CLAS 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Xuthus, Outsmart, Etiology
3 Apr 2016
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Lecture sept 4 earliest written myth = the epic of gilgamesh. Flood tablet one of the ancient sources. Myth explains society to itself, maintains contact with past. Two basic ways of classifying myth: by principle character, by function. Classical myth: story that has attained a kind of immortality because its inherent archetypal beauty and power have inspired rewarding renewal and transformation by successive generations. Divine myth = focus on supernatural beings. Supernatural: immortal, personification of natural forces, superior to humans in power, control forces of nature, events in unreal time and place, explain the way the world is; origins. Folktale = magical aspect; focus on human beings: ordinary men and women, often has happy ending, distinctive aspect = motif regularly appearing, identifiable pattern, entertain/teach. Most greek myths = mix of legend and folk tale. Neolithic age 6500-3000 bc: farming villages, pottery, domesticating animals, reasonable amount of archeological finds the new stone age, most info is from archeology.
