Class Notes 10/14/10

Middles and Muddles - The world of obstacles.  From the time you get up till you go to bed. 
Homework - Go out and have a bad day.  Done and today is not going great either!!

Autumn leaves are mythological.  Ceres and Proserpina -

Marriage is a form of abduction - an imitation of a contractual obligation.  Women are "given" to men.  Demeter is what matters.  She is the mother of agriculture - Mother of the earth.  She has the power to make and or stop things from growing.  She is unhappy her daughter has been given to Pluto so she stops the trees from growing and starts all of the leaves changing and starts winter.  She wants her daughter back.  If you are in the underworld, as Pluto and prosephones are you should never eat the food cuz then you stay there forever.  perwithues wants persephone to be his wife so they go down to hell to get her and Hedes says OK I'll go get her.  but when he returns with her they cannot get up and get off of the bench.  Hercules eventually saves one of them

Look for mythic clues.  Homework.  3 clues of something mythological.  
Look at Arachne by Valazquez.  Spinners

The Metamorphoses of Arachne is both punishment and reward - takes us from crime to punishment.

Using The Spinner art of Valazquez as a model - find the mythological background that is around us.  Find the leg of Minerva.  Find the clue that is covering up the mythological world behind it.

Deja Vu - already sseen.  making a short term and a long term memory at the same time.

Natalie Zemon Davis Fiction of the archives.  The manuscript found in saragossa.   Jerry Garcia loved the movie that was made of this book.  The book is a story of a person telling a story etc. etc. etc.  The Saragossa Manuscript.

Ingris - Jupiter and Thesis -

He has chosen the most gruesome stories in the Metamorhoses.  Go to Titian for art. 

Most of these stories are from book 6.  Titians -Marsius.

Satyr - one of a class of lustful, drunken woodland gods.  a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus. 

 Trope - a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.

Iris Mudoch -

Humbling Experience

The the first exam is behind us.  Ouch.  I felt prepared, the first page was awesome, went downhill from there.  Live and Learn.  Moving on to middles...................................

Class Notes 10/12/10
Re- arranging the Syllubus a bit - running a bit behind.  Paying particular attention today to two stories, Europa and Jove.  The rape of Europa and the story at the beginning of book 6 - Arachne.  This is the story that should be the basis of your group presentation.  Showing how mythology is all around us. 

We will each be assigned an Ovid story and have to do a one minute presentation next week some time.
Book 2 - pg 72 - Europa - Cadmus's sister.  Granddaughter of Io.  Look up the artwork the Spinners by Valazquez.    Ekphrases to talk about one medium of an art along with another.  The Spinners is a painting of the tahitan painting of the rape of Europa being created.  She is the daughter of Agenor.
Arachne - pg 177 - Book 6.  Corrins parents are Christine and Tom.  Mentor is a mythological term out of Homer.  Who does Ovid admire most in the Arachne story? 
What does Minerva choose  to weave intoherweb - she portrays the hill of Mars, a part of Cecrops citadel.  The icon of an ancient contraoversy.  in great detail, showing all the gods etc.  including herself ending being crowned by victory.  In summary the glory of the gods, in particular herself.  at each corner she had a painted scene of contest.  each being a pictured warning.  Mandala. 
Arachne scened displayed Europa fooled by the feigned image of a bull  - she also draws Asterie gripped tightly by the eagle - she shows Leda who lies beneath the swans wings.   And she adds those taled of Jove and all the times he duped others.  Then she shoed all the times Neptune duped others to get his way.  Then she goes on to show all the other disguises that the Gods use to dupe people and others.  Minerva is furious becuase of the disrespect Arachne has shown making clear all of the wrongs of the gods.  Arachne goes to hang herself but Minerva lets her live and ends up turning her into a spider. 

Pick up The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony. 
Presentation - what is the background.  The rape of persophone.  Europa was holding a shining Gold basket.  Discover what story you are in.  Figure out what story you are in.    

Class Notes - 10/04/10 Test review

Cadmus and Harmony - How did it all begin? 
Know about the word Mythology  - Mythos + Logos  - truth and stories makes mythology

Corrin was born - July 15, 1991 - Franklin, WI \St.- Lukes Hospital.
Imagination is tethered to reality. 

