My Myth

Thunder Storm

Have you ever wondered why we get thunderstorms? The answer lies in no other place except Mount Olympus. I am going to tell you a story not many people know, it is a story that has been hidden and kept secret. It is a story that is hidden only to keep Zeus’s reputation as the man that wears the pants in his marriage. This is quite understandable; would you like to be under rule to a man that could not even keep his own wife under control?

Something you may not know about the Greek gods and goddesses is that Hera, Zeus’s wife, was very bull headed and outspoken. Now Zeus did not like that about Hera at all, if Zeus’s people knew that Hera always got her way in their marriage he would be very ashamed. Zeus was very good at hiding the fact that his wife was very controlling. This explains why Zeus was with so many other girls. Zeus thought that if he kept Hera busy with punishing all the women Zeus had snuck around with people would not really pay attention to how she acted on Mount Olympus.

Sooner than Zeus thought, his plan backfired. Hera started to see that no matter what she would do to all of these women Zeus still always found someone else to mess around with. Hera finally decided to confront Zeus about his problem. He could not lie about what he was really doing so from that day forward Hera no longer listened to Zeus at all. Hera and Zeus were constantly getting in arguments and Hera was always right even if she was wrong.

When you hear thunder it is really Zeus yelling after him and Hera get into a big argument. Zeus normally tries to keep his anger under control, so that all of his followers can not find out what is really going on between Zeus and Hera. Once it hits summer time as the heat rises to Mount Olympus Zeus anger raises also. That is why we have more thunder storms in the summer than any other time.

Norse Vocab

1. Vikings: the people that live in Northern Europe
   
2. Ginnungagap: the dark void before the world was created
   
3. Nifleheim: the land of fog and ice
   
4. Muspellheim: the land of fire
   
5. Yggdrasil: the world ash tree
   
6. Asgard: home of the gods
   
7. Midgard: the home of all humans
   
8. Hel: goddess of death
   
9. Bifrost Bridge: a divine bridge that links between humans and gods
   
10. Ymir: a wild, fierce, evil giant
    
11. Odin: the god of gods and humans
    
12. Frigg: wife of Odin and most powerful goddess, the cloud spinner
    
13. The Valkyries: Odin's daughters, the choosers of the slain
    
14. The Norns: the fate maidens
    
15. Thor: son of Odin and Frigg, the warrior son
    
16. Balder: son of Odin and Frigg, the beloved son
    
17. Njord: Patron of the sailors
    
18. Frey: god of fertility, prosperity, sun, and rain
    
19. Freya: goddess of love, fertility, beauty, magic, war, and death
    
20. Idunn: the protector of the golden apples
    
21. Loki: son of the giants, the trickster
    
22. Fenrir: wolf destroyer
    
23. Jormungandr: world serpent
    
24. Ragnarok: doomsday or final battle, the gods will lose, end of the world
    
25. Runes: the language of Norse people that also can predict a persons future
    

Native American Myth

The Great Flood

There was too many people in their land and there was not enough food. Fortunately the Salish tribe had old wise men who could see the future through their dreams. They kept seeing a great flood over and over again; however some people did not believe them. Those who did believe the old wise men immediately started to build a huge raft.

After many moons big rain drops started to fall. The people gathered all the food and livestock they could find and lived on the raft. Meanwhile those who laughed at the old wise men were let and drowned. After time the rain finally stopped. Likewise the water lowered. The people saw that all their homes as well as all their crops were destroyed and washed away by the flood. As soon as they saw this they immediately started to rebuild everything. After awhile their population grew again. As a result the people decided they needed to separate all the people into different tribes.

“The Great Flood.” Native American Lore. StoneE Producktions. 1996. 7 November 2008. http://www.ihawaii.net/~stony/lore64.html

“Flathead Flag.” Flags of Native Americans. New Milford. Time Co., Inc. 11 November 2008.

-Hero: A hero is the founder of something new.

-Universal: Representative of every man with a special characteristic that sets him apart.

-Major Flaw: A hero is special, but not perfect.

-Call to Adventure: The hero is given a goal or assigned a quest.

-Initiation: The entering of a strange world and leaving behind the familiar world.

-Journey: The road of trials, battles, and obstacles.

-Companions and Friends: The heroes sidekicks, partners, and support.

-Supernatural Guides: Provides information, magic, weapons, or charms.

-Ultimate Battle: The heroes final test.

-Transformation: The hero is altered in some way in the final battle.

-Death/Rebirth: Out with the old and in with the new.

-Boon: Gift of renewal; reward that will be shared.

