1. Mythology Sources
List
and discuss the major primary sources for the mythology of three Indo-European
cultures, including their dates of origin and authorship (if known). Discuss
any important factors that may cause problems in interpreting these sources,
such as the existence of multiple revisions, or the presence of Christian or
other outside influences in surviving texts. (minimum 300 words)
Mythology is a very significant piece of any
religion. It is through the mythology of
the different cultures that we have learned about the deities and how ancient
people perceived and interacted with them.
The Indo-Europeans were no exception.
Each culture had mythology and practices that were passed down through
their generations. Unfortunately many of
those myths and rites were destroyed or changed by practitioners of
monotheistic religions, including Christianity, in an effort to convert Pagans
to their faith. This has limited our knowledge of the ancient Indo-European
cultures and mythology to a very few sources. The three cultures that appear to have the
most sources available to them are Hellenic, Norse, and Celtic.
The Hellenic culture has wealth of
sources to learn about the mythology and practices of the people. There were numerous poets and philosophers in
their culture that helped to spread the tales of heroes and deities throughout
the land. Probably the most well known
of these is Homer, who is attributed with both the Iliad and the Odyssey. These
epic poems tell the stories of the city of Troy and the hero Odysseus and
introduce us to many different mythological figures, events, and
locations. These poems were written
between 800 and 600 BCE, but the exact time is not known because Homer lived
before a modern calendar system was used (Atsma, Theoi Greek Mythology) . The Homeric Hymns were also written in a
similar “epic style” and include poems and invocations for numerous deities. Several different writers wrote these 33
poems during the seventh to sixth century BCE (Atsma,
Homeric Hymns) . They include hymns to the Olympians, several
heroes, and other deities. The Orphic
Hymns also give us more information about the deities. These hymns are made up of 87 religious poems
from the third or second century BCE (Atsma, Orphic Hymns) . There are poems to many different deities,
including both the Olympians and many of the lesser-known deities. Outside of
these three sources there are multiple other writers whose work survived
through the years. Aesop, Hesiod,
Sophocles and many others gave us a well of information to draw from, making
the Hellenic society one of the most well know of the Indo-European
cultures. The only major issues with
these sources are the problem of translation or the issue of not knowing the
original author.
The Norse culture has a much smaller pool
of information to draw from when it comes to their Indo-European roots. Much of their information has been lost over
time, but the people of Iceland provide us with two valuable sources, the
Poetic and Prose Eddas. The Poetic Eddas
were written down between 1000 and 1300 C.E. (Hare, The Poetic Edda) and are made
up of a variety of poems written about the deities and heroes of the Norse
culture. The Prose Eddas is written by
Snorri Sturluson in the thirteenth century (Hare, The Prose Edda) . It is a compilation of Norse mythology that
describes the creation, pantheon, and cosmology of this culture. Early Christians may have influenced many of
these stories as well, but there is no sure way to know.
To learn about the Celtic culture, we are
forced to look at resources from outside of the Celtic society. Celtic
mythology did not survive through the conquest by Rome and conversion to
Christianity (Eddy) . The knowledge
that we do have comes from a variety of sources including Lebor na hUidre (Book
of the Dun Cow), the Book of Leinster, and the Rawlinson Excidium Troie (The
Destruction of Troy) (Wikipedia) . The Book of the Dun Cow was written in the 12th
century and is made up of the work from three different scribes. It is an incomplete manuscript, but does give
insights into the deities, daily life, and cosmology of the Celtic people. The Book of Leinster was written in the
twelfth century and is once again made up of writings from multiple
writers. It gives information about the
mythology and genealogy of the people. The
Destruction of Troy tells the story of the city of Troy from a different
perspective, which definitely interested many people. There are numerous other resources that are
fragmented or written much later, but Christianity has influenced much of it
heavily. Many of the texts that we do
have were written by numerous people and have been translated repeatedly, which
makes it much more difficult to them validate as being authentic to the
original myth.
Mythology is prevalent in every
religion. The fact that we have the
amount of sources that we do is a blessing because so much history has been
lost in time. It is only through hard
work and dedication that we have learned as much as we have.
2. Mythology Compare/Contrast
Summarize,
then compare and contrast the myths of at least two Indo-European cultures with
respect to the following topics (you need not use the same two cultures as a
basis of comparison for each topic): (minimum 300 words for each)
·
Tales of Creation
Creation stories tell us how a society
views the formation of the universe.
