A connected mind is an intelligent mind,,,lecture #2

In an attempt to clarify and refine what a myth is, Struck started with Kevin Sorbo's depiction of Hercules and worked our way back in time in an attempt to "find" the real Hercules.  Conclusion, chances are the real Hercules will remain elusive.  But why??

One must remember that a myth is a story that is always being retold; the coming together of separate parts into a whole.  We are not going to find a ground truth when it comes to a myth.  Myth defies our attempt to find a pure authentic representation of any of the great stories, as they have existed functionally forever.   Our "heroes" are an amalgamation of different versions, by different myth tellers, who have added their version to the long tradition.  All of the different versions of a myth are just that, versions.  They are going to help us get get a window into what we are looking at.

Throughout mythology, and the study of, numerous themes or questions are ever present:

1]  What it is to be human?

2]  Animals of all kind populate mythic stories,.  Of interest to the ancients,,,where we as human beings fit in relationship to them?

3]  Is the distinction between humans and animals as apparent as we may think and has it ever been transgressed?  Creatures that are half-human/half-animal have a spookiness to them and they populate some interesting corners of mythic tales. (hmmm,,,DNA manipulation/Nephilim/Ancient Alien Hypothesis??)

4]  The gods,,,their world is not our world, we are different from the gods; they exist -up there.    Typically the gods appear in dreams and visions, disguised as if mere mortals interested in the mundane aspects of humanity.

5]  Ah the wonderful one-eyed monster of so many mythic stories!!  What would a myth be without the Cyclops.  As we know in Odysseus, the Cyclops is giant but not so bright.  He makes the mistake of crossing Odysseus and Odysseus gets the better of him.

6]  Connection and connectedness, the mythic/ancient world versus our modern scientific world.  Our fantasy like scientific technology that is extraordinarily sophisticated that we are in awe and wonder at our ability to connect with each other.  That same awe and wonder the ancients had towards the gods.  We should ask ourselves -how different are we from those of the ancient world?

Today we have the internet and other technologies to maintain our connectedness, the ancients had the corrupting sea.  The Greeks were inter-connected with other cultures all around the Mediterranean Sea via shipping. Extraordinary ancient civilizations, each with their own distinct ways of doing things but all sharing a common backdrop.  It opens a window to the broad Mediterranean themes that are relevant across all cultures.

7]  The Greek culture/world and understanding it all.  Some things will be obvious and immediately understood. Others, we may be scratching our heads wondering WTF.  Keeping track of what is both similar and what is different is going to be most interesting in studying the Greek mythos and what this course is all about.