Mythology

What is a myth and how does mythology reflect our culture of time period and community?

Daedalus and IcarusOn the island of Crete there lived a Minotaur,a ferocious creature that was half man andhalf bull. The people of the island of Cretewere terrifi ed of the Minotaur; it loved nothingmore than to feast on human fl esh. Theybegged their ruler, King Minos, to order thatthe creature be killed, but the King decidedagainst this. Instead, he constructed a plan toimprison the Minotaur. To die at the hands ofthe Minotaur would be one of the most terribledeaths imaginable, and King Minos believedthat his enemies deserved to meet such a fate.He enlisted the help of Daedalus, a talentedarchitect, inventor and craftsman, and askedhim to build a labyrinth – a maze of passagesthat would be so complex that it would bevirtually impossible for anyone (or anything) toever fi nd a way out.Daedalus did as King Minos requested andthen, following the King’s instructions,

he enticed the Minotaur into the labyrinthby leaving a huge pile of fresh meat in itscentre. Once the Minotaur was in thelabyrinth the creature was unable toescape. King Minos was delighted.Anyone who was sent to the labyrinthwould be trapped and eventually theywould be found by the Minotaur whowould eat them alive. Now he had theperfect punishment for his enemies!Deciding he had no further use forDaedalus, the King threw him into thelabyrinth along with his son Icarus.The King expected that the inventorand his son would be found by theMinotaur and eaten. Instead, unknownto the king, they escaped. After all,Daedalus had built the labyrinth andknew his way around! Once out of the labyrinth Deadulus and Icaruscarefully made their way to the shore of theisland and pondered on what to do next. The

trees and bushes surrounding the beach wouldprovide an ideal sanctuary for the time being.They could possibly survive for months oryears without being seen. But who would wantto live like that – hiding away hoping theywould not be captured? They needed to fi nd away to leave the island, but how? They couldnot swim, the nearest land was too far away,and they would never make it. They could notleave by ship; all vessels were controlled byKing Minos. Daedalus stared up at the skyand the seagulls that circled overhead. If onlyhe was as free as a bird. If only he and hisson could just fl y away … and then he had anidea which was both brilliant and ambitious.He would build a pair of wings! It would takesome time, days, weeks even, but he wouldbuild a pair of wings for his son and himself –

exactly the same as the wings of a seagull buton a much larger scale.Scattered around the beach were seagullfeathers. Daedalus instructed his son to collectas many as he could fi nd. He worked carefullyto build the wings, studying the exact angleand shape of the seagulls and examining howthe birds fl ew. At last, six weeks after they hadescaped from the labyrinth, the wings wereready.‘With these wings you will fl y like a bird,’Daedalus told his son, ‘but be careful. Makesure you do not fl y too close to the Sun. If youdo, the wax that holds the feathers together willmelt.’Icarus nodded quickly. In truth he was barelylistening. Hiding on the shore of the island ofCrete had been boring. He had spent weeksdoing nothing more exciting with his daysthan collecting feathers and catching fi sh forhis father and himself to eat. And now at lastthey had the chance to escape. He shuffl ed

impatiently as his father attached the wings tohis arms, then helped his father toposition his own wings.‘We are ready,’ his father toldhim, ‘follow me!’Deadulus ran forwards towardsthe ocean, sweeping his armsup and down as he did so. Witha whoosh he zoomed forward,rising into the air. Icarus copiedhis father; suddenly he foundhis feet were no longer on theground…he was in the air… hewas fl ying! He couldn’t believeit! As he looked down at the sea below, his heart fl uttered with excitement. Itwas as though his body was weightless. Thewind whistled against his ears. He felt like abird! Higher and higher, faster and faster hefl ew!Suddenly, Icarus realized he could hardly seehis father. He had fl own so high his fatherresembled a small dot below him. At the same

time he noticed a feather drift past and fl oatdownwards towards the sea. And then another… and then another. Too late Icarus realizedhis wings were melting. He had fl own too closeto the Sun. With every desperate swoop of hisarms, more feathers fell and soon his armswere almost bare. Down and down and downwent Icarus...‘Father!’ he shouted before falling with a heavysplash into the sea. His few remaining feathersfl oated on the surface of the water as he sank.Daedalus could only watch helplessly andhis heart felt as heavy as a stone as he fl ew

onwards, leaving his son behind.

Who is the hero? Who is the villain? What is the lesson that can be learned from this story or what phenomenon was it trying to explain? What does the myth tell the reader about the culture?

What is a myth? The short answer…How the Greeks viewed the creation of the world is this:

Scary old gods came first; they got stomped down by their kids, who were better looking, younger gods.

These gods created humans. Humans and gods fought for supremacy, and the humans won a few rounds but eventually got trounced and became more and more miserable.

What is a myth?Now… The longer answer-

In the beginning, the universe was without form. It was not nothing; there was matter, but it was unorganized, shapeless, mixed up and dark. This was called Chaos.After Chaos, more divinities, or gods, came into being. Gaia, the Earth, held up Uranus, the sky. Gaia and Uranus had a bunch of kids. First they had a bunch of monsters including the Cyclops, and then they created the Titans as the second generation. Uranus hated all the Titans and was actually quite ugly about it – but there are only a couple of Titans that you need to remember: first, Oceanus, the god of the sea, and then Cronus, the strongest and best one of all. Gaia was pretty ticked at Uranus for being a jerk, so she helped Cronus overthrow him

Can you identify any myths? 

Myths were part of a culture’s Oral Tradition –stories passed from group to group for the purpose of entertainment and enlightenment. For a time, the Oral Tradition was necessary for the growth, development, and maintenance of a culture, as few people could read. Does traditional storytelling, capturing some aspect of culture or society and passed from person to person orally, still have a place in our society?

Why or why not?

As a whole class, lets brainstorm unique aspects of modern day culture (cell phones, sports teamfanaticism, reality television, etc.)

Group work! • Write a myth that would explain that cultural norm to someone of another

culture. • Be sure to make clear the phenomena and the relationship to the culture

at large. • You should answer the same questions when analyzing your own myths as

they do in Greek/Roman mythology: • Who is the hero? • Who is the villain? • What is the lesson that can be learned from this story or what phenomenon was it

trying to explain? • Explore and discuss what purpose the myth or legend had or has in the particular

culture from which it emanates. What does the myth tell the reader about the culture?

Presentations!

Exit Slip

• Write A one sentence summary of their self created myth and how it ‐reflects modern culture.