Ancient Ways of Viewing Myth

• explain how the rise of philosophy created new and often critical ways of understanding Greek myth.
• discuss Xenophanes' ethical objections to the Homeric gods.
• discuss the Homeric epics as allegories.
• explain Anaxagoras's theory that myths were meant to teach virtue.
• discuss Euhemerus's assertion that the Homeric gods were originally mortal.

Some Modern Interpretations of Myth

• identify the end of myth's religious status in Greco-Roman society.
• briefly describe the role of mythology in the middle ages, renaissance, and enlightenment.
• provide both definitions of the term "mythology."
• recognize the two broad categories of scholarly theory concerning myth.
• define and discuss the nature myth theory.
• describe the mythological deities in terms of the natural forces they personify.
• discuss Muller's nature theory.
• provide a detailed account of the relationship between myth and ritual.
• discuss the origins and implications of the charter theory.
• recognize the etiological function of myth.
• discuss Freud's application of psychoanalytical theories (transference/the oedipal drive/etc.) to myth.
• explain how Jung's extensive study of myth led to his theory of the archetype, and his identification of the collective unconscious as the birthplace of archetypal figures.
• recognize the influence of Freud and Jung on modern scholars of myth.
• define the terms structuralism and narratology, and describe how they have been/might be applied to the study of myth.
• discuss the work of contemporary feminist scholars in the field of mythology.
• explain how the lens theory works in relation to mythology.