Chapter 1: The Nature of Myth

Transcription

1 Chapter 1: The Nature of Myth 1/17/2012 4:51:00 PM What is a Myth? Difficult to define bc of the enormous amount of stories gathered from many cultures by ethnographers, anthropologists, & historians Greek word mythos meant authoritative speech/story/plot Recently the word myth is used in a restricted way. Some deny that the term expresses a coherent concept at all. MYTH = A traditional story with collective importance Character comes from a Greek word meaning a certain mental imprint Myths have plots, characters, & a setting. Myth is a traditional story. traditional comes from the Latin word trado handover (these stories have been handed-over) Myths are anonymous, have no author Logos account o Types of Myth Distinguish between myths based on the nature of the principal characters and the function that the story fulfilled for the listener & the teller. o 1. Divine Myth (true myths/myths proper) Stories in which supernatural beings are the main actors (superior to humans) Generally explain why the world, or some aspect of it, is the way it is. Origin & destruction of grand things: universe, gods, & ourselves) Greek word aition cause Etiological Tale: Explanatory Myths. Ex; creation myths bc they explain the causes that brought the world into existence o 2. Legend (Sagas) Stories of the great deeds of heroes/heroines Legends narrate the vents of the human past Latin legenda things that should be read The central characters are human beings, not gods. Supernaturals play side roles. Main actors are nobility; royalty, aristocratic elite. Extraordinary physical/personal qualities, more stronger/beautiful/courageous. o 3. Folktales

2 Stories whose actors are ordinary people or animals. They entertain the audience and teach or justify customary patterns of behavior. Cinderella, Snow White, Tortoise & the Hare, Sinbad the Sailor Main characters are common people, low social status (beginning), victimized, persecuted. Teach that good is eventually rewarded & evil is punished Folktale types: Scholars recognize more than 700 folktale types in traditions around the globe. Ex; quest Folktale Motifs: Folktale types are made up of smaller elements called folktale motifs that can be recombined in endless variety. Folktales usually have several motifs. Ex; an abused youngest sister of three. o The Study of Myth o Four different ways in which modern scholars study myth o 1. The recording and compiling of a given culture s myth Internet & communication greatly reduce the degree to which myths are sued to guide everyday life All written material does not match up; contradictory, confusing, incomplete o 2. The analysis of the role that specific myths play or played within the culture Depends on whose telling the tale and who is listening. Does telling the tale enhance prestige of those who told the tale or heard it told? Does the tale strike listeners to want to find out the meaning of life? Does it justify the existing distribution of power & wealth? o 3. The study of how one culture s myths are related to those of other cultures Different myths have migrated from one culture to another and have transformed to suit the adopting culture s needs & traditions. *Migration of myths from the ancient Near East to Greece is an event of extraordinary importance in the history of civilization. o 4. Assessment of the lasting human significance of specific myths or groups of myths

3 o o Scholars wonder what s the deeper human significance of these old tales? Why are they still fascinating even though we know they re fake.

4 Myths of Creation The Rise of Zeus 1/17/2012 4:51:00 PM o Hesiod gave the best answer to the Greeks to the question Where does the world come from? o It was different from the story in the biblical book of Genesis where God stands outside of the creation and exists before it. o Hesiod tells the story through succeeding generations of Gods. o Cosmogony: A story that explains the origin of the world kosmos = world o Theogony: A story that explains the origin of the gods theos = god o Hesiod s thousand line poem written in 8 th century BC o Chaos = chasm o Gaea = earth o Uranus = sky The Children of Chaos o First came Chaos. Opening from which the other beings arose. o Second came Gaea, mother earth. Foundation of the world. o Third came Tartarus, unknown meaning, some place below earth o Olympus/topmost, Gaea/middle, Tartarus/bottommost o Eros sexual love/attraction the source of motion that brings sexual beings together to produce still more offspring o Hesiod does not say that they all sprang from Chaos. The Children of Gaea: The Titans and their Cousins o Gaea first bore asexually, Uranus and the mountains on her upper side that rise into the sky. o Then she bore her watery doublet Pontus (sea). With her son Uranus, Gaea sexually produced the 6 male and 6 female Titans. o Cronus, who is last born, will fight against Uranus for power o Two Titans of importance are the watery male Oceanus and female Tethys. Homer says these two gave birth to all the gods. Gave birth to six-thousand Oceanids, spirits of the sea, rivers, and springs. o Coeus, Crius, Theia. Divine o Phoebe Brilliant light of the sky

