Storytelling and Mythology-
History- of Myths Kenneth Davis
Myths the Cultural Story
Myths– Initially basic truths. In some societies complex stories that explain the culture. Considered basically true. They were usually about gods and goddesses that had human characteristics, but supernatural powers. They still experienced the range of emotions the people did—jealousy, anger or lust.
Myth- super human beings who influence affairs of normal humans.
Legends- An early form of history, usually in story form- i.e. George Washington and the Cherry Tree.
Fables– Morals told at the end of a proverb.
Folk Tales– Handed down orally. Tell of customs, superstitions, and beliefs of normal people.
Fairy Tales – filled with elves, fairies, and supernatural creatures.’
The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact which instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing. The text is made up of three translations of a single passage, written in two Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and Demotic), and in classical Greek. It was created in 196 BC, discovered by the French, Napoleon’s army, in 1799 at Rosetta, a harbor on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, and contributed greatly to the decipherment of the principles of hieroglyphic writing in 1822 by the French scholar Jean-François Champollion.
The Stone is 114.4 centimeters high at its tallest point, 72.3 centimeters wide, and 27.9 centimeters thick (45 1/16th in. high, 28 7/8ths in. wide, 11 in. thick). Weighing approximately 760 kg (1,676 pounds), it was originally thought to be granite or basalt but is currently described as granodiorite and is dark blue-pinkish-grey in color. The stone has been on public display at The British Museum since 1802. This was a key to open up the past.
Generations of scholars can study the Egyptian and Greek past based on the hieroglyphics, giving us a look at their beliefs, myths, and culture.
Myth vs. religion- (If I believe)- it is religion. (If you believe)- it is a myth.
Religion is an organized practice of ritual and beliefs. Ritual- act, and ceremony are central to both. Prayer is the most common of rituals. Belief in a deity that influences human beings. Sacred stories- in essence, myths- how the sacred power influences the world.
Arguments over the sacred stories split people i.e. Catholics and protestants, Muslims and Jews.
A fairy tale can contain a hidden code that provides the steps to find and nurture insight. Mythology is a cultural story, which has large lessons about what is good and bad and contains ideas of how people should live. Christianity is to people outside our culture, a western cultural myth. Before Christianity, there were other mythologies/religions. Greek Goddess and God cultures were prevalent. Here are some of Greek Goddess MythologyConsult lessons passed down.
Bridge: Mythology has been called the psychology of the ancients. It provides an outline for the stages of human behavior.
Opening: It also provides us with keys about how to solve various life-stage dilemmas. Although each generation feels unique, it, in fact, shares traits with generations before. Mythology through stories shows us how to interpret and cope with these life-stage issues. The type of mythology we will discuss today is Goddess mythology. In many myths, the hero is the main figure and the female needs to be rescued. This is an outgrowth of a male-based religion and society.
In Goddess mythology, women take a place of respect.
The one goddess of ancient times was the creatrix. She went by many names depending on the culture, but she represented the ancient processes of birth/ death and rebirth.
The Goddess represents the oldest mythology in the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods, at least 20,000 years ago. Since this time there has been evidence of goddess worship. It has been found in cave drawings, sculptures, and ancient artifacts. Archaeologists have had to piece together scenarios around the art found. Women with large breasts, large tummies, and prominent vulvas have been what the art has shown.
Marija Gimbutas was one of the main people to conduct goddess archaeology. She was able to uncover enough artifacts to start piecing together the “language” the artifacts revealed. She did this through interpreting symbols, such as spirals, chevrons as they mirror birds and waters and meanders.
Much of old Europe had these artifacts pointing toward the possibility that the gossip was revered over time and locations.
The Goddesses worshiped had mainly to do with fertility. Their body size and shape was generous and round, emphasizing the child- bearing body parts. Women were associated with their ability to bring forth the mystery of life. It is through their bodies that life manifested. “ The body of the female of any species leads through the mystery of birth to the mystery of life itself.” P. 8 The myth of the goddess, Baring, and Cashford.