Every culture has a story to explain where it all started. The Greeks have multiple versions of the creation
story, but in one of them, the universe begins with Nyx. Nyx is a giant bird with black wings. She was impregnated by the wind and lays a
golden egg. Once the egg hatches, Eros,
the god of love, was born. It was Eros
who brought light to the world (Kerenyi) . The two halves of the egg became the earth
and the sky. Nyx named the earth Gaia
and the sky Ouranus and Eros made them fall in love.
Norse mythology also tells the creation
story as a universe that is created from nothingness. Ginnungagp was the “Yawning Void” with Niflheim, the realm
of ice and Muspellheim, the realm of fire on either side (Sturlson 18) . As these two realms approached each other the
heat met the ice and it started to melt.
It is from the drips of this melting, the form of Ymir is formed. As Ymir worked and sweated more giants were
born. As the ice continues to melt
Audhumbla, a cow, is freed from the ice and she in turn frees Buri, the first
of the Aesir and grandfather of Odin.
Odin slays Ymir and builds the world from his corpse using his blood as
the waters, flesh as soil, and the skull for the sky. Dwarves hold up the sky at the 4 corners of
the world.
Both of these stories begin with the idea
of the universe being created from empty chaos. They also explain how we manage
to get both the land and the sky.
However, this particular version of the Greek myth does not have the
story of destruction of the first being to create the world. Instead we see the shell of “love” used to
create the world.
·
Tales of Divine War
Divine wars are another theme that is
common within Indo-European mythology. Frequently
these battles are fought in an effort to gain power from another group. Within the Greek culture there are multiple
instances of divine wars throughout the ages.
The battles first began when Ouranos and Gaia began having
children. Ouranos would hide the
children under the earth to prevent them from taking control. However, Gaia conspired with her children and
Ouranos was overthrown by Kronos, who cut him into pieces and scattered the
parts across the world. Gaia then warned
Kronos that he would suffer a similar fate.
He decided to try to prevent his fate by eating his children whole as
soon as his wife Rhea had given birth to them (Kerenyi 22) . Once again, the mother of the children
conspired against her husband and Rhea tricked Kronos into believing he had
eaten Zeus when she had actually fed him a bag of rocks. Zeus later defeated Kronos and freed his
siblings from his father’s stomach.
Kronos was locked away in Tartarus to prevent him from causing more trouble. There are other similar tales in Greek
mythology, including a war between the Olympians and the Giants.
The Norse culture has its own telling of
divine war between the Aesir and the Vanir, the two primary tribes of deities
in Norse mythology. Freya is the goddess of love and fertility, and one of the
Vanir. She travelled to Asgard to visit
the Aesir and while there the Aesir tried to kill her three different times and
yet she managed to be reborn each time (McCoy) . The Vanir were incredibly upset by this
attack and eventually the hostilities between the two tribes caused them to go
to war. The war continued with no clear
winner until the two groups decided to call a truce.
While both of these wars were fought between
two separate groups of deities, the cause and results were both very
different. In the Greek war, the Titans
and Olympians fought to try to gain power for their own group and there was
always a clear winner. In this Norse
tale, one group feeling disrespected by the other caused the fight. It ended in
a truce with no real victor. However,
both of these battles seem quite petty in the scheme of things.
·
Tales Which Describe the Fate of the Dead
Humans have always strived to try to
explain what happens to us after we die.
It is one question that we cannot answer so ancient cultures would
create mythology to try to explain. The
Greeks had a very complex view of the afterlife and the underworld. They had funeral processions and honored
their dead as much as possible. In general they believed that your actions in
life greatly effected what happened to someone after they died. People who were good and loved in life were
given an afterlife in a place that was full of joy, Elysium. It was from Elysium that people were allowed
to be reborn and if they were able to make it to Elysium three times they were
reward by an afterlife in the Isles of the Blessed. People who lived a life with no
distinguishable path had a very boring and neutral afterlife, spent in the
Fields of Asphodel. However, those who
were evil were severely punished in the Fields of Punishment and frequently the
punishment was directly matched to the crimes that were committed.
In the Slavic culture death was viewed as
a doorway to another life. It was not an
end but “an embarkation” (Phillips 81) . They often tried to blur the lines between
life and death and celebrated the departed through festivals and rituals. One particular festival is Radunitsa, which
was held in the spring in remembrance of the dead. They left gifts on the graves of the deceased
and feasted to celebrate life. They saw
death as a journey so it was not something to be feared. Slavs had a tree cosmology similar to that of
Norse mythology with the treetop being the realm of the deities and the roots
representing Nav, the underworld. The Underworld was ruled by the Veles and was
thought to be a green and joyful place filled with the spirits of all who had
passed.
These two cultures have similar ideas in
their death mythology, honoring those who have passed and using festivals to
remember them. Both of these cultures
also have mythology of spirits returning to the land of the living from the
underworld. However, there did not appear
to be a form of punishment for wrongdoings in the Slavic mythology like there
was in Greek myths.
3. Mythology Elements
Explain
how each of the following elements of ADF ritual does or does not resonate with
elements of two different Indo-European cultures (you need not use the same two
cultures as a basis of comparison for each element): (minimum 100 words for
each)
·
Earth Mother
The Earth Mother is an incredibly
important figure within the ADF ritual structure. She is the first and last deity recognized in
any ADF rite. Therefore it only makes
sense that nearly every Indo-European culture has an interpretation of the
earth mother as well. The earth mother
was loved “because of its permanence, because all things came from and returned
to it” (Eliade 240) .
In the Greek culture, the Earth mother is Gaia.
She is not only the physical earth, but also the mother of all the
Titans, which makes her the grandmother to the Olympians. It is through her that much life is given.
In Slavic mythology Mat Zemlya was the
original Mother Earth, but the identity eventually blended with Mokosh, the
goddess of fertility and women’s work (Phillips 54) . Harvest time rituals were held to honor the
Earth mother. It was believed that she
could combat evil so the Slavs would plow the earth to release power against
illness.
·
Deities of Land
Within Greek mythology, there is
definitely a presence of land deities and spirits. The first name I think of in this regard is
Demeter. Demeter is the goddess of the
harvest and grains. She can bring life
and nourishment to the world, and it is her emotional reaction to Persephone’s
fate that has caused the cycle of the seasons.
A second deity that Greek mythology associates with the land is
Pan. He is the god of the wild,
mountains, hunting, and flocks.
Slavic mythology also has a presence of deities
of the land. Jarilo is the Slavic god of
vegetation and fertility. His life cycle
follows the cycles of the seasons, being born in the spring with the seeds,
growing through the summer, fading in the fall, and dying in the winter. This appears to be a recurring theme, where
the deity of the harvest or nature has an effect on the seasons, or vice
versa.
·
Deities of Sea
There is also a presence of sea deities
in Greek mythology, including many different tales of heroes and deities
interacting with the sea and the beings associated with them. Poseidon is the
most well known sea deity in the Greek pantheon. He was the god of the sea, tamer of horses,
and causer of earthquakes. Oceanus, the
Titan, is considered a God of the ocean.
There are also numerous smaller beings, including Naiads, Oceanides,
river gods, and many others who work with the realms of the waters.
Celtic
mythology also has several different sea deities and being associated with
bodies of water. Lir was the god of the
sea, and father of Manannan mac Lir. Grannus
was the god of spas and mineral springs.
There are also numerous deities of local rivers and lakes, as well as
nature spirits.
·
Deities of Sky
In most Indo-European cultures the sky or
upperworld was the realm of the gods. This made deities of the sky very
important and powerful in many socities.
Greek mythology, the sky was the home of the deities. Zeus is the king of the Gods and ruler of
Olympus, the realm of the sky. He is also the god of thunder and storms. Greek mythology also has several other
deities that also work in the realm of the sky, including Iris the goddess of
rainbows and Helios, the god of the Sun.
Norse mythology also had multiple sky
deities. Thor was the god of thunder,
lightning, and storms. Sunna is the
personification of the sun itself, with Mani, the moon, as her brother. Each of these deities has their own specific
duties in the sky, and without each of them doing their part the world would
suffer.
·
Outsiders
The outsiders are one piece of ADF
liturgy that is debated frequently. Some
people feel that their acknowledgement is important, while others proceed
without it completely. However, the idea
of a group of beings that was not harmonious to every day life was definitely
present in Indo-European cultures. Greek
mythology does not specifically discuss the idea of outsiders, but there are
definitely parts of the mythology that would fit. The Titans in general were looked at as
outsiders to the Greeks and one of the divine wars was fought in an effort to
keep the Titans controlled and locked away.
There were also several other deities that may be viewed as outsiders,
such as Deimos and Phobos, the gods of fear and panic. Similarly, the Norse culture
has many myths about battles between the frost giants and the gods (Sturlson) .
