History and Mythology
Mary Anne Polster
In T. J. Luce’s The Greek Historians he writes in the first chapter, "It seems paradoxical to assert both that the reaction against Homer was a major stimulus to the birth of history and that the classical historians took directly from Homer their basic subject matter and the form in which they presented it." In one short sentence we have the case of wrestling between the literary genre of the eighth century that captivated the hearts and minds of the Greek people for centuries, and the invention of history in the fifth century B.C. This unit approaches the misgivings one had for the other and presents to the student ample opportunity for critical thinking and discussion. This does not end with a mere viewing of the early facts, but intrudes into present day research on Troy and necessarily the Iliad along with the struggles of Achilles. It even projects into present day psychoanalysis through the works of Campbell, who takes as his "guiding idea" to find "the commonalities of themes in world myths, pointing to a constant requirement in the human psyche for a centering in terms of deep principles – for the experience of being alive." For students to digest a few of these ideas will inevitably help them in the search for a deeper awareness of "self" and their place in and relationship to their environment and perhaps a brief glimpse of their own inward mystery. Through journals, discussion, position papers, and research reaction papers, students will share their insights and find in themselves the faces of reality and myth.
Academic Setting
The student population of Highland High School usually numbers just over two thousand. It is a major high school with students in grades nine through twelve, with traditional basic curriculum and additional subjects added depending on student demand and teacher proficiency. The arrangement of classes is in the four by four block, which means only four classes of approximately ninety minutes each are held every term of eighteen weeks. Two semesters, each nine weeks long, comprise the term. One of the chief reasons for the block schedule is to accommodate the sixty percent mobility rate that Highland experiences. Students can enter the school at four times during the year instead of just two, hence the "movers" have more opportunity to gain credits as do the "stable" students who can gain two extra credits per year.
Highland also boasts great ethnic diversity. It has 36 percent Hispanic, 34 percent Anglo, 8 percent Native American, 5 percent African-American, 4 percent Asian-American, and a mixture of ethnic groups comprising the remainder. There is constant evidence of language diversity in the halls of Highland and Hispanic, Anglo, Native American, Asian and other students of varied ethnic and racial origins are found in all classes.
The area that Highland serves encompasses the gamut of economic incomes including refugees and extending to the extremely wealthy. Due to the longevity of the school (it has just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary), there are many siblings and even children of earlier graduates. Another strong element of our student body is the sons and daughters of Air Force personnel, who contribute to the mobility of the Highland experience. Our graduation rate also reflects this, as less than half of the incoming freshmen will graduate with their class four years later. There are some who will drop out due to work, transfer to other schools, or choose to obtain their GEDs (graduation equivalency diplomas).
Something else that continues to be amazing at Highland is its sustaining power in scholarly and athletic competitions. The many proud school traditions are also impressive. One notes a great variety of academic levels, with the majority of the incoming freshmen reading below grade level. Twenty to twenty-five percent of the student body is in Special Education, but fully one-fourth of them are classified as gifted. This contributes to the oft found phenomenon of a backwards bell curve when it comes to grading and assessments. There are simply more A’s and F’s than B’s, C’s, and D’s. An average class will contain students with many academic levels, many different cultures and ethnicities, as well as a great economic spread.
This unit attempts to address gifted students who undoubtedly have a background in mythology from studies they have completed. It will present an historic connection and attempt to answer the question, "Why Myths?" by using creative problem solving, critical thinking and higher level thought analysis to generate a deeper understanding and application of this project. This will be accomplished in a seminar format with approximately twelve students, so there will be time for probing, questioning and analysis.
Background
Not only are these students special because of their area(s) of giftedness, but the curriculum must be flexible enough (differentiated) to meet their personal needs which are outlined in their Individual Educational Plans (IEP’s). This is the product of a yearly meeting to determine the educational future of the student for the next year, and to provide modifications that will help them be successful. Parents, teachers and the student are generally in attendance and help plan their classes.
The ideas of classical mythology will be taught using questioning techniques to challenge and deepen their thinking skills and personal projects to present the opportunity for in-depth research to each student.
Throughout my plans and assignments there is ample opportunity of choice in materials to be used by student and teacher. These plans can also be easily adjusted for use in regular middle school and high school language arts classes, history classes and Gifted Seminars. The bibliography provides ample research materials for these grade levels and the multiple reading levels therein contained.
