World Mythology, Monday, Period 3

[atreideslioness]

Ghanima was sitting on her desk, eating lemon drops as she watched the students arrive, blue-on-blue eyes intently observing them all.  Once the last of the students arrived, her face lit up with a smile.

"Good morning,” she said, her voice carrying effortlessly. “I am Lady Ghanima Atreides, and this is World Mythology.  You may call me Lady Ghanima or Miss Ghanima, whichever you are more comfortable with.  The first person to call me Lady Atreides gets detention.”  Ghani grinned wickedly.  "Lady Atriedes is my grandmother, and I am nowhere near that old."

"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.” Ghanima hopped off the desk and grabbed a stack of handouts, beginning to distribute them around the room.  “In the academic fields of mythology, mythography, or folkloristics, a myth (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."

"The effective telling of a myth usually has some sense of dignity or simplicity, even for the entertaining or amusing ones, for it tries to re-create the spirit and intention of the original. When myths are poorly told, they condescend to or even insult the efforts of earlier societies to find meaning in life. When myths are well told, they appeal to something deep within us."

"Instead of doing the typical introductions, I'd like to hear about the myths near and dear to your hearts."

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Re: Discussion: Favorites!

[vrajna_kralis]

Hyacinthe had arrived back from Terre D'Ange late the night before and looked refreshed and cheerful as only someone who'd spent several weeks among much-loved friends and family could.

"I am Hyacinthe," he said, giving a smile to his classmates. "My favorite myth is the one that explains how my people, the Tsingani, got the ability to see backwards and forwards down the Lungo Drom. 'Tis a true story, but it deals with the matters of gods, for 'tis when the Blessed Elua and his Companions were searching for a place to call their home. He asked the Tsingani if perhaps he could seek sanctuary with them for a bit, but we turned him away with shouts and jeers, predicting in our pride that they would ever wander, lost. But 'tis not wise to mock the son of the Earth's womb and so the fate we decreed sealed out own. But the Mother-of-all is not without mercy, even if 'tis betimes cruel, and she granted us the dromonde, that we may see truer in the future."