University of Rijeka

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka

RIJEKA

NINA PEULIĆ

MARK CARTWRIGHT – GREEK MYTHOLOGY

SEMINAR

Rijeka, 18 May 2022

 University of Rijeka

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka

RIJEKA

NINA PEULIĆ

MARK CARTWRIGHT – GREEK MYTHOLOGY

SEMINAR

Course: English Language Workshop 4

Mentor: Mr. Spec. Anita Memišević

Student: Nina Peulić

Study programme: History and Literature/English Language and Literature

Academic year: 2021/2022

Rijeka, May 19, 2022

CONTENTS

CONTENTS..............................................................................................................................................1
2) GREEK MYTHOLOGY...........................................................................................................................2
3) VOCABULARY.....................................................................................................................................6
4) EXERCISES...........................................................................................................................................8
5) TEXT COMPREHENSION...................................................................................................................12
6) THE KEY............................................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................17
2) GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Definition

Greek mythology was used as a means to explain the environment in which humankind
lived, the natural phenomena they witnessed and the passing of time through the days,
months, and seasons. Greek myths were also intricately connected to religion and explained
the origin and lives of the gods, where humanity had come from and where it was going
after death. Greek myths gave faces and characters to the gods of the Greek religion but
they also gave people helpful practical advice on the best way to lead a happy life. Another
purpose of myths was to re-tell historical events so that people could maintain contact with
their ancestors, the wars they fought, and the places they explored.

The Telling of Myths

In modern usage the term 'myth' perhaps has negative connotations suggesting a lack of
authenticity and reliability. However, it should not be assumed that myths were whole-
heartedly believed in nor should it be assumed that the Greeks were wholly skeptical of
them. Probably, the Greek myths, as with any religious or non-written sources, were
believed by some and discounted by others. Myths were certainly used for religious and
educational purposes but also may well have had a simple aesthetic function of
entertainment. What is certain is that the myths were both familiar and popular with a wide
section of Greek society through their common representation in art, whether that be
sculpture on public buildings or scenes painted on pottery.

Without wide-spread literacy, the passing on of myths was first done orally, probably by
Minoan and Mycenaean bards from the 18th century BCE onwards. This of course allows for
the possibility that with each re-telling of a particular myth, it is embellished and improved
upon to increase audience interest or incorporate local events and prejudices. However, this
also is a modern interpretation, for it is also possible that the telling of myths followed
certain rules of presentation, and a knowledgeable audience may not have willingly
accepted ad hoc adaptations to a familiar tale. Over centuries though, and with increasing
contact between city-states, it is difficult to imagine that local stories did not become mixed
with others to create a myth with several diverse origins.

The next development in the presentation of myths was the creation of poems in Ionia and
the celebrated poems of Homer and Hesiod around the 8th century BCE. For the first time
mythology was presented in written form. Homer's Iliad recounts the final stages of the
Trojan War - perhaps an amalgamation of many conflicts between Greeks and their eastern
neighbors in the late Bronze Age (1800-1200 BCE) - and the Odyssey recounts the protracted
voyage home of the hero Odysseus following the Trojan War. Hesiod's Theogony gives a
genealogy of the gods, and his Works and Days describes the creation of man. Not only are
gods described with typically human feelings and failings but also heroes are created, often
with one divine parent and the other mortal, thus providing a link between man and the
gods.

The next principal representation of myths was through pottery from the 8th century BCE
onwards. A myriad of mythical scenes decorate ceramics of all shapes and function and must
surely have spread the myths to a wider audience.

Greek mythology continued to be popular through the centuries, and major public buildings
such as the Parthenon at Athens, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, and the Temple to Apollo
at Delphi were decorated with larger-than-life sculpture representing celebrated scenes
from mythology. In the 5th century BCE the myths were presented in the new format of
theatre, especially in the works of the three tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
At the same time, from the 6th century BCE the first documented skepticism and even
rejection of the myths began with the pre-Socratic philosophers who searched for a more
scientific explanation for phenomena and events. Finally, in the 5th century BCE the first
historians Herodotus and Thucydides sought to document as accurately as possible and
record for posterity a less subjective view of events and so the modern subject of history
was born.
Greek Myths - An Overview

