year 12 classical studies mythology
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YEAR 12 CLASSICAL STUDIES mythology. schoolhistory.co.nz. What is a myth?. Muthos means ‘utterance’ or something which is told. Often includes legends – which are based in fact Edges often blurred Many myths contain elements of folk tales. Some myths are strongly religious - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
YEAR 12 CLASSICAL STUDIES
mythology
schoolhistory.co.nz
What is a myth?
•Muthos means ‘utterance’ or something which is told.•Often includes legends – which are based in fact•Edges often blurred•Many myths contain elements of folk tales
• Some myths are strongly religious• Passed on through the generations• Explain the origins of the world• Explain natural phenomena - day/night,
seasons, storms etc• May explain or support existing customs or
rituals: birth, marriage, status of women, crop fertility etc
• Reflect human dreams and wishes e.g do tales of heroes reflect men’s desire to be
superhuman?
Where do myths come from?
• Usually found in most cultures• From a time before writing generally used• A time of genuine belief in the gods• A time lacking in scientific explanation• A time when people believed all events had a
divine origin• Verbal communication allowed myths to
change
Greek Myths
• Earliest reference from Homer and Hesiod in the eighth century BC
• Originated between 2000-1000BC
Ancient Greece
Asia Minor
Peloponnese
Attica and Boetia
Thessaly and Macedonia
Crete
Important places
• Coast of Asia Minor to the right• Cycladic Islands• Crete• Mainland Greece: Peloponnese (south) Attica and Boetia (central) Thessaly and Macedonia
Background to Greece
Stone Age Aegean pre 3000BC
• Similar types of people in these areas• Possibly from modern Iraq• Farming and domesticated animals• Worshipped fertility spirits – mainly female• Placated male spirits - destructive
Early Bronze Age 3000-2000BC
• Bronze used over whole area• Civilization flourished• Worship of fertility goddesses
(Mother/Earth)• 2000BC upheaval on Asia mainland caused
people to arrive• These people brought wheel pottery
• Greek mainland invaded by several waves of less cultured people from the north
• They were warlike• Patriarchal• Worshipped mainly male deities who lived
on mountain tops and ruled the skies• Homer called them Achaeans• They looted and killed and eventually settled
Middle Bronze Age 2000-1450BC
• Crete appears to have escaped the invaders and their civilisation continued uninterrupted
• Around 2000BC it had a surge in trade and wealth
• Largest palace was Knossos• May have had a powerful fleet• It is called Minoan Civilisation after King Minos
Minoan CivilizationMinoan Civilization
Crete: Minoan Civilization
(Palace at Knossos)
Crete: Minoan Civilization
(Palace at Knossos)
• Minoans worshipped a mother goddess• The bull was an important symbol• Crete was the most advanced civilisation in
the area• Minoans may have demanded ‘tribute’ from
other areas
Knossos: Minoan Civilization
Knossos: Minoan Civilization
Achaeans
• They lived on mainland Greece• Main centre was Mycenae• This civilisation was called Mycenaeans• Each state had a fort and a warrior king• Endemic fighting• Because of trade with Crete Mycenaeans
began to worship earth goddess as well as sky god
• Eventually civilisation on Crete collapsed• May be linked to Thera – volcano• Mycenaeans took opportunity to seize
control of Crete around 1450BC• They burned and looted and by 1380BC the
Palace of Knossos was destroyed
Late Bronze Age 1450-1100BC
• Mycenaeans now dominated in the Mediterranean
• Peaked around 1300BC• Had unstable parasitic nobility who survived
by seizing the wealth of others in war• Describing a Greek hero as a ‘sacker of cities’
(Homer) was a compliment
The Mycenaean Civilization
The Mycenaean Civilization
Troy
• May have been a battle to eliminate trade competition or to get scarce metals
• Troy fell 1250BC• Within a century all major sites on the
mainland Greece fell• Except Athens
Plan of the City of Troy
Plan of the City of Troy
Homer: The “Heroic Age”
Homer: The “Heroic Age”
Original Wall of the City of Troy
Original Wall of the City of Troy
The Mask of AgamemnonThe Mask of Agamemnon
The Dark Ages 1100-800 BC
• General destruction had occurred which was disastrous for the Greek world
• Loss of centralised control led to lawlessness, population decline, simpler life ensued
Homer, the Blind Poet
Homer, the Blind Poet
Homer’s Great EpicsHomer’s Great Epics
Homer’s View of the World
Homer’s View of the World
The Dorians
• The Dorians took advantage and moved south down through the Greek peninsula and settled in the Peloponnese and Crete
• Many Greeks moved to the coast of Asia Minor to escape
• The Dorians were even less ‘civilised’ and set progress back even further
Creation of Mythology
• At this time the art of writing was lost and oral tradition flourished
• Storytellers knitted together tales from a wide area
• In later Classical times Sparta and Athens changed details of myths to suit themselves
The Rise of the Greek Polis
The Rise of the Greek Polis
AthensAthens
NaxosNaxos CorinthCorinth
SyracuseSyracuse
LarissaLarissa
EboeaEboea
ATHENS: Yesterday & Today
ATHENS: Yesterday & Today
Archaic Period and Classical Age
• Between the end of the Dark Ages and the Persian Invasion which led to the Classical Age
• The Classical Age ends with the death of Alexander in 323BC
• Rome then dominated the Mediterranean area
Great Athenian PhilosophersGreat Athenian Philosophers$ Socrates
Know thyself!
question everything
only the pursuit of goodnessbrings happiness.
$ Plato The Academy
The world of the FORMS
The Republic philosopher-king
Great Athenian Philosophers
Great Athenian Philosophers$ Aristotle
The Lyceum
“Golden Mean” [everything inmoderation].
Logic.
Scientific method.
Athens: The Arts & Sciences
Athens: The Arts & Sciences$ DRAMA (tragedians):
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
$ THE SCIENCES: Pythagoras
Democritus all matter made up of small atoms.
Hippocrates “Father of Medicine”
Phidias’ AcropolisPhidias’ Acropolis
The Acropolis TodayThe Acropolis Today
The ParthenonThe Parthenon
The AgoraThe Agora
The Classical Greek “Ideal”
The Classical Greek “Ideal”
OlympiaOlympia