5 o Themis law earth is fixed and settled. Oracle shrine of Delphi belonged to Themis before Apollo took it over. Themis & Mnemosyne (memory) will both bear children to Zeus o Iapetus, related to the biblical Japheth (son of Noah) Cyclopes, Hecatonchires Hesiod, Theogony o Gaea bore with Uranus, 3 Cyclopes round eyes and 3 mighty Hecatonchires hundred handers hundred arms that shot from their shoulders & 50 heads o Cyclopes made lightening from raw iron. Brontes thunderer Steropes flasher Arges brightener o Uranus kept all his children in Gaea s womb Hyperion s Children o Titan Hyperion (he who goes above) is a sun-god, father of Helius (sungod), Selene (the moon), and Eros (the dawn) o Phaethon: son of Helius & Clymene STORY: His mom was married to the King of Ethiopia but she told him that his father was the sun. To make sure he wen to Helius & he got one wish. He wished to be allowed to drive the chariot of the sun across the sky. Inexperienced, he scared the horses to almost set the world on fire. Made Libya a desert & Ethiopians black. Zeus then blasted him from the car & he fell into the river Eridanus (Italy) o Selene STORY: Fell in love w/ a human shepherd, Endymion. Seduced him while he was sleeping & had 50 daughters. She asked Zeus to never let him grow old so he put her in an eternal sleep o Erod Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite STORY: Many love affairs. Above all; Tithonus; a Trojan prince. She asked Zeus to make him live forever; but he kept aging. Cronus against Uranus Hesiod, Theogony o Uranus hated his own offspring

6 STORY: Gaea was hurt her children were hidden so she made a plan and Cronus agreed to it. He sliced off Uranus s genitals and tossed them over his shoulder. But the blood from them fell on Gaea (earth) & so she bore the frightful Erinyes, the Furies, (ferocious female spirits who haunt anyone who sheds blood), Giants earthborn ones strength & violence.. against Zeus, and Melian nymphs. Birth of Aphrodite, Monsters, & Sea Deities Hesiod, theogony o Blood fell on earth, genitals fell in the sea. The sea foam mixed with semen. Born from the bloody genitals of Uranus. o Goddess of sexual love. Irresistible sexual desire. Fruit of mutilation & violence. Zeus against Cronus: The Battle w/ the Titans Hesiod, Theogony STORY: Cronus overthrew Uranus & became the first king of the world. He was violent & suspicious to keep his power. Warned by his parents; he swallowed his children as fast as they were issued from his wife & sister, Rhea. Rhea hid one of her children, Zeus; he was brought up by nymphs on milk from the goat Amaltheaa and honey from Melissa the bee. When stupid Cronus asked for the child Gaea gave a wrapped up stone. Zeus eventually forced Cronus to vomit out the children Titans resented their rule Titanomacy battle of the titans Only the Titan Themis & her son Prometheus dared side with Zeus. Gaea told Zeus he could win the battle with the help of the 3 Hecantonchires & Cyclopes. Uranus had imprisoned them so they had to drink a mythical drink called nectar (that which overcomes death)& mythical food (deathless stuff). To thank Zeus they gave him the thunderbolt; his special weapon. Zeus cast the Titans into black distant Tartarus. Atlas (either a titan or a giant) was condemned by Zeus to live at the edge of the world where he held up the heavens, ensuring the separation of the Sky & Earth. Zeus s Battle with Typhoeus Hesiod, Theogony

