Craig Burton
October 2, 2003
HUM2211, Section 15
Exam 1
1. Any heroes in myths can be viewed as archetypes as they are what everyone should
strive to be. The heroes do much good for their people and are good people to look up to.
2. Pantheism: A belief that states all things in existence are sacred and influenced by a
greater force (Indus Valley Civilization). Monotheism: The belief in only one god
(Hebrews). Henotheism: The belief in worshipping gods independently of each other
(1350 B.C. Egypt).
3. Jade was sacred to the Chinese because they felt it had the power to protect the human
body from decaying. Jade was also used for tools and arts.
4. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics and it can be found in the Egyptian pyramids.
5. The Chinese yin/yang symbolizes the balance and unity of positive and negative forces
of the universe.
6. The term covenant is the set of morals the Judaic people abide by to be treated well
and protected in return by God. The implication of the covenant is directly linked to the
Decalogue (or the Ten Commandments).
7. The Epic of Gilgamesh. The quest is caused in part by the death of his friend Enkidu.
8. ?
9. The Egyptians prepared bodies for mummification by removing the organs and
embalming them separate of the body and then floating the body down the river to the
sacred burial land of Gizeh. This was done because the Egyptians felt that the Pharaoh
would rule eternally after death.
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10. The story of Job is significant to humanity in general because it asks why bad things
happen to people who do no bad. This is important because it tells humans that they are
not to know everything about why things happen and that is for only God to know.
11. The paintings in stone-age art are likely a major form of communication. For those
who had no language to tell stories they needed another way to express themselves, such
as art. Much like how we express ourselves through art today, but in the stone-age they
used it as communication as well.
12. The first function of mythology is to allow people to identify reality with mythology.
The second, cosmological, function explains that there is more to life than what meets the
eye, and that a whole other world exists within reality. The sociological function
encourages social order and culture. The psychological function explains the obligations
of the individual in life. Mythology unites people mainly through the sociological
function where the stories become embedded in the culture. There cannot be a myth
which united everyone because the sociological function identifies everyone with a
certain culture.
13. The environment is not necessarily considered sacred by the Hebrew Bible because it
still shows that everything is controlled by one god. If the environment had mastery over
humans then there might be reason to consider the environment sacred. A pantheistic
culture would probably view the environment as sacred because they feel that everything
is influenced by divinity.
14. Mythology is the attempt of explaining the unexplainable. Mythology is formed by
human nature in that humans naturally want an answer for everything, and those answers
lie within myths.
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15. Ethical monotheism is the belief and worship of only one god. Ethical monotheism is
much different from the Babylonian universe in that in Babylon they believed in many
gods.
16. The caste system in India and the natural hierarchy of China are very different but
they both are fundamental in that they both present a social order of significance.
However, in China the hierarchy was more based around the king and his men and not
necessarily every other person. The caste system in India had a much more defined
hierarchy where everyone was identified as something.
17. Holism in India is rooted in the fact that they are a pantheistic culture and that
everything is divine and that creates something much bigger than individual things. In
China, the yin and the yang both contribute to make a greater whole and they are very
powerful as one.
18. The building of the pyramids is a primitive act of faith because the rituals used are to
help the persons buried in the pyramids attains a greater afterlife. The Egyptians believed
in something deeply and went to great measures to help ensure a grand afterlife for their
rulers.
19. Brahman is very much different from the Judaic God because Brahman has no direct
relationship with mankind. Brahman is very much unknowable, where the Judaic God is
very personal. However, both Brahman and God are all-powerful forces.
20. Sympathetic magic is determining in advance what the hunt will be through the
various people involved in the hunt, including women. An image of the hunt becomes
apparent before they leave for the hunt and this ensures a successful hunt. Monotheistic
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cultures do not use these practices because they believe God is in control of all physical
aspects of life.
21. In Hinduism the law of Karma defines that oneself is the ultimate judge of your
actions in life. The actions of individuals determine what their physical state will be in
their following reincarnated lives. This explains why the goal of Hindus is to reach
nirvana, where they break out of the cycle of life and death and reach an afterlife.
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