2. Hero Discussion  Why do people have heroes?  Do heroes have to live virtuously in all areas of life and have morals? Explain and provide an example.  Can a person who has committed murder become a hero? Explain and provide an example.  Create a list of heroes (10) and admirable qualities.  What do heroes have to do with myths?  Create a group definition of a hero.  Create a one word definition of a hero.

3. Answer the following questions the best you can:  What is a myth?  Are myths true or false? How do you know?  Based on what you know about myths, how can you make sense of myths?  What is the difference between a myth and a legend?  What are the different ways to interpret a myth?  What do myths have to do with heroes?

4. What is a myth?  Some people use the word myth to mean fake, but…  Mythology is the study of stories that were used to explain the world and other human experiences.

5. What is a myth?  Myths attempts to provide an etiology to explain the unexplainable  Etiology, coined from Greek work aition (“cause”), means the study of first causes  Myths provide moving or entertaining stories for puzzling phenomena

6. What is a myth?  Many myths serve a religious function, offering sacrifices to the gods  Humans petitioned for specific types of help:  Hestia (Vesta) for safety of home and family  Athena (Minerva) for wisdom or courage  Demeter (Ceres) for abundant harvest  Artemis (Diana) for successful hunt  Ares (Mars) for military might  Hermes (Mercury) for traveler’s aid  Poiseidon (Neptune) for safe sea voyage  Zeus (Jupiter) for justice  Aphrodite (Venus) for love

7. What is a myth?  Myths also explored terrifying aspects of life  Myths pointed the way toward acceptable behavior in interactions between gods and humans

8. The Sacred, Profane and Heroic  Hero comes from the Greek word heros  Term refers to great men who have died and have become protective local divinities through burial in the soil  In wartime, heroism has meant fearlessness in battle, loyalty to allies and cause, slaughtering the enemy  In peaceful times, heroism has meant honor, hospitality, loyalty, devotion, adventure

9. Tellers and Their Tales  Myths of Greece and Rome come from an oral tradition  Homer and Hesiod, Greek poets, are recognized as the oldest sources we have (eighth or seventh century B.C.)  Oracles were priests who received divine knowledge about the future or past events

10. Contributions  Knowledge of classical mythology comes through the work of eight poets and writers:  Homer (Greek poet, The Illiad and The Odyssey)  Sophocles (philosopher, plays about Oedipus)  Ovid (Roman poet)  Hesiod (Greek poet)  Aeschylus (dramatist)  Euripides (dramatist)  Apollodorus (mythographer)  Vergil (Roman poet)

11. Elements of Classical Mythology  Pantheon of gods, each with his/her own domain and attributes  Human and superhuman characters descended from gods  Tales of unexplainable events  Specific place at an unspecified time  Separation or distance from humans  Hand of destiny, cannot escape fate  Reflection of culture that gave rise to them  Myths are essential parts of specific cultures

12. In a Nutshell—What is a myth?  Classical myths are terrific, entertaining stories  Myths explain the creation of the universe  Elements the classical mythology helped establish a distance between world of myths and everyday worlds of people

13. Are myths true or false?  Myths are metaphorically and symbolically true— looking at aspects of human origins, culture, questions (e.g., how did the earth get here? Who are the gods? Where did that rock come from?)  Myths are in fact false—think about science and technology

14. How can you make sense of myths?  Analyze metaphors and symbols  Compare/contrast characters, events, actions in various myths  Learning about specific cultures  Understanding the hero’s journey

15. A Myth and a Legend?  Myths are narratives believed to be true based on particular societies but later found to be false  Legends are narratives based on some element of history making it realistic fiction, also elements of religion are discovered

16. Different Ways to Interpret a Myth  Disguised history—modern day Turkey as historical Troy  Fables illustrating moral truths  Pre-scientific explanation  Entertaining Stories  Analyzing the hero’s journey

17. Myths and Heroes?  A hero completes a journey:  Separation—  The Call  The Threshold  Initiation and Transformation—  The Challenges  The Abyss  The Transformation  The Revelation  The Atonement  The Return

18. Discuss this with a person near you: Describe your ultimate hero