Classical mythology : the Greeks

69 Pages·2007·0.72 MB·English

by  Peter Meineck

C
LASSICAL
M :
YTHOLOGY
THE GREEKS
COURSE GUIDE
Professor Peter W. Meineck
NEWYORKUNIVERSITY
Classical Mythology:
The Greeks
Professor Peter W. Meineck
New York University
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TheGreeks
ProfessorPeterW.Meineck
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CourseSyllabus
ClassicalMythology:
TheGreeks
AboutYourProfessor ...................................................4
Introduction ...........................................................5
Lecture1 TheNatureofGreekMyth ....................................6
Lecture2 ReligionandSociety .......................................11
Lecture3 IntheBeginningThereWasChaos ............................15
Lecture4 TheOlympians ............................................21
Lecture5 TheTrojanWar............................................26
Lecture6 MythasHistory ............................................30
Lecture7 DivineMyths ..............................................33
Lecture8 MythsofIdentity:TheOdyssey ...............................38
Lecture9 MythsoftheAfterlife........................................41
Lecture10 MythintoPolitics:Agamemnon ...............................46
Lecture11 GenderinMyth:TheWomenofTragedy ........................51
Lecture12 MythsofInitiation:TheHeroes................................55
Lecture13 MythsoftheCity:Oedipus ..................................59
Lecture14 MythsoftheCity:Athens ....................................62
CourseMaterials......................................................66
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Meineck
Peter
Professor
courtesyof About Your Professor
Photo Peter W. Meineck
©
PeterW.Meineckisaclinicalassistantprofessorofclassicsandartistin
residenceattheNewYorkUniversityCenterforAncientStudiesandthepro-
ducingartisticdirectorandfounderoftheAquilaTheatreCompany.Peter
currentlyteachesintheClassicsDepartmentatNewYorkUniversityin
ancientdrama,Greekliterature,andclassicalmythology.Hehasheldteach-
ingappointmentsatPrincetonUniversity,theUniversityofSouthCarolina,
andtheTischSchooloftheArts.FellowshipsincludetheHarvardCenterfor
HellenicStudies,Princeton,theUniversityofCaliforniaatSanDiego,andthe
UniversityofTexasatAustin.Hehaslecturedandheldworkshopsonancient
dramaandShakespeareatconferences,academicinstitutions,museums,
festivals,andschoolsthroughouttheworld.
Peter’spublicationsincludeAeschylus’Oresteia(HackettCambridge,1998);
AristophanesVol.1-Clouds,Wasps,Birds(HackettCambridge,1998);
Sophocles’OedipusTyrannuswithPaulWoodruff(HackettCambridge,
2000);Aristophanes’Clouds(HackettCambridge,2000);andTheTheban
PlayswithPaulWoodruff(HackettCambridge,2002).
HehastranslatedseveralGreekplaysforthestage(Clouds,Wasps,Birds,
Philoctetes’Ajax,Agamemnon,andOedipustheKing).HefoundedAquilain
1991afterworkingextensivelyinWestEndtheatre,includingtheAldwych,
theAlmeida,theEnglishNationalOpera,thePhoenix,theRoyalNational
Theatre,theRoyalCourtTheatre,theRoyalOperaHouse,andSadler’s
Wells.Petertrainedasalightingdesignerandhaslitandco-designedmany
Aquilashows.
HisworkasadirectorincludesAeschylus’Agamemnon;Sophocles’Ajax;a
newplay,Villain,whichhealsoco-wrote;Shakespeare’sCoriolanus;and
Aristophanes’Wasps.
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m
Kochina/shutterstock.co
Nataly
©
Introduction
InClassicalMythology:TheGreeks,widelypublishedprofessorPeter
Meineckexaminesinthrillingdetailthefar-reachinginfluenceofGreekmyths
onWesternthoughtandliterature.Thenatureofmythanditsimportanceto
ancientGreeceintermsofstorytelling,music,poetry,religion,cults,rituals,
theatre,andliteratureareviewedthroughworksrangingfromHomer’sIliad
andOdysseytothewritingsofSophoclesandAeschylus.Throughthestudy
ofthesetime-honoredmyths,theGreekheroesandgods—including
Heracles,Zeus,Achilles,Athena,Aphrodite,andothers—leapfromthepage
inalltheirglorioussplendor.Thefollowinglecturesarenotonlyanentertain-
ingguidetoGreekmythology,butalsoafascinatinglookintothecultureand
timethatproducedtheseeternaltales.
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Lecture1:
TheNatureofGreekMyth
TheSuggestedReadingforthislectureisG.S.Kirk’sNatureofGreek
Myths,section1.
