MDC ~ HUM 1020 ~ Ancient Greece-Greek Myth and the Origin of the Humanities

7/28/2019 MDC ~ HUM 1020 ~ Ancient Greece-Greek Myth and the Origin of the Humanities

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Myth and the Origin of the Humanities

Long before there was print, before therewere formal arts, the humanities existed inthe form of mythology.

Early people in societies that were ofnecessity closely knit preserved their historyand culture by weaving stories of their past stories about where they came from and their

relationship to the gods; stories about greathunters, warriors, or leaders; and storiesdesigned to illustrate the difference betweenright and wrong.


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Myth is defined as a traditional story ofunknown authorship, ostensibly with ahistorical basis, but serving usually to explainsome phenomena of nature, the origin ofhumanity, or the customs, religious rites, etc. ofa people.

All of us have our own personal mythology,beginning in early childhood when we objectifyour fears and our secret longings, when wedivide the world into good and evil and idolizeour heroes. Our myths stay with us for life,growing up with us and fulfilling ourpsychological needs at every stage of ourdevelopment.


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The hero is just one of innumerable mythicarchetypes or models by which we, individuallyor collectively, come to organize ourunderstanding of the world, the nature andpurpose of human life, and events.

We need to demolish common misconceptionsabout myth. It has become a deceptively simpleword used in a variety of ways not necessarilyrelated to the humanities, though closely tied toour personal needs. In popular usage, myth issomething erroneous yet widely believedsomething to be refuted by rational adults.Another misuse of the word is even morepatronizing in the sense of old stories once

believed by nave people in a pre-scientific age.


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If nothing else, myths can be interestingstories, unrestricted to literal facts,

truthful psychologically and emotionally.They help us understand how a givenculture characterizes both itself and the

other cultures with which it engages.


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Archetypes in Mythology Reading myths, we are struck by similarities in stories

and characters. We might ask ourselves why certain ofthese are found again and again and often influence theway we ourselves think and react to what others do.

For more possible insight we turn to a theory ofpsychologist-philosopher Carl Jung(1875-1961), whomaintained that all persons are born with an instinctiveknowledge of certain archetypes, the models by whichpeople comprehend, experience, and cope with theenormous and often baffling task of being human. Jung

believed these models are shared by societies all over theworld, though they may take different forms.Archetypes are mythic characters, events, symbols, and

buried assumptions transmitted from one generation toanother through what Jung labeled the collectiveunconscious.


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Jungs theory is not accepted by all psychologists orscholars of myth, but without it or anothercomprehensive theory to replace it, we have a difficult

time accounting for the continued appearance of certainmyths and mythic elements: tales of a terrible flood andthe salvation of one good man; stories about dangerous

journeys into the land of death and darkness; and, aboveall, tales about the major stages in the life of a singular

human being, sometimes partly divine, known as thehero.

There are alternative explanations. One is the externaltheory, the most scientific of the possibilities. Accordingto this theory, stories were spread along migratory

routes. Myths originated in specific places and then weretransported as peoples warred, traded, and intermarried.In general, we do find myth similarities among cultureswhose migrations can be traced.


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An example of the migratory spread of old stories is theway the myths of the Yoruba tribe were transported toCuba, where they were modified, adopted, and

systematized into both a religion and a philosophyknown as Santera, which offers an explanation ofuniversal origins that combines Catholic monotheismwith an African belief in multiple deities.

Yet another explanation for the universality of myth is

the predictable one that human beings share commonneeds, regardless of geography and level of culturalsophistication; and thus certain elements found in allmyths must play their part in helping people cope withthe situations in which they find themselves. Similar

needs do not necessarily imply contacts betweencultures or a mandatory belief in a collectiveunconscious.


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The Hero as World Myth

The hero is an archetype found in almostevery culture, hence the label world myth.

Regardless of how each culture viewsexistence and its particular survival needs,stories of heroes seem to be essential.

As early as 1909, Otto Rank, a disciple of

Sigmund Freud, cited characteristics of thehero in Western mythology:


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Birth of the hero The heros birth occurs underwondrous circumstances; usually the hero is sired

by a supernatural being.

Early recognition of the Hero

The hero destined forgreatness must be recognized early in life, oftenafter accomplishing a spectacular physical deed,such as the young Arthurs removal of the swordExcalibur from the stone that had held it until the

rightful owner should come along, or thesuperhuman ability of Theseus to lift a heavy stonethat covered a golden sword and sandals, evidencethat he was a kings lost son.

The Heros Great Deed It always occurs in young

adulthood, at a time when the hero has left homeand is separated from the parents. It is a mythicalversion of the universal rite of passage: theattainment of adult status at puberty.


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The Heros Loss of Power In westernmythology, the story of the hero tends to

have a tragic ending. If heroes lose theirpower, a possible compensation is thattheir death is usually glorious and their

nobility acknowledged. Great heroes fail,but their failures only testify to themagnitude of their lives.

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MDC ~ HUM 1020 ~ Ancient Greece-Greek Myth and the Origin of the Humanities