: Linear B wiring = syllabic, administrative participated in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE • This period ended with the death of Alexander the • ! - Greek speaking, very similar & related to Greek Great (356–323 BCE) ! !3. Dark Ages (1100–800 BCE) 6. Hellenistic Period (323–146 BCE) Very little evidences from this period of time = “dark” !• Decline in population • Characterized by the widespread dissemination of • !• absence of literacy classic Hellenic culture !• economic decline • successors of alexander the Great ruled vast areas around the Mediterranean, Near East & Egypt !• poor quality of artifacts Cosmopolitan culture, important centres for learning waves of emigration to Asia Minor • • ! Greek was the official language, spoke in most Scarcity of evidence • • ! places ! • Ended when Rome conquered Greece in 146 BCE! !DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGIES !1. Humanism → asserts the intrinsic worth, dignity & creative potential of each individual ! - theme: mortals could rival the gods through creativity & heroic actions ! - BUT implacable forces, such as fate & divine will, will circumscribe human existence (ex: Oedipus) !2. Individualism & Competitiveness → Achilles recognized no equals & refused to cooperate with fellow Greek the Trojan War, that little shit find more resources at oneclass com

! find more resources at oneclass.com ! 2 HESOID’S THEOGONY !OVERVIEW !Hesoid !• A farmer & poet from the region of Boeotia (North of Athene) !• He-wrote Theogony, Work and Days Promoted a mythic conception for the universe → based partly on the ancient Near Eastern models ! - Reflected in Theogony → the Greeks’ oldest surviving creation account !• Lived during the Archaic Period → his works reflected the morals of the Archaic period’s societal structure ! !Theogony • “Theo” + gony (birth)= “birth of the Gods” ! - Cosmogony → birth of the world-order & the universe (cosmos) - cosmology → a metaphysical statement about the universe’s nature & purpose ! - A religious piece of work ! • Describes the divine dynastic succession, with characters as the divine beings ! - The stories are passed on from generations to generations = typical of a divine traditional narrative ! - Main conflict: familial power struggles between gods, every character fights to win the eternal position for power - Outcome: Zeus finally wins, becomes the eternal king of Olympus ! • Includes elaborate hymn to Zeus ! - In major structures of the text, the structure of the Greek society at that time is reflected ! - The triumph of Zeus over his divine predecessors & defeat of monsters are the prelude to the establishment of the ! sociopolitical system that prevailed in the Archaic period in Greece - Allows the aristocratic families to justify their ruling of Greece by claiming divine descent ! • Reflects oral epic tradition → The text is written in a form known as “epic” “! • ! Contains substantial Near Eastern influence → Ex: Babylonian Euma Elish or Epic of Creation Reflects the ancient Greek idea of the universe = where the characters lived reflects their social status !• - the gods lived in the Olympus, the highest place ! - Humans lived on earth, the middle - The dead go to Hades, with the sinners going to Tartarus to suffer for eternity ! - Conceived of the earth as a disk surrounded by a watery waste (the circular River of Ocean) ! - Supported by pillars or held up by Atlas (titan) ! !Features of Early Greek Oral Epic Song !• These are things that helped the oral poets to compose their songs in the ancient times! 8. Epithets !3. Originally sung by a single performer - The songs call out to the divine beings & ask them to - Lines that indicate the same character (same god) ! - Ex: “grey-eyed Athena”, “Zeus the cloud gatherer” sing through them ! - Gives authority to the singer (divine authority) 9. Ring-composition in the narrative - The narrative leaves off in the middle of a story, goes on !4. Invocation of the Muses or other gods to telling another story, then comes back to the first !5. Sung in meters: dactylic hexameter - dactyls (syllables are long, short, short) in each line story where he/she left off ! - each dactyl is a beat ∴ 6 beats in a line - Usually not necessary but often appears !6. Repetition 10. Catalogues - Ex: a list of daughters of the ocean ! - provide time for the singer to improvise the next part - Gives the singers time to compose the next part !7. Formulae - A line that designate the end of a speech ! Ex: “and thus he replied with winged words” ! !The Muses !• Zeus + Mnemosyne (the Titian goddess of Memory and Remembrance) = 9 Muses! - Melpomene = tragedy ! - Kallipo / Calliope = epic poetry, proclaimer of heroes, - Terpsichore = dance guide of reverend kings, the most important one ! - Clio = history - Erato = sacred poetry ! - Euterpe = flutes and lyric poetry - Urania = astronomy ! ! - Thalia = comedy and pastoral poetry !• The Muses helped in the creation of arts (Especially in poetic art) - They are under the authority & control of Zeus = All of their songs are praises of Zeus & must be approved by him ! - Gave speeches to the good kings in Greek history → shows that although the kings’ powers came from Zeus, their ! persuasive power of speech came from the Muses ! - Lived on Mount Helikon ! - Apollo is the leader of the Muses → shows that Zeus favors him find more resources at oneclass com

