RELS 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Axial Age, Mother Goddess
19 Sep 2017
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Document Summary
Joseph campbell: mythologist that did comparative study of universal themes and motifs in human culture, wrote books like the hero with a thousand faces and the masks of god. The way of the animal powers: myths of paleolithic hunter-gatherers. The way of the seeded earth: myths of neolithic, agrarian cultures, mother goddess. The way of the celestial lights: myths of the bronze age. Religion and philosophy after the axial age (6th century bce) Emphasis shifts from the literal-historical information to the psycho- spiritual meaning. Seen in stories from different cultures from many different time periods. Hero/heroine - someone who gives their life to something larger than themselves, and achieves something beyond the normal range of experience. Hero"s cycle - one leaves their current life, undergoes transformation, and returns with new perspective. Physical deed - one performs a physical deed that sacrifices their own well-being for the sake of helping someone else.