From all evidence this was a peaceful period of our history. The society was hunter/ gatherer, and evidence from art suggests a kinship with the animals, a reverence for those we hunted for life-sustaining food and clothing. The Goddess was often in the form of a triple goddess indicating the different phases of maiden/mother and crone.
There was great emphasis on the moon. There was no electricity and people existed in a state of darkness at night, except for fire, stars, and the moon. The moon was a great teacher mirroring both consistency and change. Although the moon changes daily, it has a consistent rhythm. It is speculated that this created trust in watching the cycle of nature, trust in the birth, death, and birth nature of the universe.
True also with human beings, the moon and other natural cycles showed humans stages of birth, growth, death and regeneration. The Goddesses although associated with fertility also had the powers of death and regeneration. Hence their triple nature.
Evidence suggests that this was a time when people cooperated and lived in a non-hierarchal way.
Eventually, people became more agrarian. Women were the planters and harvesters. Corn was planted with menstrual blood to help ensure its growth. There was much strength in women’s connection to nature and the ability to play a prominent role in providing.
Then over 5,000 years ago, Goddesses such as Inanna in Sumeria, which is close to Babylon, and Isis in Egypt were worshiped. They were images much like Mary, mother of Jesus- but more sexual and juicy.
They were related to the crescent moon and planet Venus. Like Mary, Inanna had a son who died a sacrificial death. It is here that she is able to work to resurrect him.
The period of relative peace did not last.
Goddess consciousness was, for the most part, destroyed in the bronze and iron ages, when humans created weapons from the strong metals now available. A warrior consciousness of conquering and glory emerged. Goddess worshipping people were killed conquered, or assimilated. Goddess mythology was revamped into to a male mythology. Male dominance and the subjugation of women resulted. This was woven in with the story of Jesus, a male God, and the Holy Spirit. (This was an adaptation of the triple goddess story).
Even today our personal and relational patterns have a mythological or archetypal pattern to them. Although much was taken from peace loving humans during the Iron Age, the mythological framework still resonates. When we change our role in myths they may give us insight into the journey ahead into new terrain. Many cultures have Goddesses and Gods that pre-dated Christianity or exist alongside it.
Why is it important to reclaim Goddess wisdom?
For women growing up in our culture with God and male as dominant, it puts females on equal footing spiritually and politically.
HAVING A MALE GOD HAS DISADVANTAGED WOMEN
Knowing there was a time when women were respected for being women may help heal the Spirit/Body split.
(GOD IS SPIRIT/ WOMEN IS BODY
ONE IS INFERIOR). HOW DOES THIS IMPACT US?
MENSTRUATION IS VIEWED AS A SACRED EVENT. MOTHERHOOD AS AN ACT OF DIVINE ACCOMPLISHMENT, CRONING AS A WAY OF CONSOLIDATING WISDOM AND POWER IN THE EXTERNAL WORLD.
Beauty and wisdom are created in our image. (THE GODDESS AND ROUND GODDESS FORMS ARE BEAUTIFUL. THE DIVINE LOOKS LIKE US).
Heals relationship with self and other women. IF WE SEE OURSELVES AS SACRED, WE CAN VIEW OTHER WOMEN AS PART OF THE DIVINE. HAVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEN, THE DOMINANT GROUP IS NO LONGER MORE DESIRABLE.
Heals relationship with our mothers and matrilineal lineage.
WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY SOCIETY, CHURCH AND MANY GENERATIONS THAT COLLUSION WITH OUR FATHERS MAY BE SUPERIOR.
WE TAKE OUR FATHER’S NAMES,
OUR FATHER’S HOLD MORE POWER IN MANY RELATIONSHIPS.
POLITICALLY MEN STILL MAKE MOST DECISIONS.
Learning to VIEW OUR MOTHERS AND Our MATRILINEAL LINE as BEING IMPORTANT: FOR FEMININE VALUES, FOR NURTURING, LOVING, HOLDING FAMILY TOGETHER, IMMENSE CREATIVITY, ENDURANCE ETC.
HOLDING OUR MOTHERS IN MORE ESTEEM ALLOWS US TO SEE OUR ROLES IN A STRONGER, BRIGHTER LIGHT.