7 o Now Gaea resented Zeus s victory became greatest enemy. Coupling with Tartarus she gave birth to the monstrous Typhoeus aka Typhon. He cut off Zeus s hands and feet and hid them. Luckily Zeus s son Hermes & a spirit Aegipan restored Zeus. Typhon ripped out mountains and threw them at Zeus but Zeus threw them back, wounding Typhon. (Mount Haemus;bloody) Zeus buried him beneath Mount Etna in Sicily. Zeus s Battle with the Giants o Succession myth demanded that Zeus too be overthrown. Who was cleverer than Zeus? Zeus married cleverness herself, the Oceanid Metis. She was the first of Zeus s seven consorts. Metis was pregnant with Athena when Zeus found out from his parents that his next child would be his enemy. So being so smart he swallowed Metis. Zeus had a headache so Prometheus or Hephaestus struck his head with an axe and out popped Athena. The child who would overthrow him was never born. o Urged by Gaea, giants attacked the Olympians in the Gigantomachy (battle of the giants). Mortal son of Zeus, Hercules joined the war bc there was a prophecy stating that it couldn t be won w/o the help of a mortal. o Divided the world. Zeus took heaven. Poseidon took the gray sea. Hades took the dark mist at the worlds end. Earth was for all. Prominent Themes in Greek Creation Stories Creation story told by Hesiod = divine myth. Its subject is the actions of gods and the description of grand events & their consequences. Folktale Motifs of separation, succession, & dragon combat. Disorganized world. Babylonian Enuma Elish o Mesopotamian creation myth poem. Recited on 4 th day of the New Year to honour the god of the city, Marduk. o Gods of the waters: male Apsu (freshwater) female Tiamat (saltwater) mingled together as a single body. o Lahmu & Lahamu = mud o Anshar & Kishar = heaven & earth o Anu = Sumerian Sky God o Ea = Sumerian Enki

8 o Apsu found the kids as troublesome so he urged Tiamit to destroy them but she disagreed. Mummu (officer) urged in favour of Apsu & Apsu kissed him) Ea cast a spell over Apsu & Mummu putting them into a deep sleep & he killed Apsu. He strung a rope through Mummu s nose & imprisoned him. On top of dead Apsu Ea built his house & lived there with his wife. She gave birth to Marduk, god of Babylon. o Grandfather Anu was so proud so he made winds for Marduk to play with. Other gods complains and this time Tiamat made an army of monsters to destroy them. Kingsu, her new husband, led the hoard with a Tablet of Destiny (Which gave power over the universe). Ea broke the tablet but failed. Anu tried but Tiamat scared him off. Anshar kissed Marduk on the lips and so Marduk agreed to fight Tiamat and her army of monsters. Only if he was given absolute power as reward. He came with power but when he saw Tiamat he had to endure taunts. He regained his courage and attacked. He imprisoned Kingsu and took control of the tablet. o Elements of the myth: watery, feminine, ambivalent, life giving & life destroying. The Hittite Kingship in Heaven o Indo-European Hittites who ruled the central Anatolian plain (Turkey) in the Late Bronze Age o First Alaluh was king, then Anush, then Kumarbi, then the storm god Teshub. o Poem Kingship in Heaven.. Similar to Greek cosmology Anush argued with the storm-god (in Kumarbi s body) over how the storm-god should escape from Kumarbi s body. Someone storm-god Teshub escaped the Kumarbi s body, overthrew him, and became King of Heaven. Observations: The Succession Myth in Hesiod & the Near East o In the Enuma Elish, first came a theogony, the generation of Apsu and Tiamat and their descendants. Newer gods overthrow the older (succession motif) because resistance to change leads to a battle between the generations. Seen in Greek myth as well. o In both the Enusma Elish and Hesiod s Theogony the first generation of gods is made up of pairs.

9 Apsu, the male freshwaters, and Tiamat, the female saltwater s; Uranus & Gaea. Fathers Apsu & Uranus hate their children. Clever sons Ea and Coronus overthrow their fathers. Later newer generations, Marduk and Zeus, revolt against earlier divine generations. Terrible monsters are overthrown. Tiamat and her army in Enuma elish. The titans, Typhon, and the giants, Gaea s children.. In the Greek story. The storm=god is then made king. Mesopotamian & Greek myths alike report a cosmic history that begins with mighty powers of nature and ends in the organization of the universe as a monarchic, patriarchal state. Both mythical traditions make use of the motifs of succession and dragon-combat. Similarities with Hittite & Greek myths: In Kingship of Heaven, first Alalush was ruler then sky-god Anush ruled, then another god Kumarbi and then storm-god Teshub. A SAME sequence appears in Hesiod: First came Chaos (=Alalush), then Uranus/Sky (=Anush), then Cronus (=Kumarbi), and then storm-god Zeus (Teshub). Both sky gods Anu & Uranus were created by their sons & were born from cut-up organs. Both Kumarbi and Cronus have children within themselves. Their children Teshub & Zeus (storm-gods) overcome their fathers to win victory in heaven. Differences o The writings of Mesopotamian and Hittite were unable to record suppleness and colour of spoken language, unlike Greek alphabet. o The myth is Eastern in origin.

