Ancient Theories: 2 Approaches

1. Where/How Myths Originated

2. Allegory

believed gods of myth were originally human beings

(Where/How Myths Originated)

Euhemerus

(ex. Zeus may have started as a human king who was elevated to the status of a god for his successful rule)

Homeric Hymn to Apollo

-esplains why such an important religious site as Apollo's sanctuary was located on Delos (small/politically unimportant)

-explains this by saying Delos is the island of Apollo's birth

Callimachus' Hymn to Apollo

-after his adventure w/ the Minotaur on Crete, Theseus stopped on Delos:

1. boys/girls rescued performed a dance called the crane (twisting movements reflected the twists of the Minotaur's maze)

2. Theseus left a wooden statue of Aphrodite (actual religious object in the sanctuary)

-this later intro of Theseus reflects the historical reality of how Delos came under the influence of Athens politically

Apollo, Theseus and Coming of Age Rites

-Theseus set up Delian games (boxing, singing, dancing)

-activities typical of young men undergoing "coming of age" rites of passage

-activities are typical of Apollo who represents an ephebe

-Theseus' journey to Crete to face the Minotaur is a coming of age story

Oedipus Complex

-sons have a natural bond w/ their mothers

-this results in a desire for them and animosity toward their fathers

-these infantile emotions must be abandoned by an indiidual to mature into an adult

Criticism: overemphasis on sexual motives, Oedipus does not have the complex himself

How did Freud's followers differ from him?

-viewed myth more positivley

-myths are subjeted to collective morality; thereby can teach members of a society to put aside immature feelings/desires

How did the ancient Greeks look at myths in a historical context?

-believed myth was a part of their history

-did not necessarily see myths as historically accurate due to the length of time btwn the heroic age and the historical age was lengthy

-resulted in general process of rationalization by which the myths are manipulated to make them fit w/ an overall conception of history

-this included explaining away fantastic/improbable elements of a myth

"father of history"

Herodotus

-wrote account of Persian wars

-attributes the east vs. west conflict to a series of thefts of women on both sides leading down to Paris' theft of Helen

wrote history of Peloponnesian War

Thucydides

-generation after Herodotus

-more critical than Herodotus, did include material which today would be considered myth

(ex. believed Minos, king of Crete existed)

wrote a work tracing the history of Greece down to the Trojan War

Hecataeus

-used rationalization to construct his account because this "history" only existed in mythical tales

(ex. Myth of Heracles' capture of Cerberus was explained as a result of someone taking the name of a large snake called "the hound of Hades" and applying it to the idea of a three headed dog)

Greeks divided into 3 basic tribes based upon ethnic/linguistic distinctions:

Dorians

Ionians

Aeolians

Which historical movement was linked w/ the myth of Heracles?

"Dorian invasion from the NW"

-Heracles was an important hero of the Dorians and Greeks in general

When the Heraclids returned, the Peloponnese was divided btwn btwn three ethnic/linguistic groups:

Spartans

Argives

Messenians

The Actors

-all male citizens

-each dramatist was allowed only 3 actors with speaking parts

3 actor rule- only three speaking characters on stage at one time (not including the chorus)

Muthos vs. Logos

-both originally meant myth

-meaning of logos changed from myth to logic/reason when the content of myth of questioned

Particular Aspects of Greek Myth

oral vs. literary- creation of literary works based on oral tales

humanism- anthropomorphic gods, humans strived to be godlike but were confined by their animalistic nature

pessimism-heroes usu. die in some violent fashion

individualism-heroes struggle for recognition/fame as a way to surmount death by gaining a reputation that lives after their death

Parry-Lord Theory of the Composition of the Epics

-epics were a product of an oral trad

Migration, Movement and Myth

-Ionian coast settled by Greeks during dark age

-in travels they developed oral poetry to recall, preserve and dev. their culture

How does the Iliad question warfare, even if it glorifies it?

-criticism through showing the effect of warfare on family and peacetime activities

ex.

-Hector's family in Book 6

-Suggesting alternative more peaceful ethical systems, such as the gift giving btwn Diomedes and Glaukos

-Achilles and Hector often question it and are constrained by it

In Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica, discuss the distinct nature of Jason's heroism.

-not trad powerful hero like Heracles

-often makes use of social bonds such as xenia and philia to get tasks done

-use of social bonds shows his over-reliance on language rather than deed

-a hero must be powerful in word and deed

-use of deceptive language was supposedly characteristic of women, he does this w/ Medea

-human in his expression of doubt

The order of things has changed. The holy waters of the rivers flow upwards.

Justice and all things human turn backwards.

Men’s thoughts are evil now and their belief in the gods is gone.

And I can see that the coming stories will turn women’s reputation to that of a glorious and honourable gender.

Their name will not longer be foul.

Work: Medea

Speaker: Chorus

Significance: Jason's failure to behave ethically and honour his oath to Medea has allowed Medea to take the position of the hero 

You, who have never fought the Trojans, married my mother improperly and murdered her husband, the leader of the Greek army.
You were such a fool, thinking that marrying my mother and dishonouring my father’s bed, she would stay faithful to you. Yet everyone should know this: when a man seduces another man’s wife with secret love and then is forced to marry her, he is a fool to think that she’d be honest with him if she wasn’t with her first husband.
You lived in misery yet you didn’t suspect it and felt, instead, that you were happy. Of course both of you knew your union was unholy. Unholy marriage, unlawful husband.
You two, being evil, hid each other’s misery: she hid yours and you hid hers. All the Argives would say, “Look, there goes Klytaimestra’s husband” and not, “there goes Aigisthus’ wife!”
It’s a great shame to see a house being ruled by the woman and not by the man. I turn away from any child whom the city calls not a father’s son but a mother’s. This is because if the man marries a woman of a far better standing than his and far more noble than him, the citizen will never speak about him but about his wife.

Work: Electra

Speaker: Electra

Significance: Electra's ethical outlook is for women is teh culturally prescribed one, that women should support the men in their lives and not be known or spoken about as independent agents

And you, Aigisthus, because of your lack of intelligence, fell into a big trap which is that you thought that the great wealth made you important. Yet wealth is not something you can have for long.
A man’s strength is his nature, not his wealth because that is what stays with us and that is what defeats our troubles. When the unjust joy falls into sinful ways, it blossoms in the house for a very short time before it flies away again.
I am not going to talk openly about your behaviour towards women; a virgin must not do so but if I speak of them in hidden terms they will still be easy to understand.
You dishonoured them because, they say, you had royal palaces and beauty.

Work: Electra

Speaker: Electra verbally abusign the corpse of Aigisthus

Significance: Character and Class- neither Aigisthus' wealth nor his good looks was indicative of his anoble character

The situation of all mortals –every one of them, every single one of them- is the same: They’ll all die!  They must! And none of them know if they’ll still be around tomorrow. Fate’s feet walk on uncharted paths. No one can tell us where they’re walking. No philosopher can make it clear for us.
Take this lesson from me, my friend: Enjoy life! Drink and call each day your own. The rest is Fate’s business.

Work: Alcestis

Speaker: Heracles

Significance: drunken discussion w/ servant, humans are doomed to die, so one must take pleasure and happiness that one can in the moment, this is to accept one's humanity

During w/ time period did hero cults start to become prevalent in Greece?

Archaic

How did Palaephatus explain the origin of myths?

they resulted from linguistic misunderstanding

In Iliad Book 22 w/ do Hector's words to Achilles "I will become the anger of the gods" mean?

Achilles disrespect of Hector's body will lead to Achilles' death

Which god has a particular connection to the island of Lemnos?

Hephaistos

Who usurped the rightful throne of Iolcus from Jason?

Pelias