CC 303 Intro to Classical Mythology - Fall 2009 - Prof.
Lawrence Kim
Department of Classics, University of Texas at Austin
Provisional Definition: “Myth is a socially powerful, traditional, story.” (Buxton)
- Story: myths are narratives (Apollo, for example, is not a myth)
- Traditional: Told and retold for generations
- Socially Powerful: must have “collective importance” for a social group, community, region, etc.
Categories of Greek Myth
- Divine Myth:
- Concerns gods, set in a timeless early era
- Represents only a small portion of Greek myths
- Heroic Myth (or Legend, or Sagas):
- Concerns humans, but great ones, often the children of gods.
- Set in a distant, but still historical past
- Folktale (or Fairy Tale):
- Tells of regular, everyday humans in a timeless and generic setting
- Often features magic, the supernatural, monsters, etc.
- Note: Heroic and divine myths can feature folktale motifs and plots
Transformations of Myths: The Story of Gyges, King of Lydia
- Herodotus, Histories (5th century BCE): Gyges and Candaules
- Plato, Republic (4th century BCE): The Ring of Gyges
- H.G. Wells (1933) The Invisible Man
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1954) The Lord of the Rings
- Paul Verhoeven, dir. (2000) Hollow Man
- Michael Ondaatje (1992) The English Patient
- Anthony Minghella, dir. (1996) The English Patient
AGES of GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITY
(For a more full ancient chronology, see Buxton, p. 8)
| Name | Dates | Period Ends with: | |
| Mycenean Bronze Age | ca. 1550-ca. 1050 BCE | Destruction of Mycenean Palace Culture | |
| Iron (or Dark) Age | ca. 1050-ca. 750 BCE | Introduction of Alphabet to Greece | |
| Archaic | ca. 750-479 BCE | Persian Wars | |
| Classical | 479-323 BCE | Death of Alexander the Great | |
| Hellenistic | 323–31 BCE | Death of Cleopatra VII last Greek monarch | |
| Roman Empire | 31 BCE-337 CE | Death of Constantine |