What is Myth?

Pandora’s BoxJohn William Waterhouse 1896 . Oil on canvas Private Collection

What is a Myth?• A story about the past• Handed down from generation to generation

(tradition)• About gods and heroes and the supernatural• Religious context• Expression of cultural values (charter myth)• Teaches moral lessons• Explains natural phenomena and events• Essential human experience• Culturally true rather than historically accurate

and factual• Entertainment

Pandora’s BoxLefebvre, Jules Joseph  1882. Oil on canvas Private Collection

Pandora’s Box (1878)Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 - 1882)Coloured chalks, 100.8 x 66.7cm

THE CREATION OF PANDORA Museum Collection: British Museum,London, United Kingdom Catalogue Number: London D4Beazley Archive Number: 211449Ware: Attic Red Figure (White Ground)Shape: KylixPainter: Attributed to the Tarquinia PainterDate: ca 470 BCPeriod: Classical

Note: Image below has been touched up!

Pandora Emerging from the Earth5° century Greek vase

 John William Waterhouse. 1896 . Oil on canvas Private Collection

Some Questions to Ask about Mythology

• What cultural Insights does a myth tell us about the society that tells a particular story?

• What Roles do these myths play in this society?

• What Functions do these myths serve in the modern world?

• Answering these questions is a Sisyphean Task.

Achelous Painterlate 6th century BC