10 Myths of Creation The Origins of Mortals 1/17/2012 4:51:00 PM o Hesiod offers no explanation of the origin of mortals. Greek tradition showed little interest. o In the Enuma Elish humans were made from the blood of Kingsu to be servants of the gods o Another story says how humans are made from mud and clay. Hence our bodies turn to dust when we die Prometheus, Maker of Mortals Ovid, Metamorphoses o He is the titan who took Zeus s side in the battle against his cousin Titans. He was known for being clever (like Zeus & Cronus) o Ovid says Prometheus made the human race by mixing earth & water bc the earth contained divine seed, the human was as superior being. Prometheus "forelearner", Protector of Mortals o His father was Iapetus (first generation Titan), brother of Cronus. o He has a brother Epimetheus afterlearner/dummy o Zeus was jealous and fearful of him. o Prometheus at Mecone is an etiological myth to explain a conspicuous detail of Greek sacrifice. The Greeks ate the meat but burned the bones to the gods. o BC Zeus was angry he removed fire from the trees (rubbing branches together) so humans couldn t cook meat & would starve. o Prometheus pitied his humans so he stole fire from heaven by hiding it in a fennel stick o Zeus ordered Strength (Kratos) and Violence (Bia), children of the underworld river Styx, to bind Prometheus to a pillar in the Caucasus Mountains at the eastern end of the Black Sea. o Prometheus was immortal therefore his liver grew back each day. He sacrificed himself for the humans. o According to Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, early humans were rude, witless, and savage. o He came human life what it is: medicine, prophecy from dreams, the shape of intestines: culture bearer. o Prometheus also helped Zeus. An oracle declared that a child greater than Zeus would be born to a certain women. Prometheus knew it was about

11 Nereid Thetis, who Zeus admired. So Zeus backed off and compelled Thetis to marry a mortal Peleus, father of Archilles, a son greater than his father. Pandora o Zeus punished Prometheus for stealing fire, and he also punished man by making women. o Folktale of Pandora (biblical Adam & Eve) is etiological to explain the origin of woman, marriage, and suffering in the world. o Prometheus offers Zeus something that looks good on the outside, covered in glistening fat. Within were only bones. Zeus gave a similar gift (good on the outside, inside filled with lies o Hesiod woman hating story, life was once good, he is not bothered by the problem of reproduction in a unisexual world before Pandora opened the jar. Now life is labour, misery, and disease. Pandora was forbidden to open the jar. Epimetheus was explicitly told not to accept gifts from the gods yet he disobeyed. o Pandora s descendants (the race of women) contribute nothing to the production of food yet consume large quantities of it. o Hesiod has no respect for woman s tireless labour in childbearing, the production of cloth and in the maintenance of the household. o Women were kept separate bc of their menses (period) o Pandora = all-giver / all-gifted Observations: Women as Containers o Pandora has a jar & in Greek society women daily carried water to the house in jars with big bellies called hydriae water jars o In Greek religious rituals females carry a basket with a hidden knife (contents of the basket are a mystery) The Greeks called a pregnant women a closed jar o Only women dared touch the bodies of the dead, clean them and rub them, and only women touched the bloody newborn to clean it. o Pandora: from women came all evils, out of the womb, so like a tomb, into the world. Hope still within the jar, is like the child in the womb; unfulfilled, a possibility of good or ill.