Questions:  Areas the exam will be taken from
Myth and Reality - chpts 1,2,3,7.
PDF - "Myth the way we were or are."  M Sexson.
Larry Browns Ovid's Metamorphoses site - Books 1 - 4.  none of Perseus.  Read the material that goes through the first half of book 4.
Look at chart of names of greeks and roman gods.  Just the big guys. 
Notes of Note takers = Carrie Boles - MS - Mayan.
1.  Pan and Syrinx - Who put Argus to sleep?
2. 2 core parts of mythology - Myth and Logos = Stories and "Truth".
3. What does in illo tempore mean? - In that great time - before creation.
4.  Axis Mundi is often represented / Um Phollos - Axis Mundi is the center of the world - tree - OmPhallos is the navel - the center of everything.
5.  What do you call violent dismemberment - Sparagmos.
6.  Chpt 7 Myth Reality - define anamnesis = unforgetting your memories.  re-remembering
7.  What are the five types of myth - primitives to Zen = 1. Creation -Ex nihilo - 2. Earth Diver
       3. Emergence 4. Dismemberment 5. Splitting or ordering. reread in eliade
8.  Zenophanes - 1st to present us with the theory that we all project our thoughts
9.  Metemphychosis - the process of a soul beginning a new body - the transmigration of souls.
10. Europa - Who was it that Jove seduced by turning himself into a bull and carrying her off in the waves.
11. From ovids first book, what were the ages of man- gold, silver, bronz, and iron.
12.  Who brought the age of silver  - Jove took over Saturn. 
13.  The four creation stories - earliest to latest - 1. women created by herself.  2.  woman created with a snake - 3. created from dismembered body of a woman 4.  Male created by the creation of speach.
14.  En- theos - enthusiam possessed by the gods.
15. Daemon - the alter ego - the guardian angel.  the other aspect of your personality. Ca
16.  Semele/Juno - got her to get Jove to show his real self
17.  Cadmus's 4 daughters - 1.  Semele 2.  Autonaoe  3. Agave 4.  Ino
18.  How did Io reveal herself to her father.  scratched hername in his palm.
19.  Who was Coronis?  one of Apollos lovers. White crow that told Apollo about an affair.  now    they     are       all black. 
20.  Kronos - father of zeus. Same as Saturn.
21.  What 3 ladies make up the triple goddess?  The Mother, the Maiden and the old Crone.
22.  Uranus, Kronos Zeus, How did they stop their children - Uranus - stuffed his children back into mother Kronos - Ate them -Zeus -  Killed the Mother.
23.  What animalwas Calisto tranformed into?  a Bear
24.  What happened to Actaeon when he gazed ona  goddess?  He became horny with antlers.
25.  Don't Look Stories
26.  How does Cadmus create Thebes - scattering of the snakes teeth
27.  Pentheus - Refuses to worship bachus - dies by sparagmos. Dresses up like a woman and his own mother and others rip him apart.
 

I think I'm ready!!!

I must admit, thus far in the course I have been very intrigued and genuinely excited to be emerged into the world of mythology, but also feeling a little lost, a bit overwhelmed and quiet honestly very intimidated by the majority of the blogs and the insight most of the class shares.  Being very new to mythology, blogging and college literature as a whole has kept me from really diving in.  I have a bit more confidence now and a better understanding of the assignments.  I think I was over-thinking them and adding that to my intimidation pretty much kept me from moving forward.  So, here goes........

Sentences - Book I
TheCreation:
It seems there is a bit of confusion, at least vagueness of where exactly man came from which seems strange being the creation of everything else is very clear.  "Then man was born.  Either the Architect of All, the author of the universe, in order to beget a better world, created man from seed divine - OR else Prometheus, son of Iapetus, made man by mising new-made easrth with fresh rainwater."  HUH?  They seem so sure of everything else??

Lycaon:
I was again very intrigued with the description of the Milky Way in Lycaon.  I spent a wonerful night at my Aunts cabin this summer looking at a very clear Milky Way this summer so I was excited to see the reference to it in book one.  Here it is described to be a "high road that can be seen when heaven is serene:" That is exactly what I thougth this summer looking at it, that heaven, and I were very serene.

