Mythology Theory Test

Myth

word, speech, tale, story

Anthropormorphism

human characteristics to gods (personification)

euhemerism

humans become deified and are remembered as gods in mythology.

animism

the belief that objects, places, and creatures possess spiritual essence or consciousness.

aetiological

explains physical and natural pheomena

mythopoetic thinking

myth-making thinking; personal, emotional, religious or mystical

sympathetic magic

voodoo magic; having a lucky object

independent invention

The argument that myths originate in all cultures independently of each other, though they may be similar because all human experience is similar

diffusion

The argument that myths originate in one culture, but spread through various forms of contact (geography, trade, travel) to other cultures

collectice unconcious

shared human experience

archetypes

universal ideas; EX: wise old man, hero, goddess, mother figure, eternal child

binary

pair of contrasting concepts/opposing forces

mythemes

essential building blocks of story

dialectical

myth try to find a happy medium; sees myth as problem solving

hero myth

literary aspect that a character is raised in secrecy and grows to fulfill his purpose, often dies dramatically

oedipal complex

In Freudian myth theory, the story of Oedipus is an expression of the _________________ in men which reveals the repressed desire of men to kill their father and sleep with their mother.

primitive

pre-industrial, kin-based, small groups, oral, basic

preliterate

pre-written system, not codified, oral retellings

social taboo

restricts behavior in social settings

ritual

repeated action

myth + philosophy

focuses on content of myth; sees world literally

myth + religion

talk about myth as symbolic

myth + ritual

myth + ____ are absolutely connected (inextricable)

myth + society

looks at function; sees myth as symbolic, not literal

myth + literature

focuses on content; plot lines/patterns

myth + psychology

originate in human psyche and function symbolically

myth + structuralism

myth is a way we make sense of the world; explains binaries

myth + science

comes from anthropology; myth is a primitive science