·
Nature Spirits
In ADF, nature spirits are defined as
both those natural elements that live in our realm, such as the plants and
animals, and those spiritual beings of the natural world. Nature spirits were a huge part of Greek
mythology. Not only were plants and
animals viewed as having special attributes of their own which often used as
omens, there was an entire pantheon of nature spirits, such as Dryads, Nymphs,
and Satyrs that represented the different aspects of the natural world.
Slavic mythology had a similar practice
of including multiple nature spirits in their mythology. They had multiple sea spirits, including Vila
and Vodyanye, and land spirits called Leshii which were the protectors of
plants an animals (Phillips 66-72)
·
Ancestors
The ancestors are a very important part
of ADF. It is from our ancestors that we
learn and grow. Without the ancestors we would not be around. Ancestor worship and reverence was also a
huge part of many Indo-European cultures.
The Slavic culture would hold festivals where they would remember their
dead and leave them gifts, but instead of mourning they would feast and be
joyful for the life that their ancestors had lived. They saw the underworld as a refuge of the
soul after a long journey and were thankful for the peace that their ancestors
would experience.
Greek mythology shows a definite
reverence of the ancestors, including sharing the stories of their loved ones
who have passed. They had strong
connections to their ancestors of blood and would hold feasts and rituals for
them, leaving them offerings and gifts.
4. Cosmology Elements
Discuss how the following seven elements
of ADF's cosmology are (or are not) reflected in the myths of two different
Indo-European cultures. For this question, please use the same two cultures as
a basis of comparison for the entire question. (minimum 100 words each)
·
Upperworld
ADF Cosmology views the upper world as
the realm of the Gods. The upper world
in Greek mythology was Olympus, the realm of the Gods. It was the meeting place of the Olympians and
the home of many of them. Olympus was
built by the Cyclops in gratitude for being set free from Tartarus by Zeus.
In Slavic cosmology the universe is laid
out in a tree similar to the Norse.
However, instead of 9 realms, they viewed the tree as being divided into
three parts. The upper realm represented
the sky and realm of the deities. This
realm was called Svarog, which simply meant sky (Wikipedia, Slavic Mythology) . The
deities were said to look down at the world through the stars.
·
Middleworld
Within ADF cosmology the middle realm is
the world that we inhabit. It is the
world of the plants and animals, along with natural elements of the world such
as mountains and rivers. The middleworld in Greek mythology is represented
in the same way as ADF views cosmology.
It is made up the physical land we live on along with the plants and
animals that we know. The middleworld
also contained the nature spirits, such as Dryads and Nymphs.
In Slavic cosmology the middle world is
also where we live. In this realm we
once again see the mortal beings: humans, plants, and animals. In addition to these mortals there are also
numerous land and water spirits that are said to exist in this realm, including
Rusalka and Leshii (Phillips 72) ,
which ranged from helpful, beautiful creatures to beings of darkness and
danger.
·
Divisions Of Middleworld (e.g., 4
Quarters, 3 Triads, 8 Sections)
Divisions of the middleworld are one
aspect ADF cosmology that I do not particularly associate with. However, it is a feature that is prominent in
many of the Indo-European cultures. Greek mythology did not have a particular
division of the Middle world. The only
division that seems relevant is the division of the four directional winds. These
winds often played a role in the lives of heroes on quests and other deities,
but the realm was not necessarily divided between those entities.
The Slavic culture did have a horizontal
division of the middle realm. They
divided the realm into the four cardinal points, which also represented the
directions of the wind (Wikipedia, Slavic Mythology) . This division was represented in Svetovid,
the god of war and fertility. He was
represented as a four-headed god that faced the four separate directions.
·
Nether/Underworld
The afterlife in Greek mythology was one
area that was very complex. Therefore,
it only makes sense that the underworld itself is also very complicated.
Several rivers, each of which has a purpose, surround the underworld. The Acheron is the river of woe, the Cocytus
is the river of lamentation, the Phelgethon is the river of fire, Styx is the
river of unbreakable oath, and Lethe is the river of forgetfulness (The Underworld) .
The land itself is also divided into several sections. The Fields of
Punishment were meant for those people who committed crimes in life. Their suffering was based upon their
actions. The Fields of Asphodel were for
those people who lived a neutral life and did not become either very good or
very bad. Elysium was reserved for those
who were very good and loved by the gods.
From here they were given the option to be reborn. The Isles of the Blessed was reserved for
those people who had chosen to be reborn three times and had managed to make it
to Elysium each lifetime.
In the Slavic culture death was thought
to be a refuge of the soul after a long journey. The underworld in Slavic
cosmology was represented as the roots of the World Tree, below the middle
realm. This underworld was said to be
the resting place for those who had passed on.