! find more resources at oneclass.com THE ORIGINS OF THE GODS ! ST !THE 1 GENERATION (THE BEGINNING) !• -At first, there was only Chaos (AKA, the Abyss, the Gaping Void) representing nothingness, disorder ! - Asexually reproduced Darkness/Night and Erebos, who then slept with each other and birthed Aether/Light and Day ! - Night (2nd gen) asexually birthed Doom, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Blame, Grief, Hesperide (guard of the golden apples), Destinies, Avenging Fates, Eris ! Gaia (Earth), Tartaros, and Eros (Desire) then came into being independently, born from Chaos in that order asexually • ! Gaia’s body is seen as the surface of the Earth, and the foundation of everything ! - Viewed as both the earth and the primordial mother, a primal entity ! - Tartaros later houses fallen gods and monsters ! - Eros is the driving force of procreative love (In some version, Eros is the son of Aphrodite) !• -Gaia then produces Ouranos (Sky), Mountains and Sea by asexual reproduction Sea asexually born Nereus (The Old Man), the River Styx, Clymene (mother of Prometheus), Amphitrite (wife of Poseidon) ! !NOTE ON TARTAROS !• A mortal would not be able to reach Tartaros, even immortals such as the Olympians find it terrible ! - It’s an original being that came into existence by itself and a place at the same time Night & Day greet each other & switch places here, but one of them is always out of the “house”, while the other one remains !• - Sleep accompanies Night, and in the house: Sleep, Death !• Cerebrus guarded the gate to Hades (and therefore Tartaros) ! - Trick: welcomes & greets anyone who comes in but would not let anyone go back out t ! - the River Styx surrounded Hades, the oldest daughter of the Ocean, a descendent of the titans - When the gods swear upon the river, the inability to fulfill/follow their promises guarantees severe consequences ! - The breaker of promise would go into a “dead-like” state & not allowed to breath for a year ! - After he/she is “returned to life”, he/she then goes into exile for 9 more years ! ND !THE 2 GENERATION (TITANS) Gaia sexed her youngest son Ouranos, producing 12 Titans, 3 Cyclopes and 3 Hundred-Handed-Ones !• - Of the titans, remember: Kronos, Rheia, Typhoios ! - The Cyclopes have a lone eye on the middle of their foreheads !• Ouranos doesn’t allow them to be born → pushes them back into Gaia’s body = Earth expands !• Gaia isn’t happy with Ourano’s decision ∴ creates a clever plan to trick him - She created a new mineral adamantine & made a weapon out of it (sickle) ! - Asks the children to rise against their father !• Kronos (the youngest son, “arch-deceiver”) takes the weapon, waits inside of body, and castrates Ouranos during intercourse ! ∴ overthrows his father Ouranos, Kronos rises into power !• The genital of Ouranos is flung across the Earth and finally lands in the ocean ! -- The drops of blood gives birth to the Furies and Giants The Furies are goddess who are responsible for punishing those who slay their kins ! - The genital lands in ocean, the foam of the ocean gathers around it → Aphrodite (goddess of love, beauty & sexual desire) ! - the birth of Aphrodite expresses a characteristic Greek opinion about sexual love • although she is the embodiment of promising beauty & joy, it can also inspire acts of brutal aggression ! • female’s body is blamed for many conflicts in society ! • the Ouranos-Kronos conflict echoes a convention for ancient cosmogony → new gods cannot appear until their divine parents ! are permanently gotten ridden of ! - Ouranos remains in the distant background, to be consulted occasionally ! - Also shows that sky must be removed from earth in order for life to develop ! THE 3RD GENERATION (FIRST GENERATION OF OLYMPIANS) !• Kronos and his sister Rheia mate, producing 6 Olympians → Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus !• Kronos attempts to avoid Ouranus’ fate & the prophecy of son overthrowing the father ! - Swallows all of his children as soon as they are born = so there will be no competition for the throne - Imitating his father’s policy & foreshadows that any offspring that survives (Zeus) will repeat his rebellion ! • Rheia tricks Kronos and hides Zeus in a cave on Crete, received by Gaia & gives Kronos a stone in swaddling clothes instead ! - Gaia nurtures him until he comes of age → Zeus is the first god who was born a baby instead of born mature ! - Repeating the pattern of mother protecting the youngest by a trick & deceiving the oppressive father, thus allowing the son to overthrow the father in the end ! Zeus overthrows his father, tricking him into vomiting up his siblings, who comes out in the opposite order of being born • ! The stone (omphalos) is placed at Pytho (Delphi) !• After the uprising, Amphitrite and Poseidon mate, borns Triton !• Aphrodite and Ares mate, born Phobos and Deimos and Harmonia, who married King Cadmus (mortal), born Semele find more resources at oneclass com

