Introduction to Mythology Definitions, What is it, How do we talk about it?

"In common parlance, a myth is an 'old wives' tale,' a generally accepted belief unsubstantiated by fact." --David Adams Leeming, The World of Myth (3) Definitions of Mythology

"Myth purports to offer an adequate explanation for everything--for the elements and laws of nature, for social structure, ethics and the dynamics of the individual psyche." --Norman Austin, Meaning and Being in Myth Another definition

What is “Mythology”? A set of stories to explain the unknown. “Dead people’s religion.” “Traditional stories a society tells itself that encode or represent the world-view, beliefs, principles, and often fears of that society.” Stories which define our spirituality

What do others say myth is? They orient people to the metaphysical dimension, explain the origins and nature of the cosmos, validate social issues, and, on the psychological plane, address themselves to the innermost depths of the psyche (Campbell).

Another definition Myths are stories told by people about people: where they come from, how they handle major disasters, how they cope with what they must and how everything will end. If that isn't everything what else is there?( Robert O'Connell ) Robert O'Connell

Is it true? Myth is truthful, but figuratively so. It is not historical truth mixed with lies; it is a high philosophical teaching that is entirely true, on the condition that, instead of taking it literally, one sees in it an allegory (Veyne)

Myth, Legend, Folktale Myth Myth refers only to stories that concern the gods and their rites. Legend Legend refers to traditional stories rooted in historical fact. Folktale Folktale refers to stories that are primarily entertaining and that often involve animals or ordinary but clever humans.

Specific Definition of Myth Stories that account for the origin of the universe and the earth, and things in it. They also account for the origin of man, woman, animals, and for why things have to die.

More myth Myths are closely associated with a culture’s theology and religion, because myths tend to be stories concerning the gods-- characteristics and functions-- and what mankind’s relationship with the gods should be. Myths are set in a past time so remote that the world as we know it did not exist.

Specific Definition of Legend Saga legends are stories about heroes and kings, the wars they fought, and the quests they went on. (Trojan War, Heracles and his Twelve Labors, and other epic-length hero-narratives).

More legend Other types of legends are "local legends", stories about particular places and the people who lived there. This includes stories about haunted houses, and tales around historical figures (Paul Bunyan and his Ox, or George Washington and the Cherry Tree).

More legend Legends thus take place in the relatively recent past, within human memory, in the world as we know it, and thus contrast with myths.

Specific Definition of Folktale Sometimes called fairy tales, (they don’t always have fairies "Little Red Riding Hood“) these stories tend to be about everyday characters rather than about heroes and monsters (princes, princesses and monsters can occur).

More folktale Folktales are likely to contain some sort of specific moral lesson and are less philosophical and existential than myths or legends. ("Little Red Riding Hood" has several lessons: listen to your parents, don’t stray from the right path, don’t talk to strangers)

More folktale Folktales are set at an indefinite time ("Once upon a time"), with generic characters: "Red Riding Hood" or "Sleeping Beauty" rather than "Sara" or "Katherine". But folktales are also set in the known world, so that the lessons can be applicable to anyone, anywhere.

Who Uses Myth? All societies have myths. Myths are most important in preliterate societies.

Myth in Modern Societies Modern literate cultures have many different forms of explanation available to them, including: Theology Psychology Philosophy Ethics History

Modern Interpretations of “Myth” Modern culture makes a distinction between “fact” and “fiction”; “true” and “false” When myth is the only available form of explanation, these distinctions cannot be so clear-cut

Fact or Fiction? In Greek myth, Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky) are good examples. As anthropomorphized deities, they are also physical “realities” – our usual distinction between metaphorical and literal doesn’t apply.

Characteristics of Myth – New Definitions! Myths often explain, justify, instruct, or warn. An aetiological myth may explain why things are as they are or how certain events, entities, or conditions came into existence. A charter myth may offer a justification for a certain rite or social institution.

Characteristics of Myth - Review A myth may instruct its audience in how people out or ought not to behave. Such instruction frequently takes the form of a warning by showing the consequences of misbehavior.

Characteristics of Myth Myths frequently concern gods and the supernatural. This area of myth overlaps with religion. One useful distinction is that “religion” refers to what people do to honor their gods – the rites, ceremonies, and so forth.

Characteristics of Myth “Myth” refers to the underlying narratives about the gods. Obviously, categorization of certain narratives about divinities as “myths” depends largely on whether the observer believes those narratives or not.

Theories of Mythology Many scholars have come up with theories that attempt to define and explain myth. There are two main types: “What” theories “Why” theories

The Theories of Mythology Many philosophers and cultural scholars visions of Mythology

“What” Theories “What” theories attempt to define myth as a subcategory, derivative, or forerunner of something else. Euhemerus (c.300 BCE) – said myth was misremembered history.

