Myth and Symbol I Symbolic phenomena in ancient Greek culture PAPERS FROM THE NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE AT ATHENS 1. The Norwegian Institute at Athens: The first five lectures. Ed. 0ivind Andersen and Helene Whittaker. Athens and Bergen, 1991. 86 pp. ISBN 960-85145-0-9. 2. Greece & Gender. Ed. Brit Berggreen and Nanno Marinatos. Bergen, 1995. 184 pp. ISBN 82-91626-oo-6. 3. Homer's world: Fiction, Tradition, Reality. Ed. 0ivind Andersen and Matthew Dickie. Bergen, 1995. 173 pp. ISBN 82-991411-9-2. 4· The world of ancient magic. Ed. David R. Jordan, Hugo Montgomery, Einar Thomas­ sen. Bergen, 1999. 335 pp. ISBN 82-91626-15-4. 5. Myth & symbol I. Symbolic phenomena in ancient Greek culture. Ed. Synnove des Bouvrie. Bergen, 2002. 333 pp. ISBN 82-91626-21-9. Front cover: 'The funeral games at the burial rites for Patroklos.' Attic black figure vase by Sophilos, early sixth century (Athens, nr. NAM 154 99, with the permission of the National Archaeological Museum) Papers from the Norwegian Institute at Athens 5 Myth and Symbol I Symbolic phenomena in ancient Greek culture Papers from the first international symposium on symbolism at the University ofTroms0, June 4-7,1998 Edited by Synn0ve des Bouvrie Bergen 2002 © The authors and The Norwegian Institute at Athens Composed in Minion and Symbol Greek Published with support from the Norwegian Research Council Distributor Paul Astroms Forlag William Gibsons vag 11 S-433 76 Jonsered Sweden The Norwegian Institute at Athens, 2002 ISSN 1105-4204 ISBN 82-91626-21-9 Printed in Norway 2002 John Grieg Grafisk AS, Bergen Contents Foreword 7 The definition of myth. 11 Symbolic phenomena in ancient Greek culture Synnove des Bouvrie Focusing on the invisible: 71 Greek myth and symbol contemplation Herbert Hoffmann Genealogy as a form of mythic discourse: 89 the case of the Phaeacians Jaakko Aronen Gaia/Ge: entre mythe, culte et ideologie 113 Stella Georgoudi Odysseus versus the Cyclops 135 Jan. N. Bremmer The Life Cycle of the Archaic Greek Warrior and Hero: 153 The Interplay of Myth and Genre in Imagery Nanno Marinatos Greek myth- Etruscan symbol 171 Marjatta Nielsen Mythe et tragedie dans l'Alceste d'Euripide 199 Louise Bruit Zaidman Retheorizing Myth 215 Bruce Lincoln To lock up Eleusis: A question of liminal space 233 Dag 0istein Endsj0 Rethinking Sisyphos 259 Kirsti K. Simonsuuri Syloson's Cloak and other Greek Myths 275 Jesper Svenbro The Symbol of the Warrior in Greek Tragedy? 287 Synn0ve des Bouvrie Artemis, Pan et Marathon: mythe, 313 polytheisme et evenement historique Pierre Ellinger Foreword THE PRESENT volume is the result of a joint effort of a group of scholars who felt the need to discuss the nature of what is commonly labelled 'myth,' all being actively engaged in the interpretation of concrete expressions of ancient, mostly Greek, culture. Despite the fact that two centuries of scholarly debate have passed and wonderful progress has been made in interpreting specific manifestations of'myth' during the last 25 or so years, there still exists a palpable reluctance to define 'myth' in a clear and concise way. A recently held congress on the theme of ancient myth did not address the problem at all. It is within this situation we felt the necessity to address the crucial question of definition within a comparative framework. The result was a symposium held at the University of Troms0 in the midnight sun of 1998. It was not our aim to endorse once more some ethnocentric belief in the universal existence of a category of tales, 'myths; but on the contrary, to discuss the problem and examine the various assumptions and questions that have dominated the study of' Greek myths.' We wished to examine why the question of definition has ended in an impasse, and to discuss different possible approaches to phenomena we meet in large quantities within our field. Our discussions have been an extra­ ordinarily exhilarating and invigorating experience, but regrettably this part of our cooperation has not been rendered in the volume. On the other hand, we hope that readers without being coloured by our views and preferences, in turn will engage in similar inspiring discussions and pose new questions. The phenomenon of 'myth,' which we profitably may conceive of as a manifestation of what in recent time has been called 'symbolism; is, after all, a deeply human activity. A word of explanation is required for the extensive article on the definition of myth. It was attached to the editor's invitation to the Troms0 symposium and a number of the participants later urged this common starting point to be included into our collection of papers. The contributions have not been ordered in any systematic way, nor do we pretend to offer an exhausting range of approaches. In the light of the current reluctance to define and speak about a phenomenon like 'myth,' we have felt it necessary to identify and name certain human tendencies to create shared perceptions and to generate cultural forces. Most