Chapter Three, Lecture One
The Development of Classical
Myth
The Development of Classical Myth
• Features of Greek myth appear in
primordial past.
• How did myth begin and develop in the
historical periods?
• Where do we look for evidence of their
earliest origins, and how do we assess it?
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Neolithic fertility idols found throughout
southeast Europe and Near East.
– Fertility Idols from Thessaly
– Cycladic Idols
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Potnia Thērōn
• Is she Artemis?
– Artemis as the Potnia Thērōn on the François
Vase
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Indo-European myths
• Linguistic analysis
– Zeus and Jupiter < Dy –
– The Indo-Europeans worshipped a sky god?
• Comparative Analysis
– “twin”
– good versus evil?
– social dichotomy?
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Writing as a method of transmission
• Linear B tablets
– Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis,
Hermes, Enyalius, Paean, Eileithyia,
Dionysus, Potnia.
• Myths mostly transmitted orally by aoidoi
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Songs performed for entertainment by
bards
– Homer’s Demodocus
• Dactylic hexameter
• Rhythmic patterns and stock phrases
The Influence of Near Eastern Myth
• Non-Indo-European Mesopotamian
sources of Greek myth
– Mesopotamia Map
• Greek myths of cosmic origins come from
Near Eastern sources
• Mesopotamian myths known only by
report until recently
• Cuneiform script decoded in the 19th
century
Sumerian Myth
• Sumerians the earliest people in
Mesopotamia (4000 B.C.)
• First full-fledged cities
• Each city had protective deity
– “Lived” on the ziggurat
Sumerian Myth
• Myths preserved on tablets and seals
– cuneiform (wedge shaped)
• Seal Impressions
– Gilgamesh/Enkidu cylinder seal
Sumerian Myth
An
Sky God | Supreme
Inanna
Queen of Heaven | Sex and War
Enlil
Lord of the Storm | Tablets of Destiny
Enki
Lord of Earth | Sweet Ground Water |
Trickster God
One of Many Names for Mother Earth
Ki
Ereshkigal Queen of the Underworld
Utu
Sun God
Sumerian Myths
• Deities are anthropomorphic but indistinct
– Hard to tell often who’s been represented
• Filled with human emotions and
motivations
• Important in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Semitic Myth
• Semites
– Modern term < Biblical “Schem”
– Arrive in Mesopotamia in 2000 BC
– Designates linguistic group
• Sargon the Akkadian (2340 BC)
• Adopted Sumerian culture
Semitic Myth
Sumerian
Akkadian/Bablyonian
An
Anu
Inanna
Isthar
Enlil
Enlil or Marduk
Enki
Ea
Ki
-----
Ereshkigal
-----
Utu
Shamash
Semitic Myth
• Hammurabi (1750 BC)
– Semitic Babylonians
– Empire in Mesopotamia
• The Ennuma Elish
– “When on high . . .”
– Creation account
– Cult hymn
Semitic Myth
• Hebrews
– Abraham (2000 BC?)
• Migrated to Canaan and then to Egypt
• Moses (1200 BC)
– Monotheism (from Egyptian period of
Akhenaten 1400 BC?)
– Yahweh
– The Exodus and Ten Commandments
Semitic Myth
• Invasion of Canaan
– Battles with the Canaanites and the
Philistines
• Kingdom of David and Solomon (1000 BC)
• Babylonian Exile (586–536)
– Nebuchadnezzar
• Collected their written and oral traditions
• Completed around AD 90
Semitic Myth
• Wrote with the “Phoenician alphabet”
– syllabary of twenty-two signs without vowel
signs
• Easier than cuneiform but still difficult
– Hence the prestige of readers (the rabbi)
• Adapted into Arabic script and ultimately
into the Greek alphabet
Other Sources
• Hittites (1600–1200 BC)
– Central modern-day Turkey
– Non-Semitic
– Inherited and modified Babylonian myths
• Egypt
– Had few myths
– Mostly proverbs, hymns, and clever short stories
– Connected narratives come from Greek sources
(Osiris and Isis)
Next Lecture: Greek Origins