What Theories Myth is a sub-category of something else Excessively “reductive” – they reduce myth to less than it is. Ex. Euhemerus. Myth is misremembered history. Even if Euhemerus is correct, he does not explain why history is misremembered as myth.

“What” Theories - Müller Max Müller ( ) developed the theory that myths are a form of “allegory”. He thought that myths were misunderstood statements about the battle between light (especially sunlight) and darkness. “Mythology is a disease of language.”

Andrew Lang Primary challenge to Müller was mounted by Andrew Lang ( ) Myth, he thought, was driven by the same impulse as science; myths were “primitive science.” Thus all myths are aetiological.

Sir James Frazer Frazer ( ) was one of the most influential theorists of mythology. In The Golden Bough (first published in 1890) Frazer presented evidence collected from around the world to demonstrate myth’s origins in primordial religious beliefs common to most human societies.

Sir James Frazer (contd.) The most important strand of Frazer’s argument was his claim about a “king of the Wood,” who represented grain and who had to be killed by a younger successor. The Golden Bough was a pioneering work, but its methodology was flawed.

Bronislaw Malinowski The next important school of myth theory to arise after Frazer was Functionalism, pioneered by Bronislaw Malinowski (1884— 1942). Malinowski studied myth as a living tradition among the Trobriand islanders and concluded that the defining characteristic of myth was its functionality. Myth contributes to society by helping to maintain the social system. Its origin is less important than its function.

Bronislaw Malinowski Malinowski rejected the idea that myth’s primary purpose is to explain, rather than to help justify and maintain the social system. Myths do not, in fact, refer to any culture outside of their own. He called such justificatory myths “charters”; i.e., they provided validation for the social institutions they described.

The Problem with “What” Very restrictive If myths must be ritualistic, how do we explain myths that have no ritual associations If myths only concern the gods, how do we justify Oedipus, Theseus, etc. If myths must justify social instituions, what about the ones that don’t?

The Problem’s Answers? We could say that anything that does not fit the definitions are not myths but other traditional tales (legends, folktales, etc.) The myth may have been corrupted or changed Maybe it is just hard to define! (no one answer)

Why Theories Look for a wider explanation to identify why humans are myth-makers. Psychological and structuralist theories are “why” theories. Assume myth is extra- or trans- cultural. (archetypal)

Sigmund Freud ( ) Proposed that myth reflects psychological forces present in the individual. His most famous theory for the study of myth was, of course, the Oedipus complex. The story of Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, reflected the repressed desires of all male children. Anything present in the individual is present in the society.

Freud cont. According to Freud, myths are the collective dreams of the human race; myths use the same kind of imagery, condensation, and displacement that are found in an individual’s dreams. This imagery is primarily sexual in nature.

Carl Jung ( ) Saw myths as reflections of the “collective unconscious.” In Jung’s view, the collective unconscious contains archetypes, or recurrent images that exist cross-culturally and throughout time. Myths use these archetypes (such as the “Earth Mother” or the “Wise Old Man”). Because they reflect the collective unconscious and feature the archetypes, myths are crucially important.

Structuralism What is “structuralism”? “a system of definable relations between the parts or elements of a whole which admit predictable transformations” Walter Burkert ( ) There are essentially two kinds of structuralism.

Formalist School Developed by Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp. Analyzes traditional tales based on their surface elements. In analyzing Russian folktales, Propp found one basic pattern, the “quest pattern,” which he further analyzed into thirty-one separate “functions.”

Formalist cont. Although not all of these functions are present in any given tale, they are constant elements in the tales, and they appear in fixed sequence. Thus, the sequence of functions creates (or defines) the tale; the characters who happen to appear in the tale are not its defining characteristic.

Levi-Strauss The second main category of structuralism looks at the underlying structure of the myths, rather than at their surface narratives. Claude Levi-Strauss developed this approach.

Levi-Strauss Myth provides a mediation of contradictions, a way of dealing with binary oppositions that underlie the human mind. Myth is analogous to language; just as the individual components of language (phonemes) have no inherent meaning in themselves but gain meaning only in relationship to one another, so too are the components of myth (sometimes called “mythemes”) significant only as part of a structure.

Strauss cont. Levi-Strauss held that “a myth is made up of all its variants”; thus, even Freud’s interpretation is part of the Oedipus myth.

Walter Burkert Burkert has developed a structuralist approach that differs from both Propp’s and Levi-Strauss’s in assigning the basic impetus for certain myths to biological “programs of action.”

Walter Burkert Burkert’s theory resembles Propp’s in that he isolates narrative elements that recur in different myths. Burkert’s thesis that these narrative elements can be traced to early human or even pre-human biological necessities—from menarche to deflowering to bearing a first child—is controversial. Burkert also assigns great importance to ritual; thus, he is sometimes called a “neo-ritualist.”

