CLAS105 Chapter All: CLAS 105 Chapter All: CLAS 104 Chapter All: Classical Mythology Notes
8 Dec 2016
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Chapter 1: interpretation and definition of classical mythology. There is no straight definition of the word (cid:498)myth(cid:499) Story must have proved itself worthy of becoming traditional (i. e. passed down generation to generation) True myth / myth proper: stories primarily concerned with the gods. Saga / legend: fanciful with historical roots. Folktales: stories, usually livened with fantastical creatures, adventure and the hero prevailing at the end. Fairytales: kind of folktale with high magical content and moral, created especially for the young. However, the criteria for definition merge and lines blur. Myth is a many-faceted personal and cultural phenomenon created to provide reality and unity to what is transitory and fragmented in the world we live in. Mythology and religion and very much intertwined. The desire to rationalize classical mythology a rose far back in classical antiquity. Euhemerus claimed that the gods were men, kings.