12 o From the womb came children who in Greek myth will kill or curse their parents or go to bed with them or make them proud. Still, hope remains in the jar. The Five Races o 1. Race of Gold: lived in the days of Cronus. They were happy & blessed and at death became spirits on the earth, watching over and protecting mortals. o 2. Race of Silver: Far worse. Child would stay young for a hundred years, then grow up soddenly, age, and die. Violence & no respect for gods. They still became spirits after death but lived under the ground. o 3. Race of Bronze: Worse than silver. Born from ash trees, they were terrible, strong & violent. Weapons and houses were of bronze; they didn t understand ironworking. At death they descended into the realms of Hades, where they dwell in darkness. o 4. Race of Heroes: Better than bronze. This race fought at seven-gated Thebes and on the windy plain of Troy to take back Helen. Some heroes never died at all but were transported to the Isles of the Blessed at the end of the world, under the rule of Cronus, whom Zeus has liberated (from Tartarus) They still live there, never knowing sorrow. o 5. Race of Iron (Hesiod s own): Crime & sorrow. o Comparable to Nebuchadnezzar s dream in the biblical book of Daniel. Which referred to a sequence of kingdoms. The head of the statue was pure-gold, chest & arms of silver, belly & thighs of bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron & baked clay. The Universal Flood o Biblical Story: Humans were evil so Yahweh wanted to wipe the world clean and start afresh. Only Noah, bc of his goodness, was saved from the flood. Noah built an alter and sacrificed to Yahweh. Ziusudra, Atrahasis, and Noah o George Smith found a cuneiform tablet. o Sumerian story: Begins with the creation of humans, the animals, and the foundation of 5 important cities. Next part of tablet is broken. Resumes: Gods have decreed destruction on mankind by a universal flood.

13 o Enki intervened to save Ziusudra (long life, pious man) and advised him to build a large boat. Z was made to be like a god and transported to Dilmun (place of no suffering, Sumerian paradise) o To stop overpopulation gods sent out a plague, drought, famine, and then lastly a flood. Ea (=Enki) advised Atrahasis (favoured for his goodness) to build a large boat and lock his family and animals on it). Storm lasted for 7 days & nights. o Mesopotamian version represents human insecurity by the gods. o While Hebrew account represents destroying humans for their moral failure. Lycaen, Deucalion, & Pyrrha - Ovid o Lycaen: King of Arcadia, practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism. Zeus descended among humans as an ordinary man. o Only Prometheus son Deucalion, his wife; Pyrrha, a daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus survive. D & P s most important child was their son Hellen. Hellen had 3 sons, Dorus (Father of the Dorians), Aeolus (father of the Aelians, and Xuthus (father to Ion Ionians) o Eponym = the person whose name is so given. o Eponymous = giving ones name to something Themes In Stories of Human Origins o Theme that humans came from the earth (first appears in Mesopotamian myth). Humans can magically appear from earth, growing like plants from seeds or semen placed within it. o A second way of humans to emerge is at the hands of an artisan god. Hephaestus made Pandora from clay o Another reoccurring theme is that the human world did not arise all at once. First came males, and then came females. First the gods made the Golden Race, then the Silver, Bronze, Heroic, and Iron. Zeus once destroyed all humanity in a flood. Only Deucalion and Pyrrha survived. Who sowed the earth with stone seeds for a fresh start. o Humans split from the gods & they eat cooked meat, labour for the gods, marry to reproduce, and die. o Sacrifice was central to the Greeks and placed the humans in between the gods & animals.

14 Myths of the Olympians: Zeus + Hera, & his Brothers Chapter 6 o The sons & daughters of Cronus: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades. According to Hesiod, Aphrodite was born of the foam that gathered around the butchered genitals of Uranus. She is a primordial goddess, older than the children of Cronus. Except for Hades (ruler of the underworld) all these deities lived on Mount Olympus (tallest mountain in Greece, on the northern border of Thessaly. Olympians = Zeus & Hera + their 6 children, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Aphrodite Twelve Olympians alter built in Athens Zeus is the father of gods & men. Hera is his sister & wife presides over the family. His brother Poseidon rules the sea. His sister Hestia watches the fire. His sister Demeter brings fertility to earth. Hephaestus inspires the craftsmen, workers in mental. Ares is war. Hades is not an Olympian bc his house is beneath the earth. The children. Athena: women s skills. Aphrodite: power of sexual attraction. Apollo: god of prophecy & healing, AKA Phoebus, inseparable from Artemis (roman Diana) Problems in this family: Zeus seduced many women and boys. Hera was jealous, complaining, and revengeful. Athena & Artemis were celibate to preserve their power bc it was broken after marriage. Demeter sponsored fertility but seemed to have to husband. Aphrodite was violent Zeus, Lord of the Sky o Zeus = Indo-European root sky or sun o Particularly associated with weather: gathered clouds & caused rain. Homer calls him the cloud gatherer. o Zeus is known for his strength (fought the Titans), Typhoeus, & Giants) o Goatskin aegis symbol of Zeus s power. Symbolized storm cloud of weather god. Thunderbolt is Zeus s weapon. Bull was his special animal bc of its immense power & was sacrificed to him. Eagle, lord of the sky, also associated with him. o Zeus presided over law & justice. Dike = to point out.

