Purpose of Myth Review

1. Name four fundamental questions that myths address.
     -Who am i?
     -What is the nature of the universe in which I live?
     -How do I relate to that universe?
     -How much control do I have over my own life?

2. Name 4 themes in world mythology.
     -Birth
     -Gods
     -Death
     -Earth

3. What is the beginning of the universe for most major cultures?
     -Most of the major cultures start with the beginning of the universe - a chaotic, formless mass that a god or pair of gods separates.

4. What do hero myths and epics teach members of society?
     -The heroic myths and epics of a society teach it's members the appropriate attitude, behavior, and values of that culture.

5. Why do ordinary people identify with heroes?
     -In these myths we see ourselves, drawn larger and grander than we are, yet with our human weaknesses as well as our strengths.

6. What is the foundation of the Matriarchal Society?
     -The political, economic, social, and religious foundation of the matriarchal society was the agricultural year.

7. What is Sigmund Freud's view of myths?
     -Sigmund Freud and his followers view myths as the expression of the individual's unconscious wishes, fears, and drives.

8. Myths demonstrate that people possess...
     -The analysis of myths proves that human beings, no matter how primitive their technology, are not mentally inferior. Their myths demonstrate that they possess the intellectual capacity to understand the world in which they live.