CLAA05H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ereshkigal, Eunuch, Anunnaki
Document Summary
Defined as a traditional story with a plotline, characters, set in the distant parts. In a culture, different versions of the same myth can coexist despite any contradictions without one being truth . Gods may be natural elements and/or real personalities with human include creation myths and other aetiologies of the natural world weaknesses. Myth is separate from religious belief and ritual. Deal with heroes, human or semi-divine (one parent is a god) Ancient people believed in such legends as we regard history, helping to explain the past. Usually have a kernel of truth to legends (heroes might have been real kings, setting is realistic) Characters are ordinary people or animals (fables) Focus on entertainment but also justify social / cultural traditions. Combine motifs that appear again and again (like a treasure guarded by a monster) Over 700 types of folktales have been catalogued, e. g. the quest. Much use of folktale motifs in legends.
