Myth Final Essay Questions

If you are reading this, you should be sitting down to write the exam!

Write an essay on ONE of the following topics …

1. Myth and Personal Journeys Many modern scholars have described hero stories as serving as metaphors for the personal journeys everyone encounters in the course of his or her life – the trials and tribulations, the promise of ultimate triumph, or the real tragedies that some of us must face. Discuss the trials, triumphs and conflicts of a real person (yourself, a public figure, someone you know) in terms of one or more of the hero stories we have seen this semester, drawing parallels between the hero’s experiences and the experiences of your subject, and explaining parallels or divergences, focusing on themes and underlying similarities as well as events. Use your findings to determine whether mythic hero stories are a valuable tool for understanding life, and how they might serve to do so – or where they fall short. (Bear in mind that this is a mythology test so be sure your expertise in myth is apparent in your discussion.)

2. Thor When ancient Northern Europeans tried to fit their gods into the Greco-Roman mythis scene – or vice-versa – they identified with Thor (or the equivalent Northern European predecessor) with Heracles -- or with Zeus, though clearly these two Greco-Roman gods had very different roles in the hierarchy of the gods, and different mythic experiences. Discuss the ways in which Thor compares to these Greek deities, and the ways in which he differs from both. What gives Thor his unique position among the Northern Europeans?

3. Archetypes According to Jung, "In the case of human behavior and attitudes, patterns are expressed in archetypal images or forms." (M&L, p.11) Some of these archetypes are the wise old man/woman, journey into the underworld, battle with giants, etc. Discuss one archetypal image (not nec. one of those listed above) in at least two of the cultures we have studied. You may use one of those listed above, or another one. You may also chose a culture you have done independent research on, or include modern culture, or look at more that 2 cultures. (Note: if your paper topic was on such an image, chose a different one!)

4. Annotation of a Myth The following story is preserved in the Greek source, Plutarch, describing how the Egyptian goddess Isis wandered looking for her lost husband Osiris. Osiris eventually became king of the underworld. Footnote this passage with 10-15 notes, pointing out similarities to (and differences from) other myths we have read this semester that have similar themes and motifs. Your footnotes should be coherent sentences or paragraphs that impress me with your knowledge of mythology and your insights into themes, ideas, and story patterns.

The story:

One day Osiris held a big banquet for his court and as he was kind and just Seth was also invited. This was the moment he had long waited for. Together with his accomplices he could set his plan in motion. He began to describe a wonderful coffin that he had been given, and soon enough he was asked to have it brought in for people to see. It was indeed beautiful, made of the finest wood and gilded and painted. He promised to give it as a gift to whomever fitted exactly into it. And as he already had acquired Osiris´measures, the king was the only one that fitted into the coffin, and when he was persuaded into taking place in it, Seth´s accomplices quickly nailed the lid to it and while the rest of the court was held back, it was taken away and thrown into the Nile where the current carried it away.

Isis was overcome with grief and cut off a length of her hair, dressed herself in mourning clothes and went on her way to look for the coffin with her husband´s body. She wandered everywhere and searched all over Kemet and beyond without finding a trace, until she heard some children saying that they had seen the golden coffin being thrown into the waters. She wandered for a long time, weeping and searching for the casket, and often she heard rumours that a golden casket had been seen floating by some village. So she kept following after until she left Egypt and came into the land of Byblos. Here the rumours spoke about a wonderful tree that suddenly had started to grow on the shore. Isis understood then that the coffin had floaten ashore and gotten stuck in a bush. Nurtured by the divine presence of Osiris´ body, the bush had sprouted and grown into a large tree which the king of Byblos had let cut down and used in the buildings of a palace.

When Isis reached the place, she was shown to the palace by the villagers. She waited outside the palace until she met the Queen´s maidens. She told them she was an Egyptian headdresser and pleated their hair and breathed on them so that a divine scent surrounded them. And they brought her before the queen who took a liking to her and asked her to take care of her young son, the prince. Soon enough she found the treetrunk that enclosed her husband´s coffin. Isis stayed there, and every night while the little prince slept, she went into the room where the pillar enclosing the coffin with her husband´s body was and she wept and mourned for him. And every day she looked after the little prince, and shortly she became so fond of him, that she decided to make him immortal.

In the night she brought him to the pillar where the casket was hidden. There she lit a fire and speaking the magic words she laid down the sleeping boy in the flames. The fire started to burn away all that was human in him, but she did not watch over him, she turned herself into a swallow and began to fly around the pillar, wailing and mourning over her dead husband. The queen, who slept nearby, was woken up by the sound of the flames, and hastened to the room. When she saw her child surrounded with flames, she raised a cry of horror and the swallow turned into woman again and the magical fire died. Isis then revealed herself to the queen and told her that now it was impossible for the prince to become immortal. The queen then regretted her ignorance and asked how she could repay Isis. And Isis asked for the pillar with the coffin. She instantly hewed it into pieces so that the coffin could be taken out, then she drenched the bits of wood in oil, wrapped them in fine linen and asked the queen to keep them in the temple of Byblos.

Then she left Byblos by boat and headed for Egypt. After a long journey, when she finally could bring the casket ashore by the Nile again, she opened it and embraced Osiris and wept for him. He looked as if he was only sleeping. Then the coffin was closed again and she continued on her way home through the marshlands to bury him.

But that one night Seth and his men were out hunting nearby. When he happened upon the casket, he recognized it, realized his treachery had been found out and feared that Isis would punish him. While she slept he broke into it and tore Osiris´ body into several pieces which he spread out all over the land. Only then did he feel safe that Isis would not be able to find them.

When Isis saw the empty casket, her cry of anguish shook heaven and earth. She called out to her sister Nephtys who came to console her and once more she went on her way, now with Nephtys by her side. For many long, sorrowful years they searched the lands together. Wherever they found a piece of Osiris´ body, they erected an altar, giving thanks to the gods. When at last all the parts had been assembled, Isis made Osiris into the first mummy. She then proceeded to use her powerful magic and breathed new life into Osiris and so she was able to conceive the child Horus. After this Osiris became in time the King of the Land of the Dead, while Horus fought against his uncle Set and won his father´s throne and became the Living King of Egypt.