Goals
The general goals of this unit are as follows:
1) to acquaint students with the influence of the classical Greek myths on world history,
2) to analyze the historical implications of the Iliad and discover modern day attempts at documentation concerning archaeological discoveries at Troy and its modern day interpretations,
3) to discover how this ancient civilization has touched our lives and how it is instrumental in developing the personal concept of reality and myth in answering "Why myths?"Many of the assignments will lead students to an understanding of the families of the gods and their relationships as well as show their well-known characteristics and associations. Edith Hamilton describes to us part of the rationale by saying, "the real interest of the myths is that they lead us back to a time when the world was young and people had a connection with the earth, with trees and seas and flowers and hills, unlike anything we ourselves can feel." (Hamilton 13). This leads us to one of the important questions: "Why has history become so inexorably tied to the Homeric epics, especially the Iliad?"
In tracing the exigencies of history,
…we do not know when these stories were first told in their present shape; but whenever it was, primitive life had been left far behind. The tales of Greek Mythology throw an abundance of light upon what early Greeks were like…and is (are) the new birth of the world with the awakening of Greece (Hamilton 14, 16).
This startling occurrence served as a dawn to the rest of the world, and mankind took center stage through the Greek gods who were conceived in a human image. The natural beauty of Greek statues brought the visibility of their own personal beauty to the Greeks. They affiliated their lives with these exquisite gods who lived in a humanized world and who, for all their fantastic adventures, were essentially rational and matter-of-fact. The nearby residences (for example, Mount Olympus, the ocean, and so forth) serve the Greeks as constant reminders of the reality of all mythical beings. The historical concurrence of the emergence of the gods was extraordinary because until this time other traditions of religious gods had no semblance of reality, but were aloof and inhuman. This turn of events made the gods familiar and even companionable somewhat of an explanation of "order in nature" or a first try to explain what the Greeks saw around them. So we have early science and early literature and even the probing of early religion with the deepening realization of what human beings needed in their gods (provision for the needs of the helpless, someone to turn to on a daily basis who would understand their problems, etc…) The gods provided the use of a common language, religious traditions, literature, government, and in short a general Greek focus.
This unit examines the present day findings of Troy "which sheltered a few hundred people with perhaps 1,000 or so living around it…and is only the equivalent of a walled palace." (Wood, 12, 13). Thus are we to learn and make generalizations from this "small city in the Mediterranean, one of thousands of centers of human society which lived and died between the Stone Age and modern times: one city, but one which has come to stand for all cities." (Wood 15).
Context
To determine the earliest movements in the hilly, mountainous peninsula we have two sources, archaeology and oral tradition, but both have their limitations (Bury 4). As stories grow and generations are telescoped, legend in turn becomes unreliable. The excavations also bring to light facts, but the truth about the situation lies in the interpretation by the archaeologist. Today we know that early Neolithic settlements existed in the seventh century B.C. at Nea Nikomedia in Macedonia and the Franchthi Cave in the Argolid. There were domestic animals, and pottery gradually evolved along with the quest for flint and obsidian which were rare in Greece. Thus we understand the need for trade. This Neolithic Age gave rise to the Bronze Age and the use of metal and bronze. The Bronze Age lasted from 2800 B.C. to 1050 B.C. and is divided into three eras: 2800-2000, 2000-1550 and 1550-1050 (the Early, Middle and Late Minoan /Helladic eras, respectively representing the Bronze Age pottery styles). Little writing except the records of palace bureaucracies exists among these people. Pottery was used for cooking, eating, drinking and storing and is therefore the subject of intense study and classification. Generally speaking, the population increases, as does trade, specialization and large buildings with the greatest changes taking place by the end of the Early Minoan/Helladic phase.
Then came signs of destruction and the evidence of new people called Minyan, after King Minyas. Buildings that had been burned were built over, sometimes several times. After this, we see a heavy influence on Greece by Crete. Crete had many resources but the most obvious was timber, hence one of the most noticeable developments is building of palaces. They show the influence of the East, and the marriage of politics and religion spurred the development of writing (Linear A) shown in the palace records. Today, some scholars think these palaces were destroyed by earthquakes, with larger and grander edifices being built afterward to take their place. There was the ensuing prosperity that played an important part in the Greek civilization. The Minoan were particularly known for their pottery which shows delight in the world of nature. They also developed bronze from copper and tin. This culture eventually falls in 1400 B.C. and the three thousand clay tablets discovered there (written in Linear B) tell us about economic and social conditions. Between human destruction, volcanic eruptions and tidal waves the palaces were destroyed, but not without giving the Greeks a model of a palace-driven economy.
