CLCV 2000 Classical Mythology Ancient and Modern Definitions of Myth I. Preconceptions A. Everyone knows something about Greek mythology, from mere names (Zeus) to some details of stories (Oedipus). B. The word ‘myth’ has wider semantic field for us than it did for the Greeks. Myth can be used to mean falsehood.’ Interchangeable with other words like legend, fable, saga, folktale, fairy tale. C. There is a need to set some ground rules so we know what it is we are talking about D. What is a myth? (a myth, not Myth). We ought to consider specific instances before trying to determine the essence of myth. II. How did the Greeks define Myth? A. The relevant word is mythos (Greek μῦθος) 1. etymology uncertain 2. basic meanings: ‘word, speech, thing said, story, narrative’ B. Four important opinions: 1. Homer (ca. 750) a. Mythos is an emphatic, authoritative utterance; sometimes an injunction, advice or a threat; contrasted with ἔργον. b. Mythos is a kind of story, sometimes relating a past event; relevant to the present discussion c. Mythos never implies a lack of truth. 1 2. Pindar (522-438 BC) a. There is a possible distinction between a true and a false mythos b. A mythos is persuasive but potentially untrue 3. Plato (428-347 BC) a. A mythos is a traditional story of dubious truth b. Mythos contrasts with λόγος lógos ‘account,’ which accords with reason and truth 4. Aristotle (384-322 BC) a. Mythos is a ‘false account’ or the ‘plot’ of a drama b. Lógos is a ‘reasoned account’ or ‘analytical statement’ c. By now the two are consistently contrasted d. Mythos now thought of as a possibly untrue story that may nonetheless present some greater truth. e. There is a progressive movement to the point where mythos = falsehood. C. In spite of this, it is true to say that in many instances mythos and logos are not contrasted, but seem to be used interchangeably. At most we can say that a distinction between the two words and concepts was sometimes made, but not always. D. The Greek evidence is actually not so helpful. III. Modern definitions of myth A. There is no widespread agreement on the definition of myth or on the distinction between myth, legend, fable, folklore, saga or other similar words. B. Some would dismiss attempts to classify and just call all such stories myths. 2 C. Others use ‘folklore’ as a comprehensive term for traditional, orally transmitted literature. D. A workable modern definition of myth 1. Commonly, if vaguely, myth is viewed as a ‘traditional tale’ or narrative with some collective importance to the community in which it is told. 2. A concise definition is given by Richard Buxton. 1994. Imaginary Greece. Cambridge. p. 15: “A Greek myth is a narrative about the deeds of gods and heroes and their interrelations with ordinary mortals, handed on as a tradition within the ancient Greek world, and of collective significance to a particular social group or groups.” Wisely, Buxton wasn’t adamant about this: “a definition makes a good servant but a bad master.” a. There are four parts to this definition: i. “A Greek myth is a narrative ii. about the deeds of gods and heroes and their interrelations with ordinary mortals, iii. handed on as a tradition within the ancient Greek world, iv. and of collective significance to a particular social group or groups.” 3. The notion of tale or narrative implies a plot (as in fact mythos meant ‘plot’ for Aristotle), a. The simplest plot is merely beginning, middle, and end. It possibly includes all of the narrative devices available to its teller. b. Under narrative we should probably include not only verbal forms of expression, but, in a looser sense, also visual forms—those works of art that also communicated mythical stories. (power point on Circe, Polyphemus) 3 4. ‘Traditional’ implies the following a. handed down, often orally (e.g. Homeric poems) b. traditional but changing and multiform (e.g. tale of Oedipus) c. set in the distant past d. anonymous e. important enough to endure among the group 5. May express social values, norms of behavior, the consequences of deviating from the norm. 6. The modern definition is not concerned with the issue of truth – focuses on the social origin of myth. E. Legend 1. Traditional tales about human characters with some basis, perhaps very little, in historical events 2. Usually involve a particular city or family (sagas) and the interaction between gods and heroes. Central characters human, not divine, and usually heroes/heroines, nobles, aristocracy. 