Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Hero Journey Application Project
Call to Adventure: This stage is where the hero is called to quest or assignment
Supernatural Guides: Guides that offer advice, magic, or weapons to assist in the hero's journey
Compainions: Friends that help along the journey
Initiation: The hero crosses the threshold and leaves behind the familiar and comfortable
Trials: The obstacles and battles the hero must overcome during the journey.
Final Battle: The ultimate battle in the journey
Transformation: The hero is in someway altered by the journey
Death/Rebirth: Out with the old; in with the new
Boon: The gift of renewal to be shared with all
Call to Adventure: This stage is where the hero is called to quest or assignment
Supernatural Guides: Guides that offer advice, magic, or weapons to assist in the hero's journey
Compainions: Friends that help along the journey
Initiation: The hero crosses the threshold and leaves behind the familiar and comfortable
Trials: The obstacles and battles the hero must overcome during the journey.
Final Battle: The ultimate battle in the journey
Transformation: The hero is in someway altered by the journey
Death/Rebirth: Out with the old; in with the new
Boon: The gift of renewal to be shared with all
Monday, October 27, 2008
Academic Vocabulary
A myth is a story or legend that can give explanation to natural phenomena, human psychology, or theological questions. Therefore we can see where certain cultures explained something natural as in the myth of Demeter and Persephone.
A hero is someone reconized for there courage in great feats or labors, or the founder of something new. Hercules is a hero by this definition.
The hero journey is seen as all parts that a hero embarks on from the call to adventure, his companions, guides, initiation, battles, final battle, transformation, boon, death and finally rebirth. This is universal to all hero myths and but is seen fundamentally in Lord of the Rings.
The idea of universal is representative of every man and applies to all. Universality is seen with sweatpants because they are on size fits all.
Cyclical is the idea of every coming back to where it started and starting all over again. The hero journey shows a cyclical pattern.
Life from Death is the sacrificing of one life to sustain the life of one or more lives. This is seen with fertilizer in gardens.
Duality is a quality of opposites existing at the same time in a whole. This is seen in the idea of the yin and yang.
An archetype is the original model of something. We see this in creation myths where the three archetypes for creation are void, egg, and a watery abyss. Also there a three archetypal representations of a hero are human, trickster, and cultural. The archetypal creation myth of Enuma Elish shows an example of watery abyss.
Creation is the origins or beginnings of something. This is seen in the epic of Gilgamesh which is the first known story of creation.
Matriarchal is when the mother is the head of the household and holds the power from giving life. This is represented through the idea of Mother Earth.
Patriarchal is where the father figure is the provider and protector of the family. This is commonly viewed as Father Sky.
Sacrifice is putting self-interests aside for the betterment of the whole; selflessness. The Aztecs would sacrifice life for the benefit of the people.
A myth is a story or legend that can give explanation to natural phenomena, human psychology, or theological questions. Therefore we can see where certain cultures explained something natural as in the myth of Demeter and Persephone.
A hero is someone reconized for there courage in great feats or labors, or the founder of something new. Hercules is a hero by this definition.
The hero journey is seen as all parts that a hero embarks on from the call to adventure, his companions, guides, initiation, battles, final battle, transformation, boon, death and finally rebirth. This is universal to all hero myths and but is seen fundamentally in Lord of the Rings.
The idea of universal is representative of every man and applies to all. Universality is seen with sweatpants because they are on size fits all.
Cyclical is the idea of every coming back to where it started and starting all over again. The hero journey shows a cyclical pattern.
Life from Death is the sacrificing of one life to sustain the life of one or more lives. This is seen with fertilizer in gardens.
Duality is a quality of opposites existing at the same time in a whole. This is seen in the idea of the yin and yang.
An archetype is the original model of something. We see this in creation myths where the three archetypes for creation are void, egg, and a watery abyss. Also there a three archetypal representations of a hero are human, trickster, and cultural. The archetypal creation myth of Enuma Elish shows an example of watery abyss.
Creation is the origins or beginnings of something. This is seen in the epic of Gilgamesh which is the first known story of creation.
Matriarchal is when the mother is the head of the household and holds the power from giving life. This is represented through the idea of Mother Earth.
Patriarchal is where the father figure is the provider and protector of the family. This is commonly viewed as Father Sky.
