CLAS 160D2 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Euhemerism, Euhemerus, Ancient Greek
28 Aug 2016
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Class myth lecture 1 (go through and edit) Definition: story, word or speech in ancient greek. We created the term myth, they did not see it as a myth/didn"t use that word, they saw it as a story passed from generations. Different from history because history is investigated and happened in the past, unlike myths. Primarily concerned with the gods and humankind"s relationships with them. Rooted in history (even if they are fantastical. Are like legends, but their primary purpose is to entertain. Have a moral content and are aimed at the young. Euhemerus (300 bce) claimed that mythical figures were humans who were deified for their actions. Euhemerism is belief that myths depict historical events. Ideas such as an afterlife are mythic, but not empirically verifies, no way to say if possible or not. Myth and factual truth are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Ex. afterlife and the origin of the universe.
