CLASS102 Final: Review of Septermber Lecture and Textbook notes
17 Jan 2018
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Document Summary
There is no single unified definition of myth. Primarily concerning the gods and their relationships with mortals. Saga/legend; kernel of historical fact with embellishments. Folktale; originally an oral tale relating the deeds of heroes/heroines. Plato: the first person to propose that a myth is a lie but doesn"t commit to either true or false, the idea of the noble lie moralizing story intended to inspire good behavior. Euhemerus: euhumerism and euhemeristic , rationalizes classical mythology as idealized versions of historical events. Jung: archetypes are expressions of patterns of behavior and thinking. Expressions of collective unconscious ideas: myths are expressions of archetypes that communicate behaviours, societal artifacts of the people who created them, myths = psychological allegories. Frazer: ritualistic interpretation myths describe ritual practices, the existence of myth and ritual are inextricable, myths explain rituals (can"t have one without the other, fundamentally religious stories.
