ANTH 101 Lecture : Lecture1 - Nature of Myth.docx
Document Summary
Lecture 1 the nature of myth: myth, divine myth, legends, folktale, the meaning of myth. A lot of greek culture originates from the near east (middle east) 8th c. bc (700s) phoenicians (inhabitants of modern day lebanon our great traders, merchants who transported goods over the mediterranean; indirectly resulted in the transport of culture) Semeitc script (israel, lebanon) hyroglyphics; written right to left. They made the alphabet by implementing vowels (previous semetic scripts did not have vowels) Greeks use semetic script to begin writing literature/myths. Used to mark festival dates (recorded by priests); the anniversary of myths; rights of spring (persephone is released from the underworld) Myth intertwined with (yet distinct from religion) is the heart of all human existence; humans are. Many myths were in poetic form (e. g. sung) to be performed in front of large groups of people at dinner parties, bars.