! find more resources at oneclass.com !ZEUS ESTABLISHING HIS RULING !(1) Titanomachy, The War Against The Titans ! -- the Titans (born from Kronos) fought against the Olympians for a long time, no one was gaining an upper hand Zeus decided to seek help from the Cyclopes & the Hundred-Handed-Ones ! • freed them from their prisons and promised them with powerful positions once the Olympians won ! • offered divine food = symbolism of rise in status / position ! - The Cyclopes & The Hundred-Handed-Ones became powerful allies in the war • the Cyclopes forged Zeus’ lightning-bolts ! • ensured the ultimate victory of the Olympians over the Titans ! - The Olympian gods won under the leadership of Zeus ! - Titans could not be killed as they were divine, but Zeus decided to immobilize them by casting them down to Tartarus • titans = divine but neutralized ! • the distance between Olympus → Earth → Tartarus is 18 days and 18 nights (9 days & 9 nights between each) ! • demonstrates the Greek’s view on the primitive forces (symbolized by Titans) in nature → they need to exist & cannot ! be destroyed, but must be under the control of a male leader ! - After the war, Zeus distributed roles & privileges as the king of immortals to gods ! !(2) Typhonomachy, The War Against Typhoids - Gaia was angry against the Olympians for defeating her sons, and had sex with Tartaros under the influence of Aphrodite ! - Gaia gave birth to Typhoios as a result, the last born and titan of Gaia ! - Typhoios waged a war against the Olympians as told by Gaia, came pretty close to world domination ! - defeated by Zeus ! (3) Punishment of Prometheus ! Background of Prometheus ! - Lapetos (a Titan born from Gaia) slept together with Clymene/Klymene (the daughter titan of Ocean/Sea) ! - Clymene gave birth to 4 sons: Atlas, Menoitios, Prometheus, Epimetheus ! - all four sons are punished by Zeus due to one reason or another for commending offences - Atlas = participated in the Titanomachy, sentenced to hold the pillar of the sky on his shoulders for eternity ! - Menoitios = participated in the Titanomachy, died in the war by blasting to pieces by Zeus ! - Prometheus = fought on the Olympian’s side during the Titanomachy, punished for successfully tricking Zeus ! • Prometheus’ name meant “Forethought”, contrasts his little brother Epimetheus’ name, which means “Afterthought” • pro- = “before, in front” ! • met- = “cunning intelligence” ! • -theus = “the child of” ! - Epimetheus = did not fight during the Titanomachy, used by the gods to get back at Prometheus ! Greek Sacrificial Practice ! - Greek mortals made animal sacrifices to the gods on Olympus in return for divine favours → the chosen animal would be ! slain at the alter by a priest, then cut up into pieces ! • The meat would be cooked & divided among the people present ! • The bonds are then wrapped in fat & burned at the alter = the smoke rose up to the gods • the sacrificial meal bonded the divine & human societies together → the meal at Mekone was said to be the first and the ! (because of Prometheus) sacrificial meal ! - Thelast hierarchy of food demonstrated each speices’ status ! gods - consumed only nectars & ambrosia ! - received the smoke of animal sacrifices ! Mortals - consumed clocked meat of animals at the sacrificial feast ! - used fire to cook = fire sets humanity apart from animals ! ! Animals - consumed raw food - usually sacrificial victims, eaten by humans ! ! Prometheus & Fire ! - Prometheus’ first offence: Prometheus divided the sacrificial meat unequally at the sacrificial meal of Mekone ! • he tricked Zeus with an unequal division of meat, favoured mortals intentionally by disguising the portions • wrapped the bones inside fat = made it seem like it was a larger portion & asked Zeus to choose between all portions ! • Zeus somehow saw through the trick but still chose the poorer portion → wanted a reason to punch humanity in the guts ! & Prometheus gave him a reason (Contradictory problem in Theogony) ! - Mortals have benefitted from the disguised portions of the sacrificial animals (got a larger portion than Zeus) due to ! Prometheus’ deception find more resources at oneclass com

! find more reso...