Broadly speaking, the imaginative Greeks created myths to explain just about every element
of the human condition. The creation of the world is explained through two stories where a
son usurps the place of his father - Cronus from Ouranos and Zeus from Cronus - perhaps
referring to the eternal struggle which exists between different generations and family
members. The Olympian gods led by Zeus twice defeated the sources of chaos represented
by the Titans and the Giants. These gods then, rule man's destiny and sometimes directly
interfere - favorably or otherwise. Indeed, the view that events are not human's to decide is
further evidenced by the specific gods of Fate and Destiny. A further mythological
explanation of the seemingly random nature of life is the blind god Pluto who randomly
distributes wealth. The gods also illustrated that misdemeanors would be punished, e.g.,
Prometheus for stealing fire and giving it to man. The origin of other skills such as medicine
and music are also explained as 'divine' gifts, for example, Apollo passing on to his son
Asklepios medicinal knowledge for man's benefit. Finally, certain abstract concepts were also
represented by specific gods, e.g., Justice (Dike), Peace (Eirene), and Lawfulness (Eunomia).

The Heroes - the most famous being Hercules, Achilles, Jason, Perseus, and Theseus but
including a great many more - all have divine parents and therefore bridge the gap between
mortals and gods. These popular heroes pursue fantastic adventures and epitomize ideal
qualities such as perseverance e.g., Hercules' twelve labors, or fidelity e.g., Penelope waiting
faithfully for Odysseus' return. Heroes also added prestige to a city by being credited as its
founder, e.g., Theseus for Athens, Perseus for Mycenae, or Kadmus for Thebes. The heroes
and events such as the Trojan War also represented a past golden age when men were
greater and life was easier. Heroes then were examples to aspire to, and by doing great
deeds a certain immortality could be reached, either absolutely (as in the case of Hercules)
or through commemoration in myth and tradition. In contrast, many mythological figures
represent qualities to be avoided and their sad tales illustrate the dangers of bad behavior.
King Midas, for example, was granted his wish that everything he touched turned to gold,
but when he found out that this included food and drink, his avarice almost resulted in his
death from starvation and thirst. The myth of Narcissus symbolizes the dangers of vanity
after the poor youth fell in love with his own reflection and he lost the will to live. Finally, the
story of Croesus warns that vast riches cannot guarantee happiness when the fabulously rich
King misinterpreted the Delphic oracle and lost his kingdom to Persia. Natural phenomena
were explained with myth, e.g., earthquakes are created when Poseidon crashes his trident
to the ground or the passage of the sun is Helios in his chariot riding across the sky. Myths
such as Persephone's half year descent to Hades explained the seasons. Time itself had
mythological explanations: Helios' seven herds of 350 cattle correlate to the days of the year,
Selene's 50 daughters are the weeks, and Helios' twelve daughters the hours.

Greek mythology also includes a number of monsters and strange creatures such as the one-
eyed Cyclops in the Odysseus story, a gigantic boar in the fabled Kalydonian hunt, sphinxes,
giant snakes, fire-breathing bulls and more. These creatures may represent chaos and lack of
reason, for example, the centaurs - half-man and half-horse. Fierce and fantastic creatures
often emphasize the difficulty of the tasks heroes are set, for example, the many-headed
Hydra to be killed by Hercules, the gorgon Medusa whose look could turn you into stone and
whom Perseus had to behead, or the Chimera - a fire-breathing mix of lion, goat and snake -
which Bellerophon killed with the help of his winged-horse Pegasus. Alternatively, they may
represent the other-worldliness of certain places, for example the three-headed dog
Kerberos which guarded Hades or simply symbolized the exotic wildlife of distant lands
visited by Greek travelers. Perhaps unfamiliar experiences were also explained in myth, for
example, one can imagine that a Greek visiting King Minos' sophisticated and many-roomed
palace at Knossos might have thought it a labyrinth, and the worship there of bulls and the
sport of bull-leaping might be the source of the Minotaur - is it coincidence it was killed by
the visiting Athenian, Theseus? Could Jason's expedition for the Golden Fleece be a
reference to the rich gold of the Caucasus and a Greek expedition to plunder this resource?
Do the Amazons represent an encounter with another culture where women were treated
more equally than in the Greek world? Do the Greek myths of the Sirens and Charybdis warn
of the dangers of travel beyond familiar territory?

Such questions may well remain unanswered but starting with the discovery of Troy in the
19th century CE, archaeological finds have steadily contributed an ever-growing body of
physical evidence which illustrates that the oral traditions and stories from Greek mythology
had an origin and a purpose they were not previously credited with.
3) VOCABULARY

A) NOUNS

BARDS = a tribal poet-singer skilled in composing and reciting verses on heroes and their
deeds

AMALGAMATION = the action or process of uniting or merging two or more things

GENEALOGY = an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or

from older forms

MISDEMEANORS = a minor wrongdoing

POSTERITY = all future generations

PERSEVERENCE = continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or

opposition

COMMEMORIATION = the act of commemorating (to serve as a memorial of)

VANITY= inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance : CONCEIT

ORACLE = a person (such as a priestess of ancient Greece) through whom a deity is believed
to speak

BOAR = a tusked Eurasian wild pig

B) ADJECTIVES

INTRICATELY = having many complexly interrelating parts or elements: COMPLICATED

AD HOC – adjective = fashioned from whatever is immediately available: IMPROVISED

MYRIAD = both numerous and diverse

FABLED = told or celebrated in fables

 C) VERBS

DISCOUNTED = to leave out of account or consideration: DISREGARD

EMBELLISHED = to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful

PROTRACTED = to prolong in time or space : CONTINUE

USURPS = to seize and hold (office, place, functions, powers, etc.) in possession by force or
without right

EPITOMIZE = to serve as the typical or ideal example of

4) EXERCISES
4.1) Provide antonyms for the following words (two per word at least)

1. NATURAL (adj.) ___________________________________________

2. INTRICATELY (adj.) ________________________________________
3. AESTHETIC (adj.) __________________________________________
4. WIDESPREAD (adj.) _______________________________________
5. RECOUNT (v.)__________________________________________
6. AMALGAMATION (n.) ____________________________________
7. CELEBRATED (adj.) _____________________________________
8. POSTERITY (n.) ________________________________________
9. BROADLY (adv.) ________________________________________
10. VANITY (n.) __________________________________________

4.2) Provide synonyms for the following words (two per word at least)

1. MYTH (n.) __________________________________________

2. BOAR (n.) _________________________________________
3. PROTRACTED (v.) ___________________________________
4. MYRIAD (adj.) _______________________________________
5. MODERN (adj.) _______________________________________
6. VOYAGE (n.) _________________________________________
7. DIVINE (adj.) ________________________________________
8. IMAGINATIVE (adj.) ___________________________________
9. MISDEMEANORS (n.) __________________________________
10. VAST (adj.) __________________________________________
4.3) CLOSE TEST

Greek mythology continued ___ be popular through the centuries, and major
public buildings ___ as the Parthenon at Athens, the Temple of Zeus at
Olympia, and the Temple to Apollo at Delphi were decorated ____larger-than-
life sculpture representing celebrated scenes ___ mythology. In the 5th century
BCE the myths were presented in the new format of theatre, especially in the
works ___the three tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. At the
same time, from the 6th century BCE the first documented skepticism and even
rejection of the myths began with the pre-Socratic philosophers who searched
for a ___ scientific explanation for phenomena and events.

4.4) Insert only ONE verb in each of the empty spaces. (Pay attention to its clauses!)

1. Johnny really likes ______ the football around.

2. Scientist have been _________ new species all these years.

3. Low rise jeans are _____ back.

4. I _____ excitement and sadness.

5. Although the report ________ many areas, it is not sufficient.

6. The country is still ______ its aim of joining the EU.

7. He _______ his head in confusion.

4.5) Fill in the gaps with the given words. Use each word only once!

Symbolizes, examples, intricately, myriad, experiences, pursue, destiny,

number, partly, trying, experienced.

1. Heroes then were _______ to aspire to.

2. Greek mythology also includes a ________ of monsters and strange
creatures.
3. The myth of Narcissus ________ the dangers of vanity.
4. A _______ of mythical scenes decorate ceramics of all shapes.
5. Greek myths were also __________ connected to religion.
6. These popular heroes __________ fantastic adventures.
7. These gods then, rule man's _________ and sometimes directly
interfere.
8. Perhaps unfamiliar ___________ were also explained in myth.