Crete and Athens are linked in the famous story of Theseus and the Minotaur:
Athens was at the time subject to Crete and was required to pay an annual tribute of seven boys and seven girls to be sacrificed to the man-bull in the labyrinth attached to the palace at Cnossus. The Athenian hero, Theseus with the cooperation of the king’s daughter Ariadne, slew the minotaur and by using a thread to mark his way through the labyrinth escaped with Ariadne whom he somewhat ungallantly deserted when they reached the island of Naxos. This account of the liberation of Athens from the Cretan yoke is a good story, but very doubtful history (Bury 14).
The Mycenaean Civilization lasts from 1600 B.C. to 1100 B.C., and we know today that the Minoan had a great influence upon this civilization from evidence found in the distinctive shaft graves. Sunk in the ground and then covered in a mound of dirt they were found to contain precious metals, weapons and pottery. Reconstructing history from grave sites is not an exact science, and more agreement among philologists is necessary before there can be historical confidence in these conclusions. The Mycenaeans distinguished themselves from the Minoans through the display of wealth and emphasis on fighting as evidenced in the grave sites. The pottery designs of this civilization from 1600 B.C. to 1400 B.C. show continued Minoan influence. The rounded "tholos" tomb, that was distinguished by a long passage leading into the central burial ground, shows that the Mycenaeans were developing independently. Prosperity and increasing range of culture spread throughout central Greece, and the walled fortification adjoining palaces was similar to the Minoan. The common folk lived outside these structures, however. There is historical confusion about the destruction of the palaces of the Minoans and very little oral tradition to help explain the archaeological finds. When the Greeks came is still not certain, but the experience and influence of the palace of Cnossus was a factor in encouraging the Greeks to build large palaces and use the palace-based economy system.
The tablets that were recovered and deciphered help with the understanding of the social structure, and the number of palaces and tholos tombs points to widespread prosperity in the late Helladic period C. 1400 to C. 1250 (since called the Mycenaean Age). This was the time of the famous building of the Lion Gate at Mycenae with the characteristic triangle over the door and the animals in relief on either side. Other settlements gained prestige, such as Tiryns, Messenia, Pylos, Laconia, Elis, Achaea, Athens and Thebes. It is clear that Mycenae and Thebes are dominant in power and wealth at this time, even over Athens.
The story of Oedipus and the war between Argos and Thebes gives evidence of the desireability of Thebes. To tell the story in short, Argives had attacked Thebes and been defeated, but in the next generation seven Argive heroes who were descended from the unsuccessful warriors managed to capture Thebes. Archaeological verification is difficult because the Cadmeia (the Theban acropolis) is under the center of the present day town and modern buildings (Bury 34).
The Mycenaeans expand their fleets and use trade to gain great wealth. After the volcanic eruption on Thera in 1450 B.C., the tidal wave destroyed much of the shipping of the Minoans and the Mycenaeans then became the unquestioned leaders in the Aegean area. Yet, there was no merchant class and the king controlled trade with the majority of the landowners paying him out of their annual yields. The wealth of the Kings was in gold and worked by the Minoan artisans so the royalty could take it with them after death.
With the downfall of Egypt, however, the Mycenaean traders were forced to acquire wealth by other means; around 1200 B.C. they attacked Troy, a city located at the Hellespont, the narrow watery gateway between Europe and Asia. This occasion was written down in the Iliad around 850 B.C. in the celebrated Homerian Epic; the war dragged on nine years (Flaherty 77).
Prior to the collapse of the Hittite empire in about 1200 B.C., there is evidence in the imperial archives of a respectful communication between the Hittite king and the king of Ahhiyava, considered by many scholars to be the evidence for Achaeans and pointing to Agamemnon from Mycenae, but many parts of the puzzle in early documents have yet to be pieced together. It is noted however that vigorous trade in wine and oil developed and the pottery styles changed from the Mycenaean type to the linear designs that preceded the strong Minoan influence.
Since it is not easy to tell what people thought, felt and believed from their material objects, our knowledge of the religious practice at this time can only be gained by observation that the goddesses, especially those of fertility and nature, seem to dominate in Mycenaean culture as in the Minoan times, but it is assumed that the Mycenaean had no cult statues and no temples. Of course, our knowledge is limited. From tablets found at Cnossus and Pylos, cults in the Mycenaean and Minoan are very similar and both record Zeus and Hera. Poseidon, Artemis, Hermes and Dionysus are referred to at Pylos and Enesidaone. Cnossus probably identified with Ares, Paiawon and Apollo. However, at this early date there is no way to identify their attributes, except that they strongly show male influence.
The presence of many weapons in tombs confirms the Mycenaean Age as having a tradition of fighting. Troy, as documented by Homer, indicates an overseas conflict, but leaves us today with many questions. Troy has been an important fortress since the early Bronze Age and had a reputation for being technologically advanced. The site has naturally a commanding view of the broad plain. The inhabitants by 1400 B.C. were highly developed and could be compared to Mycenae, even as far as importing and copying Mycenaean pottery. It was destroyed near 1300 B.C., but the arrangement of the stones in the walls of the city point to an earthquake rather than a siege. It is rebuilt, but this time the houses are placed closer together, probably to bring more people into the protection of the walls. Additionally they have larger storage vessels within the grounds of the homes and there is evidence of an entry through the wall of the city to an outside cistern. It is notable that Tiryn and Athens also made such accommodations for water. Near the end of the century there is evidence of great destruction in the presence of many pottery sherds in that area of the dig.
Near the time of the Trojan War there were disturbances such as wars, piracy and revolutions throughout the Mediterranean. The Hittites are destroyed and Egyptian power is on the wane. The Mycenaean towns were sacked. Trade routes and commerce lacked security and wealth was threatened. The tribes to the north were on the move to the south. With pottery as the only guide we have for reconciling dates, there is skepticism as to the reality of the Greek expedition against Troy. Even though there was a violent destruction at Troy, Homer’s descriptions seem to be far grander than reality. The Iliad however does signal the last great success of the Mycenaeans. We do know that with the breakup of the Hittite and Egyptian empires, Troy never recovered power and the center of power moved from Mycenae to Sparta and Athens. As far as the Dorians, historians wonder if they attacked and then retreated as if they were raiders, or was this migration related to floods or drought? As progress is made in research these questions will become more clear.
How do the Dorian invasions fit in? Here the literary tradition starts with the sacking of Troy. Ten years before, the Dorians had tried to
settle in the Peloponnese, but their champion was slain and the oracle said they had to wait one hundred years before returning. This occurred two generations after the fall of Troy. From the distribution of the dialects we ascertain two groups were involved: the Northwestern and the Dorian. The Arcadian, Aeolic and Ionian groups belonged to the Greeks of the pre-Dorian period. Ultimately the Northwestern group stayed in that area and did not impact classical Greece. The Arcadians also stayed in their mountainous area relatively unscathed. The three dominant Dorian tribes, Hylleis, Dymanes and Pamphyloi, occupied the main seats of power in the Peloponnese and many southern islands. They became the dominant force in history except in Arcadia. The pre-Dorian Greeks largely moved to settlements in the eastern Aegean with the Aeolic being the farthest north (near the Hellespont), the Ionians in the middle, and the Dorians again in the south. This facilitated the planting of Greek customs and language in Asia. Further, with the Hittite power broken, there was no one to hold back the Greek influx and the Doric, who after the conquest of the Peloponnese, expanded further into Asia.
Around 1140 B.C. Macedonian barbarians pushed into the southern Dorian areas, which forced the Dorians themselves further south to besiege the Mycenaean citadels. They rejected Mycenaean society and their seafaring ways, preferring to roam from place to place favoring inland locations. The Dorians organized into tribes that were bound by kinship loyalties. Revenge and retribution were the order of the day, and most new settlements were on hilltops. When the wandering stopped, the kingship became a hereditary monarchy. By 1000 B.C. the Dorians had occupied most of the peninsula with many refugees finding their way to Athens or across the Aegean to settle new coastal areas. These Ionian developed a sophisticated culture with Athens as their base, and developed into the Hellenic civilization of classical Greece. The bards sang of the memory of a glorious past and multiple stories are handed down through the generations to ultimately reach the eighth-century Ionian poet, Homer, who composed sagas as reminders of the past. He vividly depicted and described what happened four hundred to five hundred years earlier: "The epics are not only witnesses to the glories of the past; they reflect also the reawakening of the present." (Bury 51). This helped to define and stabilize the spirit of the Greeks.
What they tell us about the Mycenaean world is questionable in many ways. For instance, no mention of the great tholos tombs is made in the Iliad and this was one of the Mycenaean’s most striking achievements. Normally bodies were buried, and cremation, such was used in the Iliad, was not performed. The Iliad also implies the heroes were illiterate, but we know that palace business records were written. The use of iron would have been ornamental in Mycenaean days, but Homer refers to axes, pruning hooks and knives. He also implies the building of temples and large cult statues, but there is no evidence of these at that time. Also we speculate that Homer used his imagination to describe Achilles’ shield because no other such elaborate compositions have been found from the Mycenaean period.
This epic and the other writings of the time were truly noteworthy in many ways. They spoke to the people. They became basic to the Greek concept of life and led Greeks to be proud of their past. They were used educationally and upheld the standards of aristocratic ideals as well. The religious beliefs espoused therein grew to be a unifying force within the far-flung Greek settlements and "played a significant role in the ultimate emergence of Ionian as the universal tongue of the Greek world." (Flaherty 80). Ultimately, their destiny was far greater than an Ionian poem. They became a national treasure.
Along with the literary and religious revival that was taking place, the economic and governing power experienced a revival through the development of villages and "poleis" or cities. Citizenship was a matter of birth as was ownership of land. Others could live in the cities but they had to pay taxes, find a sponsor, trade in the city marketplace and register as a "metic" within a month of their arrival. They had no political rights, so eventually an outcry for the redistribution of lands throughout Greece took place.
Reforms came in Sparta through the use of the military phalanx strategy that employed many men in forming a human fighting block. It was an extremely useful technique and so the society put a premium on all men. They were all considered equal in the army and were rewarded with land thus enabling everyone to have a source of income and respectability. Eventually the king’s power was checked through the cooperation of the council, the assembly, and the "hoplites." Military training became the foundation of Spartan society, however, soldiers themselves were forbidden to engage in economic activity and were dependent on the Helots and noncitizens for their supplies.
Athens, too, was reeling under a growing population and food shortages. Large landowners swallowed small neighbors, and the city came to the brink of civil war. In 594 B.C. Solon was appointed lawgiver and brought in sweeping reforms. Thucydides explains, "Tyrannies were established in the city-states as revenues were increasing when Greece was becoming more powerful and progressing in the acquisition of capital wealth." (Flaherty 87).
The strongest bond in Greece was language, and the next most unifying agent was the legacy of Homer. Homer’s works served as both literary epic and religious bible, providing the generations with images of manly prowess and a framework of religious belief. A good Athenian son would have studied and learned all of Homer’s poems. In keeping with the Greek sense of self-esteem they worshipped standing upright, with each family having a special set of family gods and heroes. In addition, each city had a temple and celebrated with yearly festivals and games to give honor to the gods who had helped them and who were chosen to be their special protectors.
Ultimately the Greek expansion into surrounding areas resulted in a vast exchange of ideas which the Greeks applied to their politics, art, religion, literature and livelihoods. The polis became firmly established, and the notions of good citizenship blossomed in the first western civilization that ultimately became the model for Classical Rome and is referred to as the model of the modern nation-state. Athens thrived as a cultural crossroads for artists and thinkers from all over the Greek world, and helped achieve that amalgamation of culture and ideas that would be the identifying force of all great cities in the future.
What has been billed as one of the greatest detective stories goes hand in hand with what has also been billed the greatest war story ever written. I am of course referring to the search for the present location of the Trojan War and the Iliad. The narrative forcefulness of the blind bard, Homer, is based on the precision and purity of vision in a world inhabited by gods and humans: "If you read the gods as personifications of the psychological forces at work within the minds of men, you will understand that the epic’s worldview is not so different from our own." (Atchity 3).
"Truva," or Troy as it is called today, is rather tiny being about 200 by 150 yards; however, there is evidence of earlier cities and a variety of expansions and near-by activity and living quarters. Much of the area, however, was upset by the archaeologists Schliemann, Dorpfeld and Blegen, as well as by the newly built civic center. The results of the archaeological work can be seen in yellow painted signs, indicating Troy I- Troy IX (the nine main phases of the city from 3000 B.C. to 300 A.D.) "This site is very significant even if it had not been the wellspring of Troy because it tells us about the continuity and development of human civilization in the Aegean and Asia Minor" (Wood 12).
Troy was home to only a few hundred people, perhaps 1,000 if you include the surrounding area, and was only the equivalent of a walled palace and never much of a great success. Today there is 50 feet of debris accumulated on the side of the hill. Many phases of human habitation have been built upon each other. "The decisive discovery was Dorpfeld’s unearthing of the Mycenaean-period citadel on Hisarlik, since this suggested for the first time that the central tale of the Iliad was indeed based on a real Bronze-Age place and real events." (Wood 127).
Modern research out of Dartmouth believes the date of this settlement, set at 1275-1240 B.C. by Blegen, quite possibly to be actually as early as 1300/1280 B.C. At this point, because of a great deal of research having been done on the shards of pottery, much more accuracy can be attained. There is still much debate over Troy VIIa and Troy VI citing improvements made in VI, and fortification building that ceased during Troy VIIa. All of this is a puzzle as are the skeletal remains and miscellaneous finds of pottery. Basically the difference between Troy VIh and Troy VIIa revolves around the amount of space available within the fortifications, since the later Troy contained subterranean "pithoi" for storage space and this is seen as evidence of the possibility of a siege. Since the later Troy was destroyed this "has been interpreted as the product of human agency." (Dartmouth 4).
The attackers have not been identified, and even the pottery sherds do not help. There is archaeological evidence which suggests that the attackers were not Mycenaean since there were wars going on in the Peloponnese at the same time. Also the "Course Ware" of Troy VIIb1 appears immediately after the destruction of Troy VIIa. This handmade, burnished pottery appears at a number of sites on the Greek mainland, Cyprus, southern Italy and Sicily. Deger-Jalkotzy argues that this pottery comes from the ceramic traditions in the Middle Danube area of central Europe, thus interpreting it as identified with the sackers of Troy VIIa (a population group who came across the Hellespont from the middle Danube, through Romania and down to Turkish Thrace). Groups such as these were also involved in sacking many other Mycenaean sites in the Peloponnese. The only doubt is that the quantity of pottery found is small, and so we indeed still question their role in the history of the Aegean Bronze Age.
We also find that the end of Troy VIIb1 is a mystery since there is no evidence of general destruction. Korfmann excavations of the 1990’s have made some interesting finds in this level, one being a lentoid bronze seal with Hittite script naming a male scribe on one side and a female on the other. They are presumed man and wife. This however makes us question the relationship with the Hittite Empire to the east. Other finds include a violin bow fibula in bronze, a piece of sheet-gold jewelry, and a handsome Mycenaean stone seal considered an heirloom since it dated from 1375 B.C.
Other pottery of significance is of a handmade dark-surfaced type with distinctive decorations of knots and grooves (called "Knobbed Ware"). It also has parallels in Hungary, so that originally its transport would have involved crossing the Hellespont and proceeding from Thrace to Troad. It is hypothesized that after Troy VIIb2 which was probably destroyed by fire, this site on Hisarlik was deserted for approximately three centuries only to have been repopulated by about the 8th century B.C., (the approximate time the Homeric Epics were being written for the first time).
Further:
If the Trojan War was indeed an historical event of the late 13th century B.C. and if the site of Hisarlik was the site at which this was took place, the Greeks who heard the epic lays sung about it between ca. 1050 and 750 B.C. would have found no more than a rather unimpressive heap of rubble and decomposed mudbrick at the spot, certainly nothing as imposing as the Cyclopean walls of Tiryns or the Lion Gate and the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae, at both of which site occupation was continuous from Mycenaean down into Classical times (Dartmouth 7).
So popular were the Greek epics of Homer that numerous others sprouted in a series of epics. These, however, were not regarded as on the same level as the Homeric poems (Brown 3). An example of this type of epic, the Kypria, dealt with events leading up to the siege of Troy, but the full text no longer survives; however, a capsule summary is preserved. It notes several different expeditions, but most scholars see them as one and the same with these in the Iliad (they might have been confused with the word "Ilion," which was the most commonly used word for Troy, which was not a city but a district). The legend is clear, but the exact location is still unclear, with a group of Greeks today contending that a place called Teuthrania in Mysia is really the place. Stories of Teuthrania’s destruction and the sacking of minor cities connect the two areas. Another question of real importance still haunts us: "Where was the real Troy?"
Having discovered that the Linear B tablets were in Greek (thus establishing a continuity between Homer and the Bronze Age), a comparison is possible through which to see how many actual phrases describe Bronze-Age artifacts with Mycenaean words. General opinion today holds that the Iliad was composed by a poet building on oral tradition though using writing, and perhaps this served as an introduction to writing in Greece. Homer foresaw the importance of writing, perhaps hoping to secure the best of the traditional Greek epics for future generations.
The historical research, however, does not conclusively prove there was a Trojan War in reality, despite large amounts of study. Quoting Schliemann’s friend Charles Newton in 1878:
How much of the story is really to be accepted as fact, and by what test we may discriminate between that which is merely plausible fiction and that residuum of true history which can be detected under a mythic disguise…are problems as yet unsolved, notwithstanding the immense amount of erudition and subtle criticism which has been spent on them (Wood 246).
Wood continues to assert that the immense amount of circumstantial evidence that suggests a kernel of the tale of Troy, goes back to the real event in the Bronze Age and suggests a plausible reconstruction in our mind’s eye of the possible reality:
In the 1870’s he (Schliemann) went to Greece and dug at the sites of Mycenae and Tiryns and discovered the ruins of cities that were far older than the ordinary Greek cities. After Evans went on to discover the ancient civilization of Crete, the matter was settled. There had been a Troy and a Trojan war (Asimov 112).
Today we are not so sure, but we do know that Schliemann’s success is often attributed to his carrying a copy of Homer’s Iliad.
What we have then are models for what might have happened, and legends to preserve traditions. We cannot prove they are plausible though, since studies of kingship in the Near East provide many stories akin to this. In addition, Thucydides dates the overrunning of central Greece by the Dorians at about eighty years after the fall of Troy. After that the migrations to nearby islands, Italy, and Sicily took place. This can be confirmed by archaeology, so it appears the preservation of these legends rested with the bards until the time of Homer’s epics.
Susan Allen states, "The present excavations are using new technology to solve many of the same questions that puzzled earlier excavators…remote-sensing technology has now enabled them to probe the vast area of the lower city without destroying what lies buried beneath it." (255). Manfred Korfmann is still struggling with the layers of Troy discovered through German-American excavations since 1988. There are disputes over possession of the Troy treasures, but as research develops, pottery from the Mycenaean suggests there was significant contact. And on the ancient bay below the site, a cemetery of the Late Bronze Age with remains of Mycenaean pottery and a "tumulus" (which the Greeks attributed to Achilles, and which was visited by Xerxes and Alexander), has been found. The very location on the Hellespont suggests a pirate fortress as Troy’s reason for existence. More research and better instruments for measurment will certainly help identify the relationship between the Iliad and the present location of Troy.
Other clues that should not be overlooked are in the abundance of artwork that suggests the siege of a town. Could this have been a way to preserve the legend sung by the bards? Perhaps this spilled over to the contemporary literature of the time. In reality it could possibly have been merely literary fantasy.
Considering these many puzzle pieces,
…it is not surprising that our survey ends with Homer, the first and greatest creator of the literature of classical mythology. The myths and sagas, like the great mythical figures of the gods and heroes, have proved indestructible because of their universal quality, expressed in the words of Borges (‘ I have been Homer; shortly I shall be No One, like Ulysses; shortly I shall be all men; I shall be dead.’) and interpreted in countless works of poets, dramatists and other writers for the greater part of three thousand years." (Morford 634).
It is a sort of conclusion then, that: …for better or worse, the Greeks brought western civilization from mythos to logos, out of the mythic and into the logical way in which we face life today. The mythic representation of reality, canonized in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, presents a heroic universe in which the gