CLST 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Sea Foam, Comparative Mythology, Boeotia
23 Nov 2017
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Hesiod (700 bce: theogony, works and days are his main works, obscured depiction as an author. From ascra in boiotia: but still more of a historical figure than homer, pessimist. Functionalism - the functions of a practice determines its form. Linguistic theories: mueller: all myths come down to the struggle between sunlight and darkness. Indo-european comparative mythology: many languages share a common origin (proto- Indo-european: they probably share a mythological origin too, many cultures have similar mythological developments, controversial, psychological theories, freud: oedipus complex, a young boy is born attracted to his mother and sees the father as an obstacle between them. This is overcome as he matures: electra complex is the opposite for a girl. Jung: collective unconsciousness - myth illustrates social desire: archetypes. Structuralism & modern anthropological theories: levi-strauss: the meaning of myth is its form - myth is a language, current theories, moving away from universal explanations, contextual approaches: myths examined in context of their ancient history.