The Flood:  It all  seems so familiar, again, born and raised and still a practicing catholic.  So it was Jove who did all of this?? Who knew??

Deucalion and Pyrrha:  Again, what happened to Noah?  I don't recall Noah had a mate on the ark?  At least Deucalion had a date!

Apollo and Daphne:  How sweet that he still loves her after she becomes a tree.  Since you can't  be my wife, you'll be my tree!  I think in many relationships, your spouse is your tree.  Amen. I'm lovin this stuff!! 

Class Notes - 09/21/2010

Finishing up Creation stories
Amberly - Chinese Creation - Blood myth for Maori people.  Only 2 people left after flood.  Ozi wanted to marry his sister,she said no so he negtiated with a rock throwing contest.  Then a knife throwing - he fixes it and they ended up married - child with no arms and legs so he cut it up and the pieces became the people. 

Tristan - Maori Creation story = polinisian island = ex enillo = out of nothing = earth mother and father procreate - child decides to murder the parents - children argue over this so they decide to just seperate them so he seperates sky father and earth mother - then they decide to create women - older siblings create body and the younger ones do the rest - this eventually becomes women -

Abernaky tribe - New England = French Canadians = Corn  a man dragged a woman all over until she died. Where she was drug = corn grew.

Jenna = Chinese - starts with a man that slept for 18000years on an egg - then it broke the top became the heavens - bottom became the earth.  then he spent 18000 years making sure the never collide and then he dies and his parts become the soil, mountains rain etc. his bacteria becomes man

Katie - Crow Indian - In the beginning there was just water - old man saw ducks and asked them if there is anything else.  The ducks dive one comes up with some root - then the old man blew on some dirt  and the earth was born.

Herterocosm - to enter into another world.  myth is greek for story.  You willingly suspend your disbelief. 

"The final belief is to believe in a fiction which you know to be a fiction ,there being nothing else.The exquisite truth is to know it is a fiction but to believe in it willingly." 
That quote has summed up my experience here.  Where before I was unwilling to even explore myth, now I find it is awesome. 

When you get to your group.  Introduce yourself - choose a leader/king - not always good to be the king. The king should be killed and eaten at the end of the semester. 

Universal Tree - Axis Mundi - this happened in the exact center of the world.  The naval of the world.  Umphalos - the wolds point of beginning. 
There is almost always a problem with the tree causing seperation of the worlds.

Assignment - Have to write a blog about someone elses blog.  Education is about transformation not information. 

CG Jung- not as concerned with behavioral psychology - disciple of frued.  The ego, id, superego. 
Psyche - means soul from the greek does not mean mind.  Jung felt that Frued was missing something- dreamed about being in his house - found a stairway that he did not know about - looked in trap door - found a stairway with another trap door kept going down and down and down. House dream.  The ground floor was dirt - awoke and realized the problem with Frued - Developed the theory of the collective unconscious.  derived from ancestral memory and experience and is common to all humankind.

Test

This is only a test.  Don't want to lose everything again.

Magic, the bastard sister of science.

"The fatal flaw of magic lies not in its general assumption of a sequence of events determined by law, but in its total misconception of the nature of the particular laws which govern that sequence.....
The principles of association are excellent in themselves, and indeed absolutely essential to the working of the human mind.  Legitimately applied they  yeild science; illegitimately applied they yield magic, the bastard sister of science.  It is therefore a truism, almost a tautology, to say that all magic is necessarily false and barren; for were it ever to become true and fruitful, it would no longer be magic but science." 

This whole section of "The Golden Baugh" made me shake my head and laugh a bit.  As I mentioned before, my husband loves mythology, science fiction shows, all of this kind of stuff and he always expressed frustration that I just couldn't bother trying to embrace it.  It all seemed senseless to me and he was always trying to convince me that it all symbolizes something and that I should not be so judgemental.  Now that I have had this wonderful opportunity to study it all and see it all in a different light I have a much deeper appreciation for not only his point but I have to appreciate again how much of what I have lived and studied in my Catholic faith is really no different than many or most of these stories.  The fact that I never questioned any of that but seemed to be unwilling to even look at mythology and many of these stories as having any validity is starting to seem absurd to me.  Wow.  Didn't see that coming!!!