CLASS 40 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Narratology, Odysseus, Polytheism
Lecture Notes
External: myths help humans understand the world
➔Theme: there are many ways myths work
➔Nature myth: myths explain the natural world
◆Different gods in polytheism are the answer to questions humans have
◆Example: why is the ocean so powerful and dangerous? Poseidon
➔Aetiology: explains the origins of things from the human world
◆Example: where did the Eleusis Mysteries come from? Hymn to Demeter
➔Charter myth: attempts to explain something about society and the human world
◆Myth validates existing communal institutions, beliefs, and practices
●Example: sacrificing animals are justified because of the myth of
Prometheus stealing fire for humans
◆Supply the rationale for some ritual or custom, explaining how it started
and must be repeated
Internal: explaining myth as arising from some aspect of human nature that can explain
the world
➔Freud
◆Myth resembles dreams
◆Id: psychic and sexual energy, fuels the emotions of fear and desire
◆Ego: conscious self "I", sense of individuality
◆Superego: Ego's awareness of society
◆Myth tries to violate societal taboos
➔Jung
◆Myth is a product of archetypes (patterns)
●These patterns came from the way human nature works
●spring the unconscious of the entire human race
◆Anima/us are determined by the feelings derived from direct experiences
with other people
●Anima: an internal expression of archetypal feminine wisdom and
creativity within every male mind
●Animus: An internal expression of archetypal male wisdom and
creativity within every female mind
●Example: Persephone perceiving Hades as a rapist
◆Joseph Campbell
●Adds to Jung's theory
●Explores the archetypal hero's adventures, particularly his tests of
courage, honor, and self-knowledge
●Rites of passage
○Examples: Odysseus, Perseus, and Heracles
●Individualization: fulfill their innate potential and grow into true
selfhood
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Document Summary
Theme: there are many ways myths work. Nature myth: myths explain the natural world. Different gods in polytheism are the answer to questions humans have. Aetiology: explains the origins of things from the human world. Charter myth: attempts to explain something about society and the human world. Myth validates existing communal institutions, beliefs, and practices. Example: sacrificing animals are justified because of the myth of. Supply the rationale for some ritual or custom, explaining how it started and must be repeated. Internal: explaining myth as arising from some aspect of human nature that can explain the world. Id: psychic and sexual energy, fuels the emotions of fear and desire. Ego: conscious self i, sense of individuality. Myth is a product of archetypes (patterns) These patterns came from the way human nature works. Spring the unconscious of the entire human race. Anima/us are determined by the feelings derived from direct experiences with other people.