15 o Zeus protected xenia = the formal institution of friendship. Displaying hospitality to all Greeks. Paris seduced Helen, wife of his host Menelaus, & violated xenia, which led to the Trojan War. o Hera seduced Zeus by making herself pretty and then while he s sleeping she talks to the other gods. Zeus wakes up and finds out and gets pissed. o Zeus wanted to act against faith and save his son Sarpedon from death but Hera tells him he ll piss off the other gods whose sons die. o From Zeus s union with Eurynome (Oceanid) were born the Graces. 3 of them personify feminine qualities that make young women attractive to men, they are with Aphrodite. o His 5 th consort was Dione (Titaness or Oceanid). Sometimes she was Aphrodite s mother. o He fell in love with Ganymede, prince of the Trojan royal house) Analed. Hera, Queen of Heaven o Zeus s proper wife. Hera = lady/ruler. o Goddess of marriage & woman s fertility. Cow was her special animal. o Hera had 3 unimportant kids with Zeus: Ares = Zeus called most hated of gods. Eileithyia = coming of the child. Hebe = youth Poseidon, Lord of the Deep o After victory over the Titans the three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon & Hades, divided the world. Poseidon (the Roman Neptune) ruled the sea & lacked Zeus s goodwill toward humans. o Poseidon = husband/lord o Poseidon pursued Demeter. Etiological story. Their offspring was the mighty horse Arion. o Lord of the Deep, of the great Mediterranean Sea, married to Amphitrite. Their child, Triton = merman. o He was responsible for the sorrows of seamen. Hades, King of the Dead (Pluto) o Together with Zeus and Poseidon, Hades shared the governance of the universe, though he didn t live on Olympus.

16 o Hades = the invisible. For the embayment of the unseen dead who are hidden beneath the ground. Bc its dangerous to call a death god by his name he has often called Pluto o The Cyclopes gave him a magical helmet that made him invisible. o Childless marriage to Persephone, daughter of Demeter Observations o Deeply influenced by Mesopotamian tradition, the Greeks portrayed their gods as men/women who act/think like humans, honour kings, live in families, marry, have babies, and have relationships. These gods have bodies & eat. But don t excrete (produce waste). Their blood is divine & called ichor o They can even be injured like Ares. o Anthropomorphism: is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, or objects, such as spirits or deities. o Nymphs: Young women married women who have not yet given birth. In myth = lovely beings, often amorous, who inhabit wild places or who accompany the greater gods & goddesses, or who accompany gods/goddesses.

17 Myths of the Olympians: The Male Deities Chapter 7 Apollo the Far-Darter, God of Prophecy o Origins of his cult are unknown (Asian Minor?), but it has associated with the far north o With their mother Leto, a Titan, Apollo & Artemis formed a divine family. o Apollo = Sun god. Artemis = dark & the moon. o The Greeks captured the daughter of Chryses, a Trojan priest of Apollo, and gave her to King Agamemnon. Chryses offers large random but they refuse so he prays to his protector, Apollo. The Birth of Apollo on Delos o Homeric hymns dedicated to Apollo consist of two songs. o First called To the Delian Apollo About how the god was born, his parentage, and the greatness of his power. o Second called To the Delphian Apollo Tells about the founding of Apollo s oracle at Delphi. About how he joined the gods at Olympus. o Leto was a mistress of Zeus. Persecuted by Hera, she wouldn t allow her to give birth on any land that could see light. Leto finally found two floating islands that accepted her: Delos (birth of Apollo) & Ortygia (birth of Artemis) Apollo at Delphi o Apollo s destruction of the serpent Python is a story of dragon-combat (similar to fight of Marduk against Tiamat. Apollo is vengeful against Telphusa who sends him there in the first place. He tricks people on a ship in becoming his priests for his temple. Offers them plenty to eat + other offerings. Observations: The Delphic Oracle o Greeks regarded Delphi as the center of the world. o Recurring theme is Greek myth I a man/woman who loses right of human limitations and acts arrogantly and with violence, as if immortal. And pays a terrible price. Apollo s Unhappy Loves

