World Mythology -- Third Period -- Monday

[atreideslioness]

Ghanima was sitting on her desk, absently eating lemon drops as she watched the students arrive.  She was even slightly tanned, despite the fact it was January in Maryland.  She'd spent most of the break with her family on the island, but there had been a handwavedomg trip to see Aly.  And sunshine.  But mostly Aly.

"Good morning," she said, her voice carrying effortlessly.  "I am Lady Ghanima Atreides, and this is World Mythology.  You may call me Lady Ghanima, Miss Ghanima, or Miss Atreides, whichever you are more comfortable with.  The first person to call me Lady Atreides gets detention."

"This is a survey class, intended to give you a gentle introduction to various pantheons and mythologies around the world.  We will not be covering any country in-depth, instead, consider this a whirlwind tour." 

"During this class, I’m going to ask you to keep in mind that many stories we consider today to be folklore or myths were originally part of a religion.  I’m going to ask that you keep an open mind, and try not to let any ethnocentric biases show too badly.  Yes, you may consider tales of the Tuatha de Danan or the Morrigan to be nothing more than fairy stories, but to someone else it may be a fundamental truth."

"Today we will start with the definition of a myth.  In the academic fields of mythology, mythography, or folkloristics, a myth, or mythos, is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to be in their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. In saying that a myth is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it. Use of the term by scholars does not imply that the narrative is either true or false.  For the purpose of this class, myths are stories that originate in the beliefs of nations and races and present episodes in which supernatural forces operate.  Some myths try to make visible and concrete ways that humans see nature, like the division of the year into seasons.  Many myths show the ways that humans see the forces that control them, and often explain creation, religion, and divinities; they guess at the meaning of life and death, or at the cause for good and evil."

"Now, it is important to separate myths from other types of stories.  Mythology is frequently confused with fiction, legend, fairy tale, folklore, fable, and urban legend, each of which has a distinct meaning in academia.  There is also epic poetry, which may retell a myth, but not every epic poem is a myth – many are legends or folklore.  Instead of doing the typical introductions, I'd like to hear about the myths near and dear to your hearts." 

 "Now, I found myself in need of some assistants, and I took the liberty of selecting based on the class rooster."  A list that, curiously, seemed to have been used for target practice with sharp objects.  Alianne was a horrible influence.  "Miss Solo, Miss Menolly, please see me after class."

[there is ocd, have fun!]

Comments

Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"Most cultures have a mythology of some type, and I'm interested to know what your favorite myth is and why. Give us a basic summary, just a sentence or two, and tell us why it's important to you."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Firekeeper looked a little uncomfortable and frowned. "Wolves is not having these myths," she said, finally. It wasn't entirely true, as the Wise Beasts had gods, and creation myths to go with them, but the Royal Beasts, whom she'd grown up with, had no such thing.

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[momslilassassin]

"Why not, do you think?" Ben asked, looking interested.

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Wolf stories is more... bragging kind? One wolf's tale of this hunt, or that one," she shrugged. "There is few tales shared by all Royal Beasts of long-ago times, but these is not about gods, we have none. These is true tales, of things like how humans come to what they call 'New World'."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[momslilassassin]

"So wolves just always were?" Ben replied. "Or do they see history as beginning when humans arrived?"

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"There are no stories about how the wolves came to be?" Ghanima asked, curious. "Are they unique in that regard, or do the other races in your world also not have creation stories?"

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Royal Beasts, not just wolves, say they have lived upon the land since it rise from ocean," Firekeeper shrugged.

At her side, Blind Seer's tail twitched and he let out a soft 'whuff'. Firekeeper looked hesitant for a moment before continuing. "There is some," she admitted, "who have such stories. Humans and Wise Beasts of Liglim kingdom." Yes, there was totally a difference between Wise and Royal Beasts. The existence of religion being the main one.

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[solo_sword]

"I don't have a favorite," Jaina admitted. "I never really had to think about it, and the one I've got the most experience with is one I'm trying to get some distance from." You know, due to almost getting sacrificed because of it.

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri didn't say anything, but sent a brief, wry glance in Jaina's direction at that because it's tradition by now.

