Mythology and Allusion
Why are myths still relevant?
What is mythology?
• Myths are stories that were created to answer
the basic questions about the world, the gods,
and human life
• They tell about events from the distant past
and were considered truthful and sacred
Three types of myths
• “Origin” myths, or Creation myths, answer
questions about natural events: why voices
echo, how mountains/deserts were formed,
how spiders came to be, etc.
• “Alienation” myths answer questions about
why things go wrong or why there is pain and
suffering
• “Eschatological” myths are stories about the
end of time and “after-life”
Gods and Goddesses, Heroes and
Monsters
• Myths tell about the
adventures of gods or humans
who come into contact with
them
• Gods and goddesses possess
extraordinary powers
• They usually have their own
special area of power
Why are they STILL relevant?
• Myths, especially Greek
myths are popular and
well-known across the
world
• They are often used by
artists, authors,
comedians, etc. in
ALLUSIONS.
What is an ALLUSION?
• An ALLUSION is a reference to an outside
work.
• Allusions can be made to a book, song, poem,
film, painting, even to current events.
Mythological Allusion
• One of the most commonly alluded to
subjects is mythology
• There are mythological allusions in our
everyday lives
“Herculean Strength”
• A very common allusion,
one that has become cliché,
is the phrase, “Herculean
strength.”
• This phrase/cliché is used to
describe a person of
incredible strength or
possessing amazing
stamina.
“Pandora’s Box”
• When a person gets in
trouble for being so
curious about something
that it leads to severe
consequences and
punishment, we say, “She
opened Pandora’s box.”
“The Midas Touch”
• When someone has
uncanny success,
especially
businessmen/women,
we say, “they have the
Midas touch.”
“Sisyphean Task”
• Sisyphus’s story personifies a
modern man’s zeal to work hard
everyday to no avail.
• A task that is overwhelming in its
magnitude may be referred to as
“a Sisyphean task.”
• A person that may have been
involved in fraudulent
transactions may be called a
“Sisyphus.”
Let us begin!
• We will begin with our “God Logs” and
continue with them through out
• We will put on three “readers’ theater”
performances
• We will finish with an Allusions Project