18 o Apollo was father to many children & was often claimed as ancestor by families of prophets. o King of Troy Prium & his wife Hecabe had twins = Helenus & Cassandra. Beautiful & Shrewd, she fell for Apollo. She demanded the powers of a prophet for sex. She never gave sex. So Apollo put a condition on her she would always speak the truth but no one would believe her. When Troy fell no one listened to her, Agamemnon carried off Cassandra as booty & his wife, Clytemnestra butchered her. A Cassandra = someone s whose truthful words are ignored o Apollo gave the first Sibyl at Cumae as many years of life as grains of sand she could hold. But she still never gave him sex. So he didn t add eternal youthfulness to the sand. So she grew older & older and shriveled up. o Dafne (nymph), daughter of the river god Peneus in Thessaly. To escape him she prayed to her father, who changed her into a laurel tree just as Apollo was about to possess her. This story is etiological to explain why the laurel is Apollo s sacred plant, given as a crown to athletes. o Apollo was attracted to men (like Zeus). Etiological tale: He loved Hyacinth. They were practicing discus and it hit into his head and killed him. Apollo caused the hyacinth flower, white with splashes of red, to grow from his head. o Apollo, god of Prophecy, also the god of healing. One of his tragic love affairs is connected with the origin of the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, whom he conceived in a mortal woman, Coronis. While pregnant with Asclepius, foolish Coronis slept with a mortal named Ischys. o Asclepius raised by the wise centaur Chiron, became the greatest doctor who ever lived, like Jesus; raised the dead. Observations: Apollo, God of Shamans o Shaman = he who knows. Medicine Man o Apollo united inner & outer worlds, spreads knowledge, healed sick Hephaestus, God of Smiths o Non-Greek in origin but God of his people.

19 o Hephaestus reports that he landed there after Zeus threw him from heaven for taking his mother Hera s side in a dispute. o Another version that Hera threw him down from heaven bc he was lame. Hephaestus didn t fall onto the island Lemnos but into the sea, from which Thetis & her sister Nereids rescued him. Raised him for 9 years. There he learned metal work. One day he entrapped Hera & Dionysus had to trick Hephaestus into freeing her. o He is the personification of Fire. God of the Smiths: the patron of those who worked with their hands to form metals into objects. Ares, Incarnation of Blood Lust - Homer o Son of Zeus & Hera. War & Battle. Father to many but no regular wife. Adultery affair with Aphrodite. Hermes, Trickster God of Wayfarers o Hermes = he of the stone heap o Son of Maia & Zeus o His origin is explained by the practice of marking trails through remote areas by a heap of stones. Each traveler throws a stone in the pile for good-luck. Thus, Hermes is the spirit that lives in the stone pile: protector of travelers. Later the stone pile was made into a small pillar with a human head and erect phallus (penis), boundary marker & ward off evil. o Protects thieves & merchants & human heralds who carry the gods wand: Caduceus = a staff intertwined with two snakes copulating (having sex) o Helps get from this world to the next. As a Psychopompos soul guide he leads the dead into the House of Hades. o Hermes slayed one-eyed monster named Argus. o Apollo & Hermes are social & political opposites. Apollo is rich & established. Hermes is nothing but a god s bastard. Apollo stands for the aristoi (best men) while Hermes for the kakoi (bad guys). Pan, the Goatherd s God o Two side of Hermes: guardian of flocks & herds and the master of theft & lies appear in his sons. o Autolycus: the greatest liar & thief of his day could make himself & the things he stole invisible. Odysseus the trickster was his grandson.

20 o Hermes concern for pastures & fertility is represented by Pan (the feeder). Pan had hooves and legs of a goat, pointed ears, a little tail, and horns. o His parents are Hermes & the nymph Dryope (oak tree) o Some say he was so ugly his mother ran off in terror that he was lustful o He wandered the hills of Arcadia. o He loved the nymph Echo. Once an attendant of Hera, Echo entertained her with endless chatter but then she was punished by not being able to start conversation but only repeat others.

