Vocab & their Examples

Myth: Tales of Gods and Mortals and their adventures, which were used to explain natural events.
Examples: The Greek Creation Myth

Hero: A human (Demigod, trickster, etc.) that creates a new idea, religion, way of life; Something new.
Example: The Hero Achilles

Hero Journey: The path the hero must take, it involves great risk and an even greater reward in the end.
Example: Odysseus' Odyssey

Universal: Something shared in many mythologies around the world.
Example: The Cosmic Egg

Duality: The Opposites that make the universe whole, and the things that embody them.
Example: Osiris, who is not only the god of death, but a god of Vegetation and by extension, fertility.

Cyclical: The cycle of beginning and ending to begin again, like a circle.
Example: Persephone's Stay in the underworld for a third of the year is the cause of the seasonal cycle.*









*This basically is the version of the myth I read, which includes the reason why Hades kidnaps Persephone.

Daphne's Multiple Meanings Intro

Have you ever had someone try to court you, but you did not like them? Were you chased by that special someone, then screamed for your father's help, then get turned into a tree, probably because your father freaked out and did something spontaneously? Well, the last part probably didn't happen, but the story of Daphne is something we can relate to on multiple levels. On a physical level, this is the story of why Apollo's tree is the laurel. On a Social level, it describes why people live with the god's debauchery back in ancient times. And finally, the story talks on the psychological about why we some times don't want to be loved by anyone.