What is Classical Mythology?

Images for Identification

Nothing

Concepts/Terms
Mythos vs. logos
 Mythos- anything delivered by word or mouth, counsel or advice, saying or proverb
 Myth is not fiction
 Myth is not religion
 Logos
Mythology
 The formal study of myths
 A culture's body of myths
 Mainly Greek mythology
‘Classic’- What is meant by classicus
 Ancient Greek or Latin literature, art, and culture
 "Zeniths" of Greek and Roman culture (i.e. Greek: 500-323 BC / Roman: 70 BC - 30 AD)
 Showed that you are educated
The modern division of myth/legend/folktale
 "Myth proper"
o Gods and their relationship with humankind
o Set in a timeless era
o Different world
o Religious in nature
 Legend (heroic myth)
o Concerns humans, particularly great ones, demigods
o Set in a 'historical' past
o 'Possible' events/adventures
o Symbolic value for society
 Folktale/Fairytale
o Everyday humans
o Timeless, generic setting
o Magical elements/ impossibilities
o Entertainment or moral instruction
Our provisional/working definition of myth (Buxton p. 18)
 "Myth is a socially powerful traditional story"

Questions
1. What is ‘classical mythology’?
 Classical mythology are the artwork, sculptures, and myths that express a culture from the classical era,
which is 5th and 4th century BC
2. What makes the Greek word mythos difficult to define?
 There was a shift in the word's meaning
o Archaic meaning - Mythos is an unverifiable account/report (How it is in Homer's Illiad)
o Classical meaning - Logos, legein in Greek prose, is specified as a verifiable, justifiable account that is
 separate from mythos (Plato)
o Modern meaning - Saga, legend, folktale, fairytale, myth
3. How is myth different from history?
 Historia vs. mythos
o Herodotus- outside person examining accounts
 Mythos- anything delivered by word or mouth, counsel or advice, saying or proverb
 Dowden, 'shift in meaning'
4. How is myth different from religion?
 Ancient religions are not authoritative, Greek religion is localized, each area approaches the god
differently (Greek religious cults)
5. Give two reasons why the modern distinction between myth/legend/folktale is not always helpful when
discussing Greek myth?
 There are elements of everything in Greek myth. In other words, the criteria for definition merge and
the lines of demarcation blur.
 It is rare to find a pristine, uncontaminated example of any of these forms.
 It is impossible to develop any one theory that will be meaningfully applicable to all myths; there is no
identifiable idea or form of a myth, embodying characteristics copied or reflected in the mythologies of
the world.
6. What is the working definition of myth that we will be using in this class (see Buxton p. 18)?
 "Myth is a socially powerful traditional story"

Essay Question
Is Santa Claus a myth, legend, or a folktale? Explain your answer.

-Folktale bc timeless place

-Used to teach children to be good
-Magical reindeer/elves
-Socially powerful traditional story
-Socially powerful : holiday, financial
-Traditional : told by parents to children