21 Myths of the Olympians The Female Deities Chapter 8 Demeter, Mistress of Wheat o Mother goddess who oversaw the fruitfulness of agriculture, especially wheat. Meter = Mother o Her religious cult was strong. She was closely linked to her daughter Persephone Hestia, The Hearth o Eldest child of Cronus & Rhea, the first swallowed & the last regurgitated. o Hestia = Hearth/fireplace o Life/protectress of the house (just a fireplace). Always a virgin. Aphrodite, Goddess of Sexual Love o Embodies the power of human sexual attraction. Her consort, or child by Area, is Eros sexual desire/cupid) o Not of Greek origin. Believed she evidently came to Greece through Cyprus. o Her cult was on the island of Cyprus. Also had a temple in Sicily. o Connection with Cyprus & Cythera; both places said to be where the goddess first came to land after rising from the sea form. o Aphrodite (Inanna/Ishtar) did temple prostitution. Women of good birth voluntarily served in temples, where they had intercourse with men who paid in the form of offerings to the goddess. Temple prostitution occurred in Aphrodite s temples in Corinth & Cythera. o Sappho (from the island of Lesbos) wrote the prettiest poem about Aphrodite. Her poetry must have been performed at weddings. Not much is known her life/audience. Hermaphroditus and Priapus o Aphrodite had an affair with the messenger-god Hermes, by whom she gave birth to Hermaphroditus. o A nymph, Salmacis, sees him wandering and falls hopelessly in love with him and urged him to sleep with her. He innocently ran away and while he was bathing in the spring she jumped in and clung to him. They were fused into one being with a woman s breasts but a man s genitals.

22 o Priapus was another child of Aphrodite s. Father either Dionysus/Hermes. He was an Asiatic garden deity & fertility fetish with a big erect penis. Pygmalion (Ovid) o King of Cyprus. Disgusted by women. He made the most beautiful woman statue ever. At Venus s feast he wished that his wife could be like the statue. He then started kissing the statue and it came to life. She was named Galatea, mother of the Paphos for whom Aphrodite s sacred city is named. o Paphos gave birth to Cinyras, whose wife boasted that their daughter Myrrha was more beautiful than Aphrodite. Aphrodite punished Myrra by making her fall asleep with her father, Cinyras (drunk) for 12 nights. When he found out he was going to stab his pregnant daughter. But the gods made her into a myrrh tree. Cinyras killed himself for shame. After 9 months the tree split open and Adonis emerged. Aphrodite and Anchises (Homers Illiad) o Aphrodite fell in love with a mortal named Anchises (Trojan prince). This was shameful if a goddess did it. Artemis, Mistress of Animals o Mistress/Mother-goddess/Protector of the young Animals & Humans o Her cult & her temple (one of the ancient 7 wonders of the world) were built at Ephesus in Asia Minor. o Greeks see her as a virgin-goddess. Eternally awaiting impregnation. o Homer tells story of Niobe who boasted having more children than Leto. Artemis & Apollo took bloody revenge. Orion and Actaeon o Giant Orion, son of Poseidon, a great hunter. His father gave him ability to walk on water. Orion wanted Oenopion s daughter but he wouldn t give her so he raped her. For revenge the father took out Orion s eyes. But blazing sun cured his blindness. He tried to track down and kill Oenopion but couldn t find him. He then had an affair with Eos (dawn-goddess). He attempted to rape Artemis so she placed a scorpion on Orion s head became the earliest named constellation: Orion.

23 o Theban Actaeon also fell victim to the wrath of Artemis. He first wanted to marry his aunt but then came upon Artemis bathing. Athena, Mistress of the City o Takes her name from the city of Athens. Her emblem is the owl, at home in palace rafters, and the domestic olive tree. o Always represented wearing body armor & a helmet, often carrying a spear, usually holding a shield. o She was born from Zeus s head, not from a woman s womb, always virgin. Faithful servant of her father & protectress of male heroes. o Athena established law. o In Athens, annual festival to Athena, the Panathenaea, celebrated her birthday. Arachne (Ovid) o A young woman in Asia Minor who boasted that her skill in weaving was as equal to Athena s. Athena challenged Arachne. Athena made a tapestry showing her contest. Arachne, too foolish to be frightened, told stories of the sexual scandals of the gods. Arachne was turned into a spider.