What is a myth? What is a legend? ESL6 Wiesbaden Middle School L. Nabulsi

Legends Based on historical event Based on real people Oral literature Exaggerated Examples – folk tales and tall tales

Myths Basis of a system of beliefs Depicts the moral values of a culture Defines the needs of a culture Teaches the morals of a culture To those who believe, it is their religion; to those who do not believe, it is a mythology

TYPES OF MYTHS CREATION HEROIC MORAL ETIOLOGICAL DEATH HISTORICAL

CREATION MYTHS ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS HOW MAN CAME INTO BEING HOW THE WORLD WAS FORMED HOW THE UNIVERSE WAS FORMED

TYPES OF CREATION MYTHS DELUGE ------ FLOOD EDICT ------ PRONOUNCEMENT ORDER OUT OF CHAOS --BIG BANG TRANSFORMATION – CHANGING SHAPE DISMEMBERMENT – TEARING APART BIRTH – PARENTS

HEROIC MYTHS DREAM OF A NATION – TO SOLVE PROBLEMS OF THE NATION DESTINED OR FATED TO BE A HERO HAS HELP FROM THE GODS EXAMPLES –Theseus, Jason, Hercules

MORAL MYTHS TEACH THE VALUES OF THE CULTURE HUBRIS- TOO MUCH PRIDE, COMPARING SELF TO GOD FATE – GODS CONTROLLED HUMAN DESTINY APOLLONIAN – MODERATION DIONYSIAN - EXTREME

ETIOLOGICAL MYTHS NON-SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION OF NATURE WHY SPIDERS SPIN WEBS? WHY BERRIES TURN FROM WHITE TO RED? ETIOLOGICAL MYTHS CAN ALSO REFLECT A MORAL CONCEPT

DEATH MYTHS WHY DO PEOPLE DIE? WHERE DO PEOPLE GO AFTER DEATH? STRUCTURE OF HADES: EREBUS TARTARUS ELYSIAN FIELDS ISLE OF BLESSED

RIVERS OF HADES Acheron – River of Sadness Cocytus – River of lamentation Lethe – River of forgetfulness Phlegethon – River of fire Styx – River of hate

CHRONOLOGY OF DEATH PERSON DIES – BEST WAY TO DIE IS IN BATTLE BODY WASHED AND COIN PLACED UNDER TONGUE BODY BURIED OR BURNED LIBATIONS POURED OVER BODY HERMES COMES FOR SHADE

JOURNEY TO HADES HERMES DELIVERS SHADE TO SHORE OF HADES, THE RIVER OF FORGETFULNESS, LETHE CHARON TAKES COIN TO PAY FOR FERRY ACROSS THE RIVER CERBERUS, a three headed dog, GUARDS THE GATES OF HADES

JUDGMENT/PLACEMENT THREE JUDGES, Rhadamanthys, Minos, and Aeacus, DETERMINE WHERE SOUL GOES GOOD PERSONS GO TO ELYSIAN FIELDS BAD PERSONS GO TO TARTARUS AND ARE PUNISHED FOR ETERNITY PERSONS WHO HAVE LED THREE GOOD LIVES CAN GO TO THE ISLE OF BLESSED

HISTORICAL MYTHS BASED ON REAL BATTLES AND EVENTS ORAL TRADITION HOMER – THE BLIND BARD The Iliad and The Odyssey

The End