Ways of Interpreting Myth:
Star Wars and the Greeks
Ancient Theories
The Web of
Myth
Monolithic or
Multifunctional
Interpreting myth is like Penelope at her loom. Thread upon thread of interpretation is
interwoven in myth. As one approach to myth goes out of favor and is unraveled from the
fabric, another takes its place. The result is that, like Penelope's shroud, the cloth of myth
interpretation is ever-changing and can never be finished.
See Sienkewicz on the Web of Myth
See also Michael Webster’s Ways of Interpreting Myths
Ancient Ways of Viewing Myth
Archaic 750-480 B.C.
Myth as Venerable Tradition
Questioning of Myths (Rationality)
Myths as Allegory
Classical 480-323 B.C.
Myths as Instructive Models
Myths as Inaccurate
Myths of Questionable Morality
Myths as Dangerous
Homer
Xenophanes
Theagenes
Anaxagoras
Aeschylus
Euripides
Socrates
Plato
Hellenistic 323-146 B.C.
Gods as Deified Heroes and Kings Euhemerus
Timeline: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Contemporaries.html
Myths as Venerable Tradition
Homer. Odyssey 11.582-592:
[582] “Aye, and I saw Tantalus in violent torment, standing in a pool, and the water came nigh unto his chin. He
seemed as one athirst, but could not take and drink; for as often as that old man stooped down, eager to drink, so
often would the water be swallowed up and vanish away, and at his feet the black earth would appear, for some
god made all dry. And trees, high and leafy, let stream their fruits above his head, pears, and pomegranates, and
apple trees with their bright fruit, and sweet figs, and luxuriant olives. But as often as that old man would reach
out toward these, to clutch them with his hands, the wind would toss them to the shadowy clouds.
What about Star Wars?
Star Was as Venerable Tradition?
Xenophanes of Colophon
c.570 B.C.
Questioned the Anthropomorphism of the Gods
#170 But mortals consider that the gods are born, and that they have
clothes and speech and bodies like their own.
#171 The Ethiopians say that their gods are snub- nosed and black, the
Thracians that theirs have light blue eyes and red hair.
#172 But if cattle and horses or lions had hands, or were able to draw with
their hands and do the works that men can do, horses would draw the
forms of gods like horses, and cattle like cattle, and they would make their
bodies such as they each had themselves.
What about Star Wars?
Anthropomorphism in Star Wars
Myths as Allegory
Theagenes of
Rhegium (525 B.C.)
gods as symbols of
human qualities; e.g.,
Athena = wisdom
Anaxagoras of Clazomenae (c.500-428 B.C.)
The misdeeds of the gods are intended to illustrate evil
and teach virtue.
What about Star Wars?
Star Wars as Allegory
An allegory on the Cold War
http://www.berlinermauer.se/
Politics: The Evil Empire
Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire Speech”
presented at the annual convention of
the National Association of Evangelicals
in Orlando, Fla., March 8, 1983:
“I urge you to beware the temptation of
pride - the temptation of blithely
declaring yourselves above it all and
label both sides equally at fault, to
ignore the facts of history and the
aggressive impulses of an evil empire,
to simply call the arms race a giant
misunderstanding and thereby remove
yourself from the struggle between right
and wrong and good and evil.”
Star Wars as Allegory
Spiritual Allegory
–
http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/star%20wars%20reid.htm
– Obi-Wan as a Christ type
Star Wars as Allegory
Coming to Terms with Homosexuality
– http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=4750
28
Myths as Instructive Models
(Paradigmatic Model)
Is Star Wars a
Paradeigm?
Aeschylus (c.525-456 B.C.)
used myth to teach Athenians
about the gods and the their role
in the civic life of Athens.
Star Wars as Paradigm
Lucas’ used “Star Wars” to teach his audience about the
need for inter-species cooperation and solidarity. “We are
all in this together.
Myths as Inaccurate
Euripides on the birth of Dionysus:
Confusion between thigh (meron) and
hostage (hemeron), a reference to the
false image of Dionysus which Zeus
gave to Hera as a hostage.
Watch out for this in Euripides’ Bacchae (295)
Is Star Wars Inaccurate?
Boston Museum of Fine Arts 95.39
Attic Red-Figure Lekythos
Star Wars as Inaccurate
• There is NO Sound in
Space
– http://www.theforce.n
et/swtc/astro.html#sou
nd
• And other
astrophysical
concerns
– http://www.theforce.n
et/swtc/astro.html
Myths as Dangerous
Plato Banishes Poetry (=Myths) from his Ideal Republic
In Republic Book X Socrates banishes poets from the city as unwholesome and dangerous because:
•The poets pretend to know all sorts of things, but they really know nothing at all. The things
they deal with cannot be known: they are images, far removed from what is most real. By presenting
scenes so far removed from the truth poets, pervert souls, turning them away from the most real toward
the least.
•Worse, the images the poets portray do not imitate the good part of the soul. The rational
part of the soul is quiet, stable, and not easy to imitate or understand. Poets imitate the worst parts—the
inclinations that make characters easily excitable and colorful. Poetry naturally appeals to the worst parts
of souls and arouses, nourishes, and strengthens this base elements while diverting energy from the
rational part.
•Poetry corrupts even the best souls. It deceives us into sympathizing with those who
grieve excessively, who lust inappropriately, who laugh at base things. It even goads us into
feeling these base emotions vicariously. We think there is no shame in indulging these emotions because
we are indulging them with respect to a fictional character and not with respect to our own lives.
Is Star Wars Dangerous?
Star Wars is Dangerous
ChildCare Action Project:
Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP)
http://www.capalert.com/capreports/starwarsstudy.htm
“Each of The Star Wars movies presented
a clear disregard for the Holy Scriptures.
The Star Wars movies presented separation and independence from
God's Sovereignty and Omnipotence and rightful Authority.”
Counterfeiting and mockery of the Scriptures .
Repeated use of the "force" as equatable to the Will of God and ignoring His supreme Authority.
Gaining power, strength, and protection from the "force."
Manipulating objects and minds by the power of the "force."
Portrayal that Anakin was a virgin birth.
Portrayal that Anakin was "the one" to bring community between good and evil.
presentation of ethereal beings in after-death presence to the corporeal world, and submitting to and seeking
counsel/guidance/rescue from them.
unholy powers to control, manipulate, and kill and mystic sensing.
Euhemerism
On Euhemerus of Messene, see
http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/euhemerus.html.
From Diodorus Siculus:
Now Euhemerus, who was a friend of King Cassander [of Macedonia (301 to 297 B.C.)] and
was required by him to perform certain affairs of state and to make great journeys abroad,
says that he traveled southward as far as the [Indian] ocean; for setting sail from Arabia he
voyaged through the ocean for a considerable number of days and was carried to the shore
of some islands in the sea, one of which bore the name of Panachaea. On this island he saw
the Panachaeans who dwell there, who excel in piety and honor the gods with the most
magnificent sacrifices and with remarkable votive offerings of silver and gold.... There is
also on the island, situated on an exceedingly high hill, a sanctuary of Zeus, which was
established by him during the time when he was king of all the inhabited world and was still
in the company of men. And in the temple there is a stele of gold on which is inscribed in
summary, in the writing employed by the Panchaeans, the deeds of Ouranos and Kronos
and Zeus.
Does Euhemerism apply to Star Wars?
Euhemerism in Star Wars
Gods as Deified Heroes and Kings