The following outline details the key learning objectives for each section of this chapter.
The Great Goddess
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to
- explain how the term "Great Goddess" reflects the evolution of the female divinity's role in Greek mythology.
- discuss the prevalence of Great Goddess myths in ancient cultures.
- discuss how the triple nature of the Great Goddess relates to the patterns heaven-earth-underworld and maiden-mother-old woman.
- recognize and explain the significance of the many symbols of the Great Goddess.
- discuss the decline of the matriarch and the rise of the patriarch in Greek mythology.
- explain how the masculine model of experience necessitated the hero.
- explain why the emergence of dualism accompanied the rise of patriarchal myth.
Gaea
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to
- discuss Gaea's role as the original parthenogenetic goddess.
- discuss the process of separation and differentiation in the Gaea myth.
- recognize the tension between the masculine and the feminine inherent in Gaea's conception of the universe.
- use Freud's theory of Eros/Thanatos to analyze Gaea's myth.
- explain how Gaea manipulates her husband in order to retain "her functions as the source of life and death."
- explain how each of the Great Goddess' significant functions is ultimately (and negatively) reinterpreted by a patriarchal regime.
Hecate
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to discuss the subordination of the feminine in Hecate's evolution (or devolution) as a mythical figure.
Demeter
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to
- explain how Demeter negotiates her way through the same crisis her mother (Rhea) and her grandmother (Gaea) once faced, only in a distinctly different (i.e. patriarchal) world.
- describe how Demeter's most important rituals (the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Thesmophoria) reflect her two major functions.
- identify the events which comprise the Eleusinian Mysteries, and describe the spiritual/cathartic function of this ritual for the individual participant.
- identify the similarities and differences between Demeter and Dionysus as evidenced in their respective festivals.
- explain how the Demeter myth reconciles the powers of the Great Goddess with patriarchy.
- explain how the Demeter myth reconciles the forces of life and death.
- locate manifestations of the goddess' triple function throughout the Demeter myth.
- locate specific tensions between masculine and feminine values in the Demeter myth.
- discuss the beginning of civilization as presented in the myths of Demeter and Prometheus, and identify the feminine/masculine values in each.
- recognize the physical and psychological stages of a woman's life in the myth of Demeter.
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter This section should provide you with some background concerning the function, history, and major themes of this work. |