Vocab

Myth: A myth is a series of tales or stories that are true or false. A myth is based on religion and elements that explain natural events and why the world is what it is today.
The Greeks have many myths that explain many natural events and how human kind came about. http://www.mythweb.com/

Hero: A hero is a founder of something new that is special, but not perfect.
Hercules is one of the most known of the Greek mythology heroes. http://www.mythweb.com/

Hero Journey: The hero journey is the road of trails, battles, and obstacles that a hero goes through. The hero journey can also be the transformation, initiation, or boon that a hero gives or goes through.
Hercules has to go through a hero journey before he is accepted as a god of Mt. Olympus. http://www.mythweb.com/

Universal: Universal is the big picture that is common between everyone. Universal applies to all and one size also fits to all.
Perseus has many universal qualities that makes it easy for the common person to relate to him. http://www.mythweb.com/

Archetype: Archetype is the original model or foundation and is normally old.

An example of archetype would be the the earth being an egg waiting bot be hatched into a place where people can live.

http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa082098.htm

Cyclical: Is a cycle, turn, or rotation that repeats itself over and over again. The beginning and the end or a cycle are the same.

Ra's life was cyclical because he died and was reborn everyday and did the same exact thing every single day. http://www.egyptbc.com/ra-the-sun-god.html

Duality: Duality is a quality of opposite or two-ness existing within one whole.

When Tiamat's body was split into two pieces and one half created the sky and the other half created the earth would be an example of duality.
http://library.thinkquest.org/25535/Babylonian.htm

Creation: Creation is an act of producing or causing something to exist.

When Tiamat died he created the earth and all of the earths features.

http://library.thinkquest.org/25535/Babylonian.htm

Life from Death: As something dies something is born because of the life form death cycle.
Once Pan Gu died his body created the earth so humans could live on earth.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa082098.htm

Matriarchal: Matriarchal is the foundation of female power, the mother rules.
In Greek mythology Rhea fools her husband and helps her son, Zues, kill Cronos.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/rhea.html

Patriarchal: Patriarchal is the foundation of male power, the father rules.
Once Zues kills Cronos he takes over all the gods and humans.
http://www.mythweb.com/

Sacrifice: Sacrifice is the taking of life for the benefit of others. The giving up of something to the greater good.
Pan Gu sacrificed his life for the gods and the human-kind to have a place to live.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa082098.htm

Interpretation Essay

Have you ever heard about the rape of Persephone? If you have, have you looked at the rape from Hades perspective? The split between mother and daughter tore Demeter apart, but Persephone found love in another lonely person. Hades took Persephone away to the underworld and Demeter was depressed without her daughter. Persephone eventually got to go back to her mother, but had to return to the underworld because she ate a pomegranate seed that Hades had given her, so she had to go back to Hades every year. There are three levels of interpretation: natural, social, and psychological. They each explain who a person is, but in different ways. The natural level is the outside, the big picture. The social level is underneath the skin, getting in depth breaking the big picture down. The psychological level is all the insides, getting all of the specifics.

The natural level of interpretation of Demeter would be that she is the goddess of the corn or harvest. She played a very important part on Earth. She gave the mortals food and the four seasons. Her social level of interpretation would be that Demeter is a loving mother. She gave mankind the art of agriculture, a very important skill. The last level is psychological, Demeter is easy to relate to the mortals because she had lost someone she loved. Demeter was sad and depressed upon the loss of her daughter. She was revengeful; she did not let anything grow when Persephone was not with her, which created the seasons.

Persephone’s natural level would contain the spring. She was a symbol of freshness and new beginnings of all beautiful things. The social level of interpretation for Persephone would be being a daughter. She was also a symbol of innocence. She was pure, beautiful, and a virgin. Persephone’s psychological level is the need of being on your own and making your own choices. She had the freedom of choosing whether or not she should eat the pomegranate seed.

Hades is the god of the underworld or wealth. He is a symbol of death and the afterlife. He also is a thief because he liked having things nobody else had and would steal things that he wanted. On a social level of interpretation Hades was very mysterious and unknown, a man of few words. Most of all he was jealous of the other gods because the other gods got to relax and socialize up on Mt. Olympus while Hades was stuck in the underworld by himself. The last level is psychological; Hades was in need for companionship. He was a sad and lonely man who just needed someone to love and care for.

Although Persephone was angry and sad to be separated from her mother she, ended up falling in love with Hades. Hades stole Persephone away only because he was so lonely for so many years. He chose Persephone because she was a symbol of beginnings and she was beautiful; he knew that the other gods would be jealous that he had her. Demeter was heartbroken that she did not get to spend every day with her daughter, but she did slowly accept that Persephone had to be with Hades for half the year. If anyone ever says to you that Hades was a bad or mean man, I challenge you to make them see Hades point of view and how lonely he was. Ask them what they would do if they were stuck by themselves forever and had nobody to even talk to.