Deck 2: Ways of Interpreting Myth Part Two Epic Myths

Question 1

Freudian theory claims that "dream-work" condenses and rearranges ordinary events of daily life into images that express and conceal subconscious desire.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Etiological myths can explain only simple phenomena.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Euripides interprets the myth of the birth of Dionysus as an allegory.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The charter theory claims that myths validate existing customs, beliefs, and practices.

Question 5

The "shadow" is the complex of repressed or undervalued aspects of personality, which often cause problems for humans but not for gods like Zeus or heroes like Heracles.

Question 6

Anaxagoras interpreted Greek myths as allegories of morals and virtue.

Question 7

The theory of ritual is an externalist theory of myth.

Question 8

Structuralism claims that myths reflect the tripartite structure of the psyche, dividing every story into three components: the Underworld, the earth, and the realm of the gods.

Question 9

In one allegorical interpretation, the Greek gods become symbols of natural phenomena and human dispositions.

Question 10

One of the two general meanings of the term mythology is the methodological study of myths, particularly in terms of their form, purpose, and function.

Question 11

Myth and ritual originate because the people of a community or society feel particularly comfortable and confident about their ability to survive.

Question 12

Xenophanes of Colophon objected to the lack of virtue among the gods.

Question 13

The story of King Oedipus is used to illustrate the Freudian theory of male infantile sexuality.

Question 14

The Greek philosophical movement changed the way Greek writers viewed their mythology virtually overnight, plunging Greece into an age of general skepticism.

Question 15

According to Joseph Campbell, the hero's rites of passage represent stages in the hero's psychological development and maturation.

Question 16

Euhemerism is the term for the theory, expressed by Euhemerus of Messene, that the Greek gods were originally mortal kings who had been deified posthumously.

Question 17

Both Jocasta and the Sphinx mythologically symbolize "mother" to Oedipus.

Question 18

Feminist scholars have all agreed that the charter theory best explains myth.

Question 19

Carl Jung postulates that within the mind of every man exists a male image, the animus, and within the mind of every female exists a female soul, the anima.

Question 20

The nature-myth theory sees the gods as personifications of human institutions.

Question 21

The myth of Daedalus and Icarus represents the archetypal situation in which

A) the abusive father pushes the son to go beyond his limits.
B) the wise son tries to convince his father to exercise restraint.
C) the son castrates the father, symbolically usurping his power.
D) the human desire to push the limits of freedom leads to disaster.

Question 22

Operating as a charter myth, the story of Athena's birth

A) validates patriarchy and the institution of marriage in which the husband has total control of his wife.
B) explains why the Greeks venerated a fly goddess.
C) explains why there is a snake behind Athena's shield.
D) explains how Metis, Athena's mother (once removed), became the goddess of childbirth.

Question 23

The feminist interpretation of the goddess myths

A) is unanimous about the worship of the Great Goddess.
B) is diffuse and varied.
C) rejects psychological interpretations.
D) rejects ritual interpretations.

Question 24

A theory of myth claims that myths are narratives that supply the rationale for some ritual or custom in order to help maintain social stability. Identify the name of the theory and its chief proponent.

A) the ritual theory; Sir James Frazer
B) the charter theory; Bronislaw Malinowski
C) the nature-myth theory;
D) the structuralist theory; Claude Lévi-Strauss

Question 25

One of the two general meanings of the word mythology is a set or a system of myths. Which is the other?

A) a psychological, pathological tendency to make up lies
B) the scientific study of artifacts belonging to the culture of the myth
C) the methodological study of myths, particularly in terms of their form, purpose, and function F. Max Müller
D) the psychological study of a person's self-image through the stories (myths) one tells about oneself

Question 26

Why did Zeus accept as the gods' share of the sacrifice an inedible pile of bones covered with fat, according to Hesiod?

A) He wanted humans to have the more nutritious part of the animal.
B) He drew lots with the Titan Prometheus, and Prometheus won.
C) He was tricked by Prometheus to choose the better-looking pile.
D) The gods crave bones, contrary to humans.

Question 27

Feminist scholars unanimously support the theory of the widely-worshipped "Mother Goddess."

Question 28

The work of Marija Gimbutas revealed the extent of goddess-worship on Crete, but the symbols of such worship have thus far been found only on that island.

Question 29

Who was Pandora?

A) The mother of Zeus
B) The first woman
C) King Oedipus's mother and wife
D) The goddess of small containers and enclosures

Question 30

What is the approach of structuralism to myths?

A) Myths are believed to reflect the tripartite structure of the psyche, thus dividing every story into three components: the Underworld, the earth, and the realm of the gods.
B) Myth is believed to be primitive science, attempting to explain natural phenomena.
C) Myths, like dreams, contain universal archetypes springing from the collective unconscious.
D) Myth is viewed as a reflection of the mind's binary organization: humans project a binary significance onto experience, dividing everything into polar opposites.

Question 31

Froma Zeitlin undersstands the goddess myths as attempts to construct a female "other."

Question 32

Identify the criticism of the theory of ritual.

A) It does not explain why rituals develop in the first place.
B) It fails to explain why human welfare is favored over divine prerogative.
C) It does not explain the similarity between myths and dreams.
D) Not all myths present a quantitative division of opposites.