The realm is ruled by Velas, but amongst the undead there is no apparent
division between those who lived a good life and those who lived a neutral or
evil life.
·
Fire
Fire is arguably the most important tool
for an ADF ritual. In ADF cosmology it
is viewed as the way that we communicate with the deities and give them
offerings. Fire played a huge part in
all Indo-European cultures. It was what
allowed them to warm their houses and cook their food. It was their livelihood and was apparent in
their mythology as well. Man received fire as a gift from the Titan
Prometheus. Zeus had become angry with
humans and was keeping all fire from them and Prometheus stole it from Olympus
and returned it to the middleworld.
Another important piece of fire in Greek mythology was Hestia. Hestia
was the goddess of the hearth and home. She is responsible for tending the
hearth of Olympus and is honored for her work.
Fire was also incredibly important to the
Slavic people. They revered both the sun
and the domestic hearth and considered them both to be sacred entities. There were actually limitations on who was
allowed to light the hearth fire, and when the hearth was being lit, silence
and respect were expected (Phillips 40) .
·
Well
The well in ADF
cosmology is our gateway to the underworld. While water played an important
part in the lives and religion of the Greek people, wells were not specifically
recognized. Many of the Ancient Greek
cities were built along rivers, which would provide a good water source, so
wells were not used as frequently as they may have been in some other parts of
the Indo-European region. However, water
in general was revered and there are many different water deities and spirits
that reflect this. Also, the gateway to
the underworld requires the crossing of a river, so there is still a watery
entrance to the realm of the dead.
Slavic mythology
also seems to be lacking well specific mythology. However, for the ancient Slavs, water was
sacred itself. The Slavic people lived
along the river and used the water as a means for travel and trading. They also
recognized that water could be an enemy with enormous power, including flooding
and massive storms. However, it was also
seen as the giver of life, bringing life to the crops and natural world (Phillips 49) .
·
Tree
In ADF mythology,
the tree represents the sacred center of the universe and the connection to the
cosmos. In Greek mythology and
practices, the Axis Mundi is expressed as the Omphalos and not as a tree as it
is in many other cultures. However,
trees were still used as a place of worship.
“From Minoan times, right up till the twilight of Hellenism, we always
find the tree used for worship beside a rock” (Eliade 270) .
The tree was a huge
part of Slavic cosmology. They viewed
the cosmos as being laid out in the form of a tree, similar to that of the
Norse mythology. This tree was divided
into three separate realms, the upper realm of the gods, middle realm of the
mortals, and under realm of the dead.
This tree was the connection to the cosmos and the sacred center of the
universe (Wikipedia, Slavic Mythology) .
5. Mythology Variations
To what extent do you think we can offer
conjectures about Indo-European myths in general? Are the common themes strong
enough that the myths seem like variations? Or are the differences so powerful
that the themes are less important than the cultural variations? (minimum 300
words)
Each Indo-European society has its
own mythology, pantheon, and cosmic view of the universe. These myths are what form the basis of many
of the ancient religions. It is also
through this mythology that we have learned of the ancient Indo-European
cultures. Conjecture is defined as “the
formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for
proof” (Dictionary.com Unabridged) . In this usage, I believe we can always offer
conjectures about Indo-European mythology because no proof is required. However, I believe what this question is
asking is if I believe that the mythology of the different Indo-European
cultures represent archetypes, or if they exist as individual entities in each
and every form.
Mythologies across many different cultures
show us a variety of intersecting themes.
Indo-European cultures specifically contain numerous areas that the
mythology seems to overlap. There are
too many of these commonalities to think that they could be coincidental. For example, divine wars, Mother Earth
worship, and thunder gods can be seen in multiple cultures. We also see a
frequent presence of some being (or beings) that can see and control the fate
of humans. More generically, there are
frequent tales of heroic conquests and some form of Axis Mundi. These repeated themes make it evident to me
that there must be some connection between the different cultures that caused
mythology to be shared between the groups.
I think that many of the myths may be variations of the same theme to
fit a specific culture, but there may also be myths that are specific to a
single culture as well.
Mythology was often used as a way to
share a message or teach a lesson to people.
In this use, it only makes sense that you would see repeated messages in
the mythology. Every culture has the
need to explain the importance of fire, the danger of a heavy storm, and what
happens when you die to their people. It
is possible that this basic need for humans to explain the world around them is
what causes some of these common themes as well.
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