Joseph Campbell ( ) Campbell takes as a given that all myth is the same cross-culturally. His method, like Frazer’s, depends largely on gathering examples of narrative similarities from different cultures.

Joseph Campbell Campbell assumes that myth is “true” in a metaphorical sense. He imputes a spiritual meaning to myth that he thinks is both constant across societies and crucial for individual psychological and spiritual health. He separates this meaning from the specific religious doctrines held by the societies that formed the particular myths.

Joseph Campbell Most scholars do not have a high opinion of Campbell’s work. He never attempts to demonstrate the validity of his interpretations of myth; instead, he asserts his interpretation—for instance, that the human mind has a spiritual cast—as a given. He claims to be discussing narratives (“monomyths”) that occur worldwide, but, in fact, he takes elements from many narratives to make a composite that does not actually occur anywhere.

Joseph Campbell He assumes that the multiplication of examples amounts to proof of his interpretation. He assumes that similar narrative elements must have the same meanings in different cultures. But Amazons or snakes, for example, have different functions in different times and places.

Feminism Feminist critical theory focuses upon the psychological and social situation of female characters in terms of the dual nature of human beings, especially in the battle between female and male. Feminist scholars interpret myths from their points of view about political, social, and sexual conflict between men and women in the ancient and modern world.

Women in Greek Society Here are four out of many observations about the treatment and position of women in Greek society: Women were citizens of their communities unlike non-citizens and slaves-a very meaningful distinction. They did not have the right to vote. No woman anywhere won this democratic right until The role of women in religious rituals was fundamental; and many female festivals excluded men. Women's education was dependent on her future role in society, her status or class, and her individual needs. The cloistered, illiterate, and oppressed creatures often stereotyped is in conflict with all sources: literary, artistic, archaeological.

The Problem with the “Why” These universalist “why” theories, no less than the “what” theories, have struck many critics as unsatisfactory, mainly because they tend to treat on unproven and unprovable assumptions.

An Example cne.html

barbarian v civilized Greeks (see the devastating effects of barbarians on Greeks?) but also - wife against husband, woman against man Personal battlefield as well - power play - idea that T disempowered Philomela by detonguing her (that was her weapon), and then Procne disempowers T by forcing him to eat his own child (rejection of him sexually, and negates his sexual power) - "Not only do I not want to sleep with you anymore, but here! Take this back!" Begin with aetiological reading - explaining the habits and haunts of the three birds in beginning of tradition, myth was purely aetiological as it evolved over time, new plot complications were added, developing its thematic import - bird habits, then characters as paradigms of behavior (mourning mother) - mention mistake by Roman mythographer We can now bring in other methods of myth interpretation; idea that this myth is representative of the barbarian threat to Greece (Tereus stands for Barbarian, P and P, the Athenian princesses, as Greece); idea of nature v culture - this is what happens when rules of society are broken. Man commits indecent act breaking familial bonds, everything falls apart around him. He begins by raping his sister-in-law (regarded as act of incest), ends by eating his own child. In other child- feast myths, the message is more mythical - in Thyestes story, the sun stops in its tracks. Nature is thus disrupted by the crimes of mankind. Warning! so - antitheses include:

What Works? The best approach may be to recognize that myth is a varied but recognizable category that can include all these theories (and more). No one theory seems adequate to explain myth overall. Theories can be useful for elucidating individual myths The theories we’ve discussed cannot be proven, but they cannot be disproven either. We will use the theories as tools when they are helpful.

The Key Questions What is the nature and function of the gods? What is the humans’ relationship to the gods? What does it mean to be human? How do the 2 sexes relate to each other? Why does that happen?

Mythological Allusions "He's the king of the ninth world In each and every lobster cage A tortured human soul..." --Sting, "The Soul Cages" (Alludes to the Ninth Ring of the Underworld, which is eternally reserved for the most evil and hopeless souls)

More allusions "...I watched him struggle with the sea I knew that he was drowning And I brought him into me..." --Suzanne Vega, "Calypso" (This song tells the tale of the sea nymph Calypso in The Odyssey who keeps Odysseus on the island of Ogygia)

More allusions "You can roll that stone To the top of the hill Drag your ball and chain Behind you." --Rush, "Carve Away the Stone" (Referring to the fate of Sisyphus, a legendary king of Corinth condemned eternally to repeat the cycle of rolling a heavy rock up a hill in Hades each day only to have it roll down again as it nears the top)

More allusions "Now I see your face before me. I would launch a thousand ships To bring your heart back to my island." --Indigo Girls, "Ghost" (Alluding to Helen of Troy, who is said to have been so beautiful that her abduction was the cause of the Trojan War, i.e. the launch of a thousand ships)

Bibliography unix.oit.umass.edu/~class224/index.f olktale.html