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[trigons_child]

"I have studied some of the mythologies of Earth," Raven said, "and I was intrigued by the story of Demeter and Persephone and how it was used to explain the passage of the seasons. Demeter's daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the dead, and forced to wed him. While Persephone is in the Underworld with Hades, Demeter mourns, and winter falls upon the world."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"Interestingly, the probable origin of her 'Persephone' name comes from the Latin 'proserpere', or 'to emerge,'" Ghanima mused. "The Romans often referred to her as Proserpina, Proserpine, Prosperine or Prosperina, depending on the regional spelling."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[wannabehunter]

"My favourite's the Riddle of the Sphinx. Basically there's this great big monster that eats people who can't answer its riddle, then kills itself when the riddle gets solved," Jo said. "I like it because the guy used his brain to get rid of the monster. Of course he later killed his own father and slept with his mother so it does make you wonder why no one else figured the answer out before him."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"It is rather curious," Ghanima agreed. "For a supposedly wise man, Oedipus could be rather short-sighted when it came to things he did not want to know, although the same could be said of most of humanity."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[endsthegame]

"I'm afraid I'm still catching up on the mythological angle," Ender said, wryly, "Hence why I'm here. I'm interested by the Aeneid, though-- the story of the burning of Troy and all the attempts at redemption that came with it." A quick twist of his mouth, and he added, "Of course, it's also pretty interesting in terms of what people can come up with to justify anyone's reign, considering what Caesar did with it. But that's not my main attraction to the story."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

Ghanima smiled slightly, as she had particular -- personal -- reasons for enjoying the myths and legends surrounding the fall of Troy.

"As fascinating as you find the sociopolitical ramifications of Caesar's subjugation and rewriting of the pre-existing mythologies for his own purpose, it's the ballad of redemption that you find most interesting?" she clarified. "Virgil himself seemed rather conflicted on the subject -- and the morality of his writing the epic -- as evidenced by the passages at the ends of books six and twelve."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[endsthegame]

"If I wanted an unconflicted, sterile view of redemption, miss Ghanima," he said, lightly, "I'd watch the Saturday morning cartoons. Most epic tales are morally obtuse at the very best. Anything less doesn't often have bearing in reality."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"My experience with cartoons is entirely second-hand, so I shall take your word for it," Ghanima laughed. "Although I think one of my favorite redemption stories is found in the Oresteia, which we'll study later."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[glacial_queen]

It felt weird to be sharing this myth--doubly so, since she was only summarizing it instead of explaining it fully. "The myth tells the story of an island kingdom named Zuul that was ruled by a greedy and corrupt Queen," Karla said slowly, teasing out the relevant aspects of the story. "To punish her and her people, the Darkness rose up and destroyed the entire island--not just physically, but through time. Throughout the rest of the Realm, everything that had its origins on the island--people, artwork, records, everything--ceased to exist, save in memory."

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she explained, "Very few people know this story; Queens are told it and maybe some Warlord Princes. But it shows the consequences a Queen's actions can have upon her people."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"So how do you know it?" Jacob asked, which wasn't the subject of the class. Sigh.

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[glacial_queen]

The corner of Karla's mouth quirked up. "Because I'm a Queen," she said. "My mother told me the story when I was younger."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"I think the Quileute stories I know are actually legends going by this definition," Jacob said with a shrug. "So I don't really have one."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"I'm not so sure about that," Ghanima mused. "The Quileute don't have stories with spirits, gods, or goddesses, that are relevant to your people?"

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[harper-journeys.livejournal.com]

"I'm not totally sure what you mean by myth," Menolly admitted, blushing at telling the teacher she didn't understand. "I know all the Teaching Ballads, but they're history and you are saying these are false?"

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[atreideslioness]

"Not that they're false," Ghanima replied. "A myth is a story from a culture that has some element of the supernatural - spirits, gods, or something similar - that has a religious element, or tries to explain part of the world around a culture."

"Your Teaching Ballads may be legends or history, or a combination of both, and a few may be myths. History itself is a fluid concept, and can be easily changed with the right, or wrong, people in power."

Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[harper-journeys.livejournal.com]

Menolly looked up curiously. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean by 'religion' or 'supernatural'," she said, a bit diffidently. "And Harpers control the Teaching Ballads. They don't change. It's part of their - our - duty. Everyone has to learn them as a child."