3. Ex. George Washington chopping down the cherry tree, Johnny Appleseed. F. Fable A story in which the characters are usually animals with human traits. The primary purpose is moral and didactic. G. Folktale 1. Like legends, which usually handle aristocratic elements of society, but focused on lower strata of society, common people (i.e. folk) and witches, elves, giants, fairies (fairytale). 4 2. The hero is often some sort of lowly victim—the youngest child, siblings of a wicked stepmother, orphaned. His or her gifts are unrecognized until some reversal of fortune brings about a happy ending. Think Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel. 3. Can also be ‘traditional’ (e.g. the multiformity of Little Red Riding Hood) 4. Folktales from around the world have been rigorously studied and broken down into several different types and motifs. a. One example is the quest (power point): hero travels to a foreign/strange land to fight a foe (dragon/monster/evil human), hero assisted by animals/spirits/deities/magical weapons, the hero is clever while the foe is brutish/stupid, the foe imprisons hero but through some trick the hero gets free and kills the foe, hero returns home and is rewarded with princess in marriage/rule of kingdom/some treasure. b. (Read plot summary of The Hobbit). Applicable to other stories (Star Wars, Perseus). 5 Plot summary of The Hobbit from SparkNotes http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/hobbit/summary.html Bilbo Baggins lives a quiet, peaceful life in his comfortable hole at Bag End. Bilbo lives in a hole because he is a hobbit—one of a race of small, plump people about half the size of humans, with furry toes and a great love of good food and drink. Bilbo is quite content at Bag End, near the bustling hobbit village of Hobbiton, but one day his comfort is shattered by the arrival of the old wizard Gandalf, who persuades Bilbo to set out on an adventure with a group of thirteen militant dwarves. The dwarves are embarking on a great quest to reclaim their treasure from the marauding dragon Smaug, and Bilbo is to act as their “burglar.” The dwarves are very skeptical about Gandalf’s choice for a burglar, and Bilbo is terrified to leave his comfortable life to seek adventure. But Gandalf assures both Bilbo and the dwarves that there is more to the little hobbit than meets the eye. Shortly after the group sets out, three hungry trolls capture all of them except for Gandalf. Gandalf tricks the trolls into remaining outside when the sun comes up, and the sunlight turns the nocturnal trolls to stone. The group finds a great cache of weapons in the trolls’ camp. Gandalf and the dwarf lord Thorin take magic swords, and Bilbo takes a small sword of his own. The group rests at the elfish stronghold of Rivendell, where they receive advice from the great elf lord Elrond, then sets out to cross the Misty Mountains. When they find shelter in a cave during a snowstorm, a group of goblins who live in the caverns beneath the mountain take them prisoner. Gandalf leads the dwarves to a passage out of the mountain, but they accidentally leave behind Bilbo. Wandering through the tunnels, Bilbo finds a strange golden ring lying on the ground. He takes the ring and puts it in his pocket. Soon he encounters Gollum, a hissing, whining creature who lives in a pool in the caverns and hunts fish and goblins. Gollum wants to eat Bilbo, and the two have a contest of riddles to determine Bilbo’s fate. Bilbo wins by asking the dubious riddle, “What have I got in my pocket?” Gollum wants to eat Bilbo anyway, and he disappears to fetch his magic ring, which turns its wearer invisible. The ring, however, is the same one Bilbo has already found, and Bilbo uses it to escape from Gollum and flee the goblins. He finds a tunnel leading up out of the mountain and discovers that the dwarves and Gandalf have already escaped. Evil wolves known as Wargs pursue them, but Bilbo and his comrades are helped to safety by a group of great eagles and by Beorn, a creature who can change shape from a man into a bear. The company enters the dark forest of Mirkwood, and, making matters worse, Gandalf abandons them to see to some other urgent business. In the forest, the dwarves are caught in the webs of some giant spiders, and Bilbo must rescue them with his sword and magic ring. After slaying his first spider, Bilbo names his sword Sting. Shortly after escaping the spiders, the unlucky dwarves are captured by a group of wood elves who live near the river that runs through Mirkwood. Bilbo uses his ring to help the company escape and slips the dwarves away from the elves by hiding them inside barrels, which he then floats down the river. The dwarves arrive at Lake Town, a human settlement near the Lonely Mountain, under which the great dragon sleeps with Thorin’s treasure.