Mythology
Assignments
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Final Exam Information & Review
Exam will be Tuesday,
April 30, 11:30-2:30!
Glossary link for key terms. (These terms are from several classes so
don't be alarmed!) Also linked from individual terms on the Final Exam
info/review page.
Assignment for Thursday, April
25:
Norse Mythology 3
Reading:
Due:
Power Point:
Norse Myth Terms and Names Defined
Connections with the
Present:
"It's the end of the world
as we know it ... (and I feel fine) ..."
How does or will the world
end? In modern American culture, the best-known sacred story is the
Apocalypse of the New Testament. Some people may be familiar with views
that see circular rebirths and destructions of the world. Movies and books
give a number of different scenarios.
Working from some of these
sources, consider:
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What brings about the
end of the world?
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Are there elements or
events we can see that will signal the end of the world?
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Is the world brought on
by sentient beings or by some other kind of disaster?
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Is anyone to blame, and
if so, who?
-
Is it inescapable
destiny?
-
Are there survivors, and
if so, what are the circumstances of their lives?
-
Will the world be
reborn? Better or worse than before?
You might consult the
Wikipedia site
on apocalyptic films for a refresher on films you may have heard of or seen.
Even more useful for a
pop-culture overview is the
Wikipedia site on apocalyptic fiction, which lists the causes of the end of
the world in each book/series.
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Assignments from Previous Classes
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Norse Myth Terms and Names
(These are brief
definitions; fill them out with incidents from the reading ...)
Edda: one of two Old Norse texts. One
consists of poetry (the Poetic Edda) dealing with mythological matters.
The other, the Prose Edda, is the work of the scholar Snorri Sturlesson, dating
from about 1200 CE. Though written in the Christian era, it describes, in
a more or less connected form, the key myths of the pre-Christian Icelandic
culture.
Snorri Sturlesson: An Icelandic
historian
and scholar of the early 13th century CE, who collected pre-Christian tales if
the Norse gods in his Prose Edda.
Gylfi (a.k.a. Gangleri):
The king whose questions to the three figures High, Just as High, and Third
inspire the telling of Norse myths in the Prose Edda.
Ymir: Giant from whose
body the earth was formed
Ginungagap: Meeting place
of fire and ice where the world began
Muspell: Land of fire, whose flames
were a
Aesir: Race of gods about whom most
of the Norse myths tell, among them Thor, Odin, Balder, etc.
Vanir: A race of gods associated
with the land and its fertility; not as common in Norse myths with the exception
of Freyr and Freyia.
Asgard: Home of the gods
Bifrost: The rainbow bridge that
leavs to Asgard.
Utgard: Home of the giants
Midgard: where humans live.
Elfheim (Alfheim): where elves live.
Valhalla: Where warriors who die
bravely in battle spend eternity fighting and feasting, preparing for Ragnarok.
Gimli: Another
realm of the dead, populated by bards and keepers of knowledge.
Ginungagap: the cold yet fiery place
where the world comes into being.
Yggdrasill: the world tree, with
roots in Asgard, Utgard and Hel, which represents all life in a state of
entropy.
Norns: The fates, three women who
guard and tend Yggdrasil.
Giants (or frost giants): the
constant opponents of the gods.
Odin: Chief of the Norse gods, known
as a wanderer, distinguished by having only one eye, having lost the other to
gain the wisdom of the well of mimir; aften a trickster and shape changer; the
god of kings in warfare.
Thor: Thunder god, popular in the
Norse world; straightforward and trustworthy; often portrayed as strong but
slow, although he is capable of craftiness. his hammer was a sign of protection
into the Christian era.
Frigg: Wife of Odin; her name means
"Fate."
Baldr: a beloved god who was killed
by mistletoe through the connivance of Loki; he will return to rule a world of
peace and plenty when this one is destroyed.
Freyr: A god of agricultural
fertility.
Freyia: Goddess of agricultural
fertility, sexuality, and mysterious knowledge; owner of one-third of the dead.
Tyr: a one-handed warrior god, best
known for binging Fenrir.
Loki: the Half-God, half-giant
trickster whose antics threaten the gods' very existence at some times, and at
others preserve them from their enemies the Giants.
Fenrir (also Fenris): Son of Loki, a
giant, tricky, evil wolf, now safely bound in Hel but sure to break free from
Ragnarok.
Hel: another child of Loki, the
guardian of the afterlife realm of the same name.
Iormungand: the serpent at the base
of the world, Thor's particular enemy.
Ragnarok: The battle of gods and
giants that will end the world as we know it.