Introduction
ThemythologyoftheGreekshashadaprofoundinfluenceonWestern
thoughtandliterature,yetmythsthemselvesareverydifficulttocategorize.
TheGreekswerecloselyconnectedtotheirmythictraditionviastorytelling,
music,poetry,religiousandcultpractice,ritualsandfestivals,theatricalper-
formances,andliterature.Thislecturewillsetoutabasicframeworkfor
understandingthemeaningoftheterm“myth,”thedifferenttypesofmyth,
andvariousapproachestothestudyofmythology.Wewillalsocreatesome
contextforourcoursewithabriefdescriptionofthemainperiodsofGreek
historyandanoverviewofthelandscapeandclimateofGreece.
WhatIsMyth?
ThemythologyoftheGreekshashadaprofoundinfluenceonWestern
thoughtandliterature.
Theterm“myth”isderivedfromtheGreekmythos,whichmeans“aspoken
story,”“speech,”orsimply“theplot.”Thefifth/fourth-centuryAthenianphiloso-
pherPlatocontrastedmythoswiththetermlogos,meaning“account.”The
tellerofalogostakespersonalresponsibilityforwhattheysay,whereasthe
speakerofamythosrelatesatraditionalstory,onethatis“handeddown”;
hencetheLatintermtrado—to“handover.”Aristotlecametoequatemythos
withfictionandseeitasactingliketheplotofaGreektragedy,capableofpro-
ducingcatharsisor“healing”throughthesharedexperienceoftheaudience.
TheRomansnamedtheirmythologicalstoriesfabulae,regardingmanyofthem
asmerefables.
Originally,Greekmythswerehandeddownbywordofmouth,viathesongs
ofbards,atritualgatherings,orsimplyviaoralstorytelling.Bytheeighthcen-
turyBCE,thesestoriesbegantobewrittendownandtookonatextualform
inworkssuchasHomer’sIliadandOdyssey.Mythsbecamehighlymutable
astheydevelopedthroughthecourseoftheiroraldelivery.Theychangedto
reflectlocalcustoms,socialandpoliticalconditions,andcontemporarytastes.
Asmythsbecamerecodedaswrittentexts,differentversionswithvaried
plotsemerged.
Allculturesseemtohavedevelopedsomesortofmythological
narrative.Therearenumerousparallelsandpointsofcontactbetween
E thevarioustraditions.
N
O
Examplesinclude:
E
R
U TheBabylonianepics,suchastheEnumaElish
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E
L
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Sanskritpoetry,suchastheMahabharata
ThefirstbooksoftheOldTestament
TheVikingsagas
TheNativeAmericanoraltradition
TheArabianNights
ThestoriesofKingArthur,theKnightsoftheRoundTable,andtheHolyGrail
TherichtraditionofAfricanmythology
TheIncacreationstories
TypesofMyth
Itisincrediblydifficulttocreateaclearsystemforcataloguingmythology.
Thefollowingthreetypesofmythcanestablishonlythebroadestofoutlines.
Manymythscontainelementsofeach.
EtiologicalorDivineMyths
Theterm“etiological”isderivedfromtheGreekwordaitia,meaning“cause,”
andisusedtodescribeatypeofmyththatarticulatesnaturalphenomenaor
theactionsofdivineforces.Thisincludescreationmyths,storiesconcerning
thegods,andaccountsofthetimebeforehumankind.Godsareoftendepicted
asforcesofnature(forexample,Zeusistheskygodandhisweaponisthe
lightningbolt),ortheypersonifyapowerfulemotiveforce,suchasAphrodite,
whoencapsulatesdesireandsexualpassion.Etiologicalmythscanalsobe
viewedasatypeofprimitivescienceinwhichmythsareusedtoexplainmat-
tersbeyondtheboundsofknowledge.
HeroicMythsorLegends
Thesekindsofstoriescanbestbedescribedasmythologicalmemoriesof
thehumanpast.Herethemaincharactersaremortal,notdivine,although
manyarerelatedtothegodsinsomewayandhavelarger-than-lifeattributes.
Theytendtoreflectanaristocratic“hero”class,greatleaderswhosedeeds
havebecomeenshrinedinmyth,suchasHeracles,Achilles,Jason,and
Theseus.Oftentheseheroesarehelduptoreflectanextremeexampleof
humanbehaviorandthepositiveandnegativeeffectsthiscauses.These
kindsoflegendsoftencontainelementsofhistoricalmemory,suchasthe
mythologicalaccountsoftheTrojanWar.Thesemayreflectarealconflictthat
occurredinthedistantpast,andportrayelementsofamucholderculture.
