And Modern Approaches to
Mythology

 What is the difference between myth, saga (or legend) and folk tale?

What exactly is an archetype?
Come up with an example of an archetypal element in a modern movie or other media source.

What is the significance of archetypes? What do they tell us about the workings of myth?

What were the material conditions that led to the formation of these myths?

Mythological terms and ideas
• Mythos
•Legend, saga
•Etiology
•Iconography
•Allegory (sustained metaphor)
•Collective unconscious
•Archetype

Prehistoric Greece
Greece was settled in the
Paleolithic period (c.
70,000 BCE) – near the beginning of human history.
Hunter-gatherers lived a nomadic life, sometimes inhabiting caves (such as
Franchthi) for millennia.
Franchthi figurine

Prehistoric Greece
In the Neolithic Period (c.
6000-3000 BCE), agriculture begins.
Figurines begin appearing, 85% female, mostly fat (indicating fertility).
Possibly this indicates a society whose worship centered around feminine deities.
Scholars argue over what conclusions can be drawn from the figurines about the nature of this society.

Prehistoric Greece
The Bronze Age is characterized (duh) by the use of bronze.
Three civilizations develop in three different parts of the Greek world:
Mycenaean culture develops in the mainland of Greece
The
Minoans lived on the
Island of
Crete
The culture of the Cyclades
(Cycladic
Islands)

 What are the distinguishing characteristics of the three major civilizations of Bronze Age
Greece?

Prehistoric Greece
The Cycladic culture is known for its figurines (also called “idols”) which were found in tombs and could be objects of personal devotion (like icons in modern Greece).
Cycladic culture was closely allied with the
Minoan civilization.
“Idol”: Vroma
Flying fish: R. Basic

Prehistoric Greece
Thera Freso, R. Basic
Minoan culture was characterized by:
•palaces, built on an open plan, with a great many rooms, but without fortifications
•an apparent focus on the ocean, including seafaring and trade

Prehistoric Greece
Fresco, R. Basic
There are many images of women, often portrayed in positions of authority
Sacred images often focused on the mysterious labrys (double ax), and on bulls, including the enigmatic representations of bullleaping
Minoan civilization may have been more egalitarian with worship oriented toward female deities
Priestess,
Thera fresco,
R. Basic

Mycenae’s
Lion Gate,
R. Basic
Prehistoric Greece
Mycenaean art tends to emphasize hunting and warfare, while other indicators (i.e. grave goods) argue for a warriordominated society.
In contrast, Mycenaean palaces are fortified with huge walls and built to withstand siege.
“Mask of Agamemnon,” Artchive

Prehistoric Greece
In about 1400 BCE, the volcanic island of
Thera exploded in a disaster whose atmospheric effects were felt around the world.
Probably, ashfall ruined agriculture for years.
Possibly, a tidal wave destroyed the Cretan navy and led to the fall of Minoan culture.
Thera fresco,
R Basic

Prehistoric Greece
Warrior Vase,
R. Basic
Minoan civilization suffers a major setback. Soon, the local writing system, Linear
A, disappears. Linear B, a form of Greek, used by the
Mycenaeans, appears in
Crete.
Minoan civilization is dead, but Mycenae flourishes.
Linear B tablets reveal a complex economic and religious world.
Many of the names of classical Greek gods appear on these early bronze age tablets.

Prehistoric Greece
Greece’s earliest and most respected poet, Homer, composing in about 700
BCE, sang about the Trojan war. Perhaps he referred to this city.
“Troy”
On the coast of Asia
Minor, another Bronze
Age City flourishes.
Like the Mycenaean cities, it is heavily fortified.
The archeological record shows that it was destroyed by fire, not once, but several times – in about 1300-1250 BCE, and again in about 1200
BCE.

Prehistoric Greece
Cities destroyed by fire, c.1200 BCE
Troy’s destruction was part of a series of destructions in the wider Mycenaean world. All the highlighted sites on this map were destroyed by fire within about 100 years of each other.
Greece entered a “dark age” of less prominent material culture, and an absence of writing.

Prehistoric Greece
Greece was changing.
Some poleis (city = polis) lost prominence, others grew larger.
Greeks colonized the coast of Asia
Minor and Southern Italy.
By 750 BCE, national sanctuaries at
Delphi and Olympia were formed.
Agriculture intensified and population grew.
The first poets whose works are preserved in writing, Homer and
Hesiod, were composing their epic works.

 How do you tell a primary source from a secondary source?

Sources
Primary Sources: works produced within a culture:
•art and architecture
•literature and written records of other sorts (business lists etc.)
Secondary Sources: Commentary by modern authors on the ancient cultures:
•textbooks and other modern writings
Internet Resources:
•can be primary sources (if they reproduce texts or images from the original culture)
•or secondary sources (if they are modern commentary)

What are some things to consider when reading a primary source, to understand the author's point of view?

Men’s Social Roles
Social Roles varied from society to society; some widespread phenomena:
Farming work or overseeing farming work on one’s own land
Service in the military
Participation in government to the extent allowed by the state’s constitution
Participation in rituals of one’s state
Education of one’s children

Women’s Social Roles
To marry and bear citizen children
To care for the household resources
To spin and weave
To participate in the state’s religious rituals

Sexuality
Sexuality was not a matter of the partner’s gender (male vs. female) but concerned active vs. passive roles.
Active roles were appropriate for grown men, whether the partner was male or female
Passive roles were appropriate for women and teenaged men, but not for adult males
How far did the reality match the ideal? Public vs. private?
Hard to say …

Etiology
Myths usually try to explain matters physical, emotional, and spiritual not only literally and realistically but figuratively and metaphorically as well.
Morford and Lenardon 6
Harpy: Hellenistic Earring

“Facts” change in all the sciences . . .
Myth in a sense is the highest reality.
Morford and Lenardon, pp. 4-5

“Master of Animals,” Bronze
Age Crete
Mircea Eliade . . . lays great emphasis upon religious aura in his conception of myth as a tale satisfying the yearning of human beings for a fundamental orientation rooted in a sacred timelessness.
Morford and Lenardon 5

Finis
Quotes on myth selected by Staci Holt