Sacrifice is putting self-interests aside for the betterment of the whole; selflessness. The Aztecs would sacrifice life for the benefit of the people.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Persephone and Demeter
Who would have thought a simple pomegranate seed would doom eternity with dreaded winter?! In mythology, interpretation can be described on three levels; natural, social, and psychological. The natural level is the most superficial where one takes the reading for what is at first glance with no further breaking down of the reading.. The social level embodies the natural level but takes interpretation one step further. The social level shows how society feels given the natural. Where the psychological takes it further yet, it asks the “what if” as if there weren’t the natural and again how society would react. In synopses, the social shows how society reacts with the natural and psychological is how society would react if the natural were taken away.
Demeter, the goddess of corn and symbol of earth, one day just couldn’t find her daughter, Persephone. Low and behold, she found that Hades himself took her in his chariot, drawn of blackest steeds, to the Underworld. Persephone being the symbol of rebirth and flowers and spring, made the earth cold and nothing would blossom or produce. Demeter was infuriated with this and headed straight down to the underworld to show her immense anger towards Hades. Little did little Miss Demeter know, but Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed which sealed her fate in the underworld for six months out of thee year.
From a social standpoint, Persephone’s six months in the underworld had drastic effects. For those months she was gone, the world turned cold and nothing would grow, creating the dynamic of summer and winter. On the contrary, when she was on earth she made those six months even more beautiful than ever. Flowers were blooming, the weather was great, and harvests were so good that a steady food source was created for society. Summer now represents happiness and growth and creates a key contrast in seasons. The key being that the beauty and representation of summer is highlighted with its 180° counter-part, winter. Society showed a reaction and eventually an adaptation to creation of winter but were blessed with a summer far better than ever before.
Psychologically, society learns important lessons and morals from the story of Persephone. We see the pomegranate seed as a symbol of desire and duality and as a parallel between what is going on in the story. Persephone, naïve in her innocence, eat the seed not knowing the long-term effects shows how desires can overrule reason then and much so in present times. The dynamic of summer and winter is much the same as the beauty and youth of Persephone to the immense loss and grief shared by her mother. The opposite seasons represent the emotions felt by Persephone and her mother and even Hades. With that, Hades greatly enjoyed having someone with him in the underworld, where as Demeter was sad and deeply depressed. This, also a good representation of the growth and change anyone goes through and experience you get from that. Also Hades is given a nurturing side for wanting love through someone else as opposed to his common interpretation of being cruel and evil. With this dynamic it really defines the duality of the myth.
Whether you are a beautiful little girl or the God of the Underworld, you can change popular beliefs. Here we see good come out of a seemingly terrible situation. Lessons are learned from all facets of society, from the Gods to the people (society).
Demeter, the goddess of corn and symbol of earth, one day just couldn’t find her daughter, Persephone. Low and behold, she found that Hades himself took her in his chariot, drawn of blackest steeds, to the Underworld. Persephone being the symbol of rebirth and flowers and spring, made the earth cold and nothing would blossom or produce. Demeter was infuriated with this and headed straight down to the underworld to show her immense anger towards Hades. Little did little Miss Demeter know, but Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed which sealed her fate in the underworld for six months out of thee year.
From a social standpoint, Persephone’s six months in the underworld had drastic effects. For those months she was gone, the world turned cold and nothing would grow, creating the dynamic of summer and winter. On the contrary, when she was on earth she made those six months even more beautiful than ever. Flowers were blooming, the weather was great, and harvests were so good that a steady food source was created for society. Summer now represents happiness and growth and creates a key contrast in seasons. The key being that the beauty and representation of summer is highlighted with its 180° counter-part, winter. Society showed a reaction and eventually an adaptation to creation of winter but were blessed with a summer far better than ever before.
Psychologically, society learns important lessons and morals from the story of Persephone. We see the pomegranate seed as a symbol of desire and duality and as a parallel between what is going on in the story. Persephone, naïve in her innocence, eat the seed not knowing the long-term effects shows how desires can overrule reason then and much so in present times. The dynamic of summer and winter is much the same as the beauty and youth of Persephone to the immense loss and grief shared by her mother. The opposite seasons represent the emotions felt by Persephone and her mother and even Hades. With that, Hades greatly enjoyed having someone with him in the underworld, where as Demeter was sad and deeply depressed. This, also a good representation of the growth and change anyone goes through and experience you get from that. Also Hades is given a nurturing side for wanting love through someone else as opposed to his common interpretation of being cruel and evil. With this dynamic it really defines the duality of the myth.
Whether you are a beautiful little girl or the God of the Underworld, you can change popular beliefs. Here we see good come out of a seemingly terrible situation. Lessons are learned from all facets of society, from the Gods to the people (society).
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