papers have engaged in examining specific tales belonging to the well known corpus of 'Greek myths; either manifested in narrative (Aronen, Bruit Zaidman) or in imagery (Hoff­ mann), while others have explored symbolic tales (Svenbro) and iconography (Marinatos). Some have traced a tale's wanderings to distant regions and foreign recipients, exploring these new encounters (Bremmer, Nielsen, Simonsuuri). Others again have emphasised the workings (Hoffmann) or contexts of mythical tradi­ tions in order to meet the living community and the multifarious manifestations of mythical or symbolic expression ( Georgoudi, Endsj0, des Bouvrie, Ellinger). Herbert Hoffmann investigates the levels of meaning and especially the modes of use in fifth-century society of a drinking cup decorated with the myth of Polyei­ dos and Glaukos. He concludes that the various aspects of the tale and the imagery point to mystic belief and initiation. Jaakko Aronen explores the morphology of mythical tales and concludes that genealogical structures serve subtle aims of a community's conceptual organisa­ tion of the world and its value systems. A related problem is raised by Stella Georgoudi, who addresses the figure of Gaia or Ge. Unlike modern ideas of Mother Earth, the Greek perception of Gaia did not convey general notions of fertility but structured the individual's orienta­ tion in his or her social world. Jan Bremmer's analysis of the Polyphemos myth demonstrates not only how elements of the tale are widely distributed in folk traditions but are also interwoven with other tales, and how they may point to common origins in ritual. Nann6 Marinatos proposes in her paper to assume an encoded cultural com­ munication at work in the corpus of shield strap motifs from the archaic age, concluding that these generical and mythical motifs constituted a coherent norm system valid among their carriers. Marjatta Nielsen offers a twofold analysis of symbolic expressions in Etruscan iconography, which covers a wide time span and explores the principles governing the choice and employment of generic and Greek mythical imagery. Louise Bruit Zaidman investigates the various mythical strands meeting in the tragedy of Alcestis and offers a way to understand the drama through its structuring of the mythical complex and its interaction with contemporary perceptions of the human condition and central social values. Bruce Lincoln's paper discusses some basic properties of mythical narrative, emphasising their taxonomic but also dynamic and ideological nature. Presenting a model for analysing such narrative Lincoln applies it to a Platonic tale. FOREWORD 9 Dag 0istein Endsj0 studies Greek notions of the geographical periphery and poses the question whether these concepts of space should not be understood as images of the liminal state in myth and ritual. Kirsti Simonsuuri's contribution on the Sisyphos tale covers a vast time span, exploring the polysemic nature of the myth and its capacity to both retain patterns of interpretation as well as inspire new generations to express their experiences through this medium. Jesper Svenbro argues for the proposition that objects and names may generate mythical narrative, offering examples in a study of the Orpheus myth as well as a Herodotean narrative that reveals an implied cultural message. Synn0ve des Bouvrie presents a theoretical framework for the interpretation of mythic drama, suggesting that the shock and horror of the drama are to be under­ stood at the level of central cultural symbols, illustrating her model with the example of the warrior symbol. Pierre Ellinger examines the apparently enigmatic apparitions of certain deities in the context of wars and battles. Analysing the details of the historical reports he finds a subtle logic behind these major symbolic figures. This publication as well as the symposium that was its source have been made possible due to the generous support from the Norwegian Research Council and the University of Troms0. For abbreviations of the ancient authors' names, the reader should consult the list in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition, and for the abbreviations of periodicals, the list in L' Annee philologique. Synnove des Bouvrie Bergen, August 2002 The definition of myth. Symbolical phenomena in ancient culture Synm'JVe des Bouvrie Introduction THE PRESENT article aims at making a contribution to the definition of myth as well as to the discussion about the substance of what is commonly referred to as 'myth.' It does not pretend to give the final answer to all questions related to this intricate problem, but to offer some clarification at the present moment, when the term 'myth' is freely in use among classical scholars without always being suffi­ ciently defined. In fact the question of definition seems indeed to be avoided. In addressing this question I will proceed along two lines and study the nature and 'existence' of myth from a social as well as from a biological point of view.