TraditionalFolkStories
Folktalesareusedtoarticulatehumancommonalities,suchassocietal
fears,importantritesofpassage,andmoralguidance.Examplesoffolktales
inGreekmythologyincludethefablesofAesop,thecentralbooksofHomer’s
Odyssey,andstoriesofgreattrialsorquests,suchasthemythsofPerseus
andJason.Thesetalescontainrecognizablemotifs,suchastheuseofitems
imbuedwithmagicpower,anescapefromdangerusingtrickery,orsexual
conquestafterthepassingofaninitiationrite.
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MethodsofStudyingMyth
Allegorical—Rationalizesmythsasmetaphorsforhumanbehaviorandcus-
toms.ThistypeofstudycanbetracedbacktotheHellenisticthinker
Euhemerus(c.300BCE).
Comparative—Examinesthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinherentinthe
mythologiesofdifferentcultures.TheworkofJosephCampbellusesthis
method.
Ritualism—Theconnectionbetweenreligiousritualsandmythology.Athe-
oryadvocatedbytheCambridgeSchoolintheearlytwentiethcentury.
Frazer’stheGoldenBough,Graves’theWhiteGoddess,andtheworks
ofJaneHarrisonandF.M.Cornfordarenotableexamplesofthisschool
ofthought.
Psychological—SigmundFreudusedmythicstoriestodemonstratehisthe-
oriesonhumanmentaldevelopmentandtheeffectsofthepersonal
unconscious.Hisfamousterms“Oedipuscomplex”and“Electracom-
plex”aredrawnfromthemythicaccountsofGreektragedy.CarlJung
advancesatheoryofacollectiveunconscioususingthecommonalities
inherentinmythasevidence.
Functionalism—MainlyadvocatedbyanthropologistssuchasBronislav
Malinowski,whostudiestheTobriandislandersofNewGuinea.Here
mythsareseenaschartersofsocialcustomsandbeliefs,oftendealing
withculturaltaboos.
Structuralism—Theanalysisofmythsascomponentparts.ClaudeLévi-
Straussdetailedabinarystructureandobservedanegotiationandresolu-
tionofopposingforces.VladimirProppdocumentedthirty-onedistinct
motifsasunitsofrecurringpatterns.WalterBurkertblendedstructuralism
andhistoricalperspectivetouncoveressentialmeaningbehindmyths.
TheGeographyofGreece
TheGreeklandscapeandclimatehadaprofoundeffectonancientGreekcul-
tureandmythology.GreecehasatemperateMediterraneanclimate,withwarm
summersandmildwinters.Thisledtothedevelopmentofaculturethatlived
muchofitscivicandsociallifeoutside.Inmythology,exteriorspacetendstobe
therealmofmen,thestate,andgovernment,whileinteriorspaceisattributed
towomen,thehome,andprivacy.MostcommunitiesinGreecewerevery
closetotheseaorsituatedonanisland.Arelianceonseafaringfortradeand
warfareledtothefluentexchangeofculturalinfluencesapparentinGreek
mythology.BecausetheGreekmainlandisbrokenupbylowmountainranges,
communitiesdevelopedinisolation.Thisledtotheemergenceoflocalized
mythictraditions.TheruggedlandscapeofGreeceproducedtheolive,thevine,
andhardcerealssuchasbarley.Theseproductswerewidelyexported,allow-
ingforthespreadofmythologyviadevicessuchasiconographyonpainted
vasesandtheexportofsculpture.ThecycleoftheGreekagriculturalyearis
E
N alsostronglyreflectedinGreekmythandritualpractice.
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HistoricalPeriodsofAncientGreece
EarlytoMiddleBronzeAge
(3000to1600BCE)
•BeginningofMinoanPalacecultureonCrete/Thera
•CycladiccultureintheAegean
LateBronzeAge
(1600to1100BCE)
•MycenaeancultureonGreekmainland
•HeightofMinoanculture-1400BCE
•DestructionofTroyin1250BCE
DarkAge
(1100to800BCE)
•Collapseofpalaceculture
ArchaicPeriod
(800to480BCE)
•Foundationofthepoliscity-state
•ColonizationbyGreeks
•DevelopmentofGreekwriting
ClassicalPeriod
(480to323BCE)
•DefeatofPersianforcesledbyAthensatSalamisin480
•DevelopmentofdemocracyinAthens
•Emergenceofhistory,philosophy,rhetoric,drama
HellenisticPeriod
(323to31BCE)
•DeathofAlexanderin323BCE
•SpreadofHellenicculturethroughoutAlexander’sformerempire
•ConquestofHellenicworldbyRome—fallofAlexandriain31BCE
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