4.6) Word Formation

1. He is typically _______ as a villain. (PORTRAY)

2. She is very _____ when it comes to the issue of poverty. (SENSE)
3. Professors here are very _____ if you behave. (UNDERSTAND)
4. Children nowadays are ______ influenced by the media. (DEEP)
5. The _____ must be sent via email. (APPLY)
6. Even though he did not show it, he was lacking in __________.
(CONFIDENT)
7. Mary has ____ skills which makes her unique. (REMARK)
 8. The singer gave a ________ for an _________ price. (PERFORM, ACCEPT)
9. Gary was asked to ______ his voice at the museum. (LOW)
10.Sarah has always been very ______ and dressed nicely. (STYLE)

4.7) Translate the following text.

Daljnje mitološko objašnjenje naizgled slučajne prirode života je slijepi bog

Pluton koji nasumično raspoređuje bogatstvo. Bogovi su također ilustrirali da će
pogreške biti kažnjene, npr. Prometej jer je ukrao vatru i dao je čovjeku.
Podrijetlo drugih vještina kao što su medicina i glazba također se objašnjavaju
kao 'božanski' darovi, na primjer, Apolon je svom sinu Asklepiju prenio
medicinsko znanje za čovjekovu dobrobit. Konačno, određene apstraktne
koncepte također su predstavljali specifični bogovi, npr. Pravda (Dike), Mir
(Eirene) i Zakonitost (Eunomia).

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5) TEXT COMPREHENSION
5.1) Mark the following statements as either True (T) or False (F).

1) Greek mythology was not used as a means to explain the environment in

which humankind lived?

TRUE FALSE

2) Another purpose of myths was to re-tell historical events?

TRUE FALSE

3) Myths were first spreading orally?

TRUE FALSE

4) Narcissus was the one, according to the myth, who gave humans fire?

TRUE FALSE

5) The next principal representation of myths was through pottery from the
8th century BCE onwards?

TRUE FALSE

5.2) Answer the following questions.

1. Describe the process of myth-telling up to the 5th BCE?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

2. How was the subject of modern history born and who were its founders?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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3. Name at least two myths and describe them.

_________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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6) THE KEY
4.2)
4.1)
1. legend lore
1. abnormal, atypical 2. swine, pig
2. simple, easy 3. continued, elongated

3. grotesque, unattractive 4. countless, endless

5. contemporary, current
4. narrow, limited
present day
5. misrepresent, conceal 6. cruise, excursion
6. division, separation 7. angelic, celestial

7. insignificant, unimportant 8. artistic, original

8. ancestor, parent
9. misbehavior, offense
10. big, gigantic
9. narrowly, slightly

10. humility, modesty

4.3)
4.4)
1. to 1. throwing

2. such 2. discovering
3. coming
3. with
4. felt
4. from 5. covers
6. pursuing
5. of
7. scratched
6. more
4.5) 4.6)

1. Examples, 1. portrayed
2. sensible
2. number,
3. understandble
3. symbolizes,
4. deeply
4. myriad, 5. application

5. intricately, 6. confidence
7. remarkable
6. pursue,
8. performance, acceptable
7. destiny, 9. lower
8. experiences 10. stylish

4.7) A further mythological explanation of the seemingly random nature of life

is the blind god Pluto who randomly distributes wealth. The gods also
illustrated that misdemeanors would be punished, e.g., Prometheus for
stealing fire and giving it to man. The origin of other skills such as medicine and
music are also explained as 'divine' gifts, for example, Apollo passing on to his
son Asklepios medicinal knowledge for man's benefit. Finally, certain abstract
concepts were also represented by specific gods, e.g., Justice (Dike), Peace
(Eirene), and Lawfulness (Eunomia).

5) 1. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4. F, 5. T
5.1) 1. Check by referring to text

2. Check by referring to text

3. Check by referring to text

REFERENCES
Text taken from:

M. Cartwright, Greek Mythology, 2012,

https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Mythology/