Heals relationship with our connection to the earth. THE EARTH IS OUR ULTIMATE MOTHER. At the same time, women were subjugated, nature herself was deemed something that must be managed and tamed. Our relationship to the earth is from this heritage of controlling, rather than respecting and co-existing with nature. It is also when we started to view nature as a thing rather than an extension of ourselves, something alive.
In the study of Eco-Feminism, there is a strong relationship in European cultures between the ways in which nature and the female are regarded- at times with fear, resentment, and denigration. Goddess mythology started in the womb of the earth- caves where people first lived. Beautiful paintings even by Neanderthals of the goddess and sacred animals have been discovered. The Earth was thought to be our mother, living in a cave, dying in a cave meant one spent their life in the dwelling place of their mother. Her body was earth’s body and the bodies of the plants and animals.
This is very different than trying to transcend from our bodies and go somewhere else. Where we are now is the place of sacredness.
Goddess spirituality seeks to unite nature and the body, rather than transcend it, realizing the intelligence and beauty of each cell and each being.
The Greek view-
Although all cultures have mythology, the Greeks developed and recorded theirs. It exists much later than when the Goddess and peace reigned. The male ruler- Zeus is indicative of that, but it is still interesting. We will focus on the female Goddesses, to balance out the very male influence our society has.
On the last day of each year, students will present a paper, play or information on a goddess of their choice. Always check with me to ensure I will not be presenting that goddess one of the other years.
Goddesses you are very drawn to or from your culture would be wonderful. We will be exposed to much more through your presentations.
This year of the course will focus on the daughter, or maiden aspect of the goddess, remembering that there was a time when the goddess was whole and represented all.
Yet, in each of her manifestations, we will see something human with vulnerabilities, and something mighty that transcends pain and the wearing down of daily life. Each facet of the goddess will help paint part of the picture of what we in our human form might use to give us greater wisdom, light, and endurance.
Daughter- The Maiden aspect of the goddess is youthful, slender. It is a period in woman’s life when they are well grown, but not yet sexually active. There is still a self-absorbed aspect and a freedom from the constraints of married life.
The lover aspect of the goddess is between maiden and mother- she has the freedom of the younger goddess but is involved with a mate. She is a connector- Aphrodite the Alchemical goddess is the best example. She also represents beauty and art.
One way to bring the myth of the goddess back into consciousness is to tell the stories people have told down through time.
Joseph Campbell says Dream is the personalized myth. A myth is the depersonalized dream- this is how goddess mythology and dream work seek to potentize each other, through image and symbol.
Campbell also says- Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation. So, humble as it may be, in this course in our own human way we will seek to glean some of the cultural wisdom known by our ancestors and dream it in such a way, it helps us live our personal myths in the best way we can.
Personal Story Telling-
What are your wounds and greatest life lessons?
This is the juiciest ground for your personal stories. It is here you know the most and are both canny and knowing.
Write about what your largest wound or wounds are.
When did you first notice them?
How have they challenged you?
How have you overcome any part of these wounds?
What helped you to do this?
Have they shapeshifted and come in other forms?
If so, how so?
How can you now recognize these wounds and challenges?
Are you still working on them?
If so, how so?
What have you learned about them you can pass onto others?
What advice would you give your younger self about these wounds and what kt takes to deal with them?
What advice would you give your present self?
What is your history with telling your story?
What is your history with using your voice?
Have you been encouraged, to tell the truth?
Or have you been taught to tell people what they want to hear?
Are you able to tell others the truth? If so, how so.
If not, why have you learned to obscure the truth?
Do you tell yourself the truth?
Can you imagine you hide some truths from yourself?
Are you known to tell others, too little? Too much?
How so?
When was the first time your voice or story were used against you?
Why do you have a desire to tell your story and claim your intuition?
What action can you take today and commit to that will help you trust your inner voice more?
What action can you take that will help you trust your outer voice, today and forever?
Please write down the action steps in trusting your inner and outer voice and repeat them until the next class.