Muthos vs. Logos

-both originally meant myth

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

Burkert's def of a myth?

traditional tale that has collective importance for the community that employs it

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

Greek Religion: Gods

-anthropomorphic

-polytheistic

-no literary text to tell people how to behave

-gods weren't necessarily more moral/ethical than humans; they were more powerful/immortal, so they were feared

Greek Religion: Heroes

-literary and cultic

-made offerings at supposed graves after death to appease/ask for help (heroon)

lack of division btwn 'Church and State'

-no division btwn religious and political life

ex.gods were potentially everywhere, daily religious activities, festivals

emphasis on ritual

-pragmatic system of exchange (gain favour of gods through ritual)

Minoan Civilization

-not Greek (can't read their language based on what we know of Greek)

-from Crete

Mycenaean Civilization

-1st Greek civilization

-time to which myth recalls

-Linear B (we can read based on what we know about Greek)

Dark Age

-loss of writing

-population decline

-less agriculture

-fragmentation w/in Greek society

-period of oral dev. of myth

Archaic Period

-rebirth of Greek society

-Phoenician alphabet w/ vowls

Classical Period

Myth

-content can be represented in different media

Epic Poetry

-one type of medium in which myth was expressed

Trad view of Homer and the Iliad/Odyssey

-written by blind bard who was born along the Ionian coast

Oddities of the Homeric Epics

-not natural language; numerous dialects from diff. time periods

-repitition of phrases, sentences, passages

-inconsistencies in plot/contex

Parry-Lord Theory of the Composition of the Epics

-epics were a product of an oral trad

metre of epic poetry

dactylic hexameter

Formulaic Structure of Homeric Epics

-repeated epithet-noun combos (swift-footed Achilles)

-combos to fill out metre of a line (she spoke winged words)

-wole lines/passages repeated for typical actions (performing a sacrifice, arming a hero)

Homeric Poetry as Oral Poetry

-rhapsode was able to compose a story for his audiece on the spot using this formulaic poetry; thus it is widely accepted that the Iliad/Odyssey are a product of an oral trad of story telling

When/Where did this Oral Trad Arise?

When- dark age as a necessary response to the lose of writing

Where- Ionia; dominant dialect is Ionian where Homer was said to have been born

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

Role of Writing in Homeric Epics