Historical Background of Greek

MythAnd Modern Approaches to

Mythology

What were the material conditions

that led to the formation of these

myths?

Greece was settled in the Paleolithic period (c. 70,000 BCE) – near the beginning of human history.

Hunter-gatherers lived a nomadic life, sometimes inhabiting caves (such as Franchthi) for millennia.

Franchthi figurine

Prehistoric Greece

In the Neolithic Period (c. 6000-3000 BCE), agriculture begins.

Figurines begin appearing, 85% female, mostly fat (indicating fertility).

Possibly this indicates a society whose worship centered around feminine deities.

Scholars argue over what conclusions can be drawn from the figurines about the nature of this society.

Prehistoric Greece

The Bronze Age is characterized (duh) by the use of bronze.

Three civilizations develop in three different parts of the Greek world:

Mycenaean culture develops in the mainland of Greece

The Minoans lived on the Island of Crete

The culture of the Cyclades (Cycladic Islands)

Prehistoric Greece

What are the distinguishing characteristics of the three

major civilizations of Bronze Age Greece?

The Cycladic culture is known for its figurines (also called “idols”) which were found in tombs and could be objects of personal devotion (like icons in modern Greece).Cycladic culture was closely allied with the Minoan civilization.“Idol”: Vroma

Flying fish: R. Basic

Prehistoric Greece

Minoan culture:•palaces, built on an open plan, with a great many rooms, but without fortifications•an apparent focus on the ocean, including seafaring and tradeThera Freso, R.

Basic

Prehistoric Greece

Sacred images often focused on the mysterious labrys (double ax), and on bulls, including the enigmatic representations of bull-leaping

There are many

images of women,

often portrayed

in positions of authority

Minoan civilization

may have been more

egalitarian with worship

oriented toward female

deities

Fresco, R. Basic

Priestess, Thera fresco, R. Basic

Prehistoric Greece

In contrast, Mycenaean palaces are fortified with huge walls and built to withstand siege.

Mycenaean art tends to emphasize hunting and

warfare, while other indicators (i.e. grave goods) argue for a

warrior-dominated society.

Mycenae’s Lion Gate, R. Basic

“Mask of Agamemnon,” Artchive

Prehistoric Greece

In about 1400 BCE, the volcanic island of Thera exploded in a disaster whose atmospheric effects were felt around the world.

Probably, ashfall ruined agriculture for years.

Possibly, a tidal wave destroyed the Cretan navy and led to the fall of Minoan culture.

Thera fresco, R Basic

Prehistoric Greece

Minoan civilization suffers a major setback. Soon, the local writing system, Linear A, disappears. Linear B, a form of Greek, used by the Mycenaeans, appears in Crete.Minoan civilization is fading, but Mycenae

flourishes.

Linear B tablets reveal a complex economic and religious world.

Many of the names of classical Greek gods appear on these early bronze age tablets.

Warrior Vase, R. Basic

Prehistoric Greece

On the coast of Asia Minor, another Bronze Age City flourishes.

Like the Mycenaean cities, it is heavily fortified.

The archeological record shows that it was destroyed by fire, not once, but several times – in about 1300-1250 BCE, and again in about 1200 BCE.

Greece’s earliest and most respected poet, Homer, composing in about 700 BCE, sang about the Trojan war. Perhaps he referred to this city.

“Troy”

Prehistoric Greece

Troy’s destruction was part of a series of destructions in the wider Mycenaean world. All the highlighted sites on this map were destroyed by fire within about 100 years of each other.

Greece entered a “dark age” of less prominent material culture, and an absence of writing.

Cities destroyed by fire, c.1200 BCE

Prehistoric Greece

Greece was changing.

Some poleis (city = polis) lost prominence, others grew larger.

Greeks colonized the coast of Asia Minor and Southern Italy.

By 750 BCE, national sanctuaries at Delphi and Olympia were formed.

Agriculture intensified and population grew.

The first poets whose works are preserved in writing, Homer and Hesiod, were composing their epic works.

Prehistoric Greece

How do you tell a primary source from a secondary source?

Primary Sources: works produced within a culture:•art and architecture•literature and written records of other sorts (business lists etc.)

Secondary Sources: Commentary by modern authors on the ancient cultures:

•textbooks and other modern writings

Internet Resources:•can be primary sources (if they reproduce texts or images from the original culture)•or secondary sources (if they are modern commentary)

Sources

What are some things to consider when reading a

primary source, to understand the author's

point of view?

Men’s Social RolesSocial Roles varied from society to society; some widespread phenomena:

Farming work or overseeing farming work on one’s own land

Service in the military

Participation in government to the extent allowed by the state’s constitution

Participation in rituals of one’s state

Education of one’s children

Women’s Social Roles

To marry and bear citizen children

To care for the household resources

To spin and weave

To participate in the state’s religious rituals

Sexuality

Sexuality was not a matter of the partner’s gender (male vs. female) but concerned active vs. passive roles.

Active roles were appropriate for grown men, whether the partner was male or female

Passive roles were appropriate for women and teenaged men, but not for adult males

How far did the reality match the ideal? Public vs. private? Hard to say …

Myths usually try to explain matters physical, emotional, and spiritual not only literally and realistically but figuratively and metaphorically as well.

Morford and Lenardon 6Harpy: Hellenistic Earring

Etiology

“Facts” change in all the sciences . . . Myth in a sense is the highest reality.

Morford and Lenardon, pp. 4-5

Mircea Eliade . . . lays great emphasis upon religious aura in his conception of myth as a tale satisfying the yearning of human beings for a fundamental orientation rooted in a sacred timelessness.

Morford and Lenardon 5

“Master of Animals,” Bronze Age Crete

Finis

Quotes on myth selected by Staci Holt