Mythology

4 fundamental Questions: 

•What is the nature of the universe in which I live?

•How do I relate to that universe?

•How much control do I have over my own life?

•How can I lead a satisfying life?

4 Themes:

•Parents are often the gods, of sky, and earth

•The created god fashions the first human beings from parts of the earth- clay, trees, rocks, plants 

•Gods destroy on world of mortals by a flood

•Hereos are children of gods with unusual birth 

Beginning of the Universe:

•A chaotic, formless mass that a god or pair of gods separates 

Hero Myths & Epics teach members of society...

•The appropriate attitudes, behavior, and values of that culture

What do ordinary people identify with hereos..

•Their imperfections allow ordinary people to identify with them & to like them, for everyone has similar psychological needs & conflicts

•Inspire to emulate them

Foundation of the Matriarchal Society...

•The political, economic, social, and religious foundation of the matriarchal society was agricultural year

Sigmund Freud's View of Myths...

•View myths as the expression of the individual's unconscious wishes, fears, & drives

Myths demonstrate that people possess...
•The intellectual capacity to understand the world in which they live