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Chapter 3Lecture One of Two
The Development of Classical Myth
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
The Development of Classical Myth
• Features of Greek myth appear in primordial past.
• How did myth begin and develop in the historical periods?
• Where do we look for evidence of their earliest origins, and how do we assess it?
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
THE BEGINNINGS OF GREEK MYTH
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Figure 3.1Fertility idol from Çatal Hüyük . Neolithic fertility idols are found throughout southeast Europe and the Near East.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Museum of Anatolian Civilization, Ankara, Turkey
Figure 3.2Cycladic fertility idol.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
The N. P. Goulandris Foundation, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens; author’s photo
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Potnia Thērōn• Is she Artemis?
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Figure 3.3Artemis as the Potnia Thērōn.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Indo-European myths• Linguistic analysis
– Zeus and Jupiter < Dy –– The Indo-Europeans worshipped a sky god?
• Comparative Analysis– “twin”– good versus evil? – social dichotomy?
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Writing as a method of transmission• Linear B tablets
– Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Hermes, Enyalius, Paean, Eileithyia, Dionysus, Potnia.
• Myths mostly transmitted orally by aoidoi
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
The Beginnings of Greek Myth
• Songs performed for entertainment by bards– Homer’s Demodocus
• Dactylic hexameter• Rhythmic patterns and stock phrases
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Figure 3.4An aoidos singing a song, represented by random letters.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Chazen Museum of Art, Univesity of Wisconsin-Madison
THE INFLUENCE OF NEAR EASTERN MYTH
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Near Eastern Myth
• Non-Indo-European Mesopotamian sources of Greek myth
• Greek myths of cosmic origins come from Near Eastern sources
• Mesopotamian myths known only by report until recently
• Cuneiform script decoded in the 19th century
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
THE INFLUENCE OF NEAR EASTERN MYTH
Sumerian Myth
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Sumerian Myth
• Sumerians the earliest people in Mesopotamia (4000 B.C.)
• First full-fledged cities• Each city had protective deity
– “Lived” on the ziggurat
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Figure 3.6Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
World Religions Photo Library/Alamy
Sumerian Myth
• Myths preserved on tablets and seals– cuneiform (wedge shaped)
• Seal Impressions– Gilgamesh/Enkidu cylinder seal
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Figure 3.5A cuneiform tablet.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
British Museum, London; © The Trustees of the British Museum / Art Resource, New York
Figure 3.7Akkadian seal-impression.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
© Bettmann/CORBIS. All Rights Reserved
Sumerian Myth
An Sky God | Supreme
Inanna Queen of Heaven | Sex and War
Enlil Lord of the Storm | Tablets of Destiny
Enki Lord of Earth | Sweet Ground Water | Trickster God
Ki One of Many Names for Mother Earth
Ereshkigal Queen of the Underworld
Utu Sun God
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Figure 3.8Mesopotamian terracotta relief.
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Scala/Art Resource, New York
Sumerian Myth
• Deities are anthropomorphic but indistinct– Hard to tell often who’s been represented
• Filled with human emotions and motivations• Important in the Epic of Gilgamesh
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
THE INFLUENCE OF NEAR EASTERN MYTH
Semitic Myth
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Semitic Myth
• Semites– Modern term < Biblical “Schem”– Arrive in Mesopotamia in 2000 BC– Designates linguistic group
• Sargon the Akkadian (2340 BC)• Adopted Sumerian culture
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Semitic MythSumerian Akkadian/Bablyonian Domain
An Anu Sky
Inanna Isthar Sex; War
Enlil Enlil or Marduk Storms
Enki Ea Fresh Water; Wisdom; Magic
Ki ----- Earth
Ereshkigal ----- Death
Utu Shamash Sun
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Semitic Myth
• Hammurabi (1750 BC)– Semitic Babylonians– Empire in Mesopotamia
• The Ennuma Elish– “When on high . . .”– Creation account– Cult hymn
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Semitic Myth
• Hebrews– Abraham (2000 BC?)
• Migrated to Canaan and then to Egypt• Moses (1200 BC)
– Monotheism (from Egyptian period of Akhenaten 1400 BC?)
– Yahweh– The Exodus and Ten Commandments
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Semitic Myth
• Invasion of Canaan– Battles with the Canaanites and the Philistines
• Kingdom of David and Solomon (1000 BC)• Babylonian Exile (586–536)
– Nebuchadnezzar
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Semitic Myth
• Collected their written and oral traditions• Completed around AD 90 • Wrote with the “Phoenician alphabet”
– syllabary of twenty-two signs without vowel signs
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Semitic Myth
• Easier than cuneiform but still difficult– Hence the prestige of readers (the rabbi)
• Adapted into Arabic script and ultimately into the Greek alphabet
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
THE INFLUENCE OF NEAR EASTERN MYTH
Other Sources
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Other Sources
• Hittites (1600–1200 BC)– Central modern-day Turkey– Non-Semitic– Inherited and modified Babylonian myths
• Egypt– Had few myths– Mostly proverbs, hymns, and clever short stories– Connected narratives come from Greek sources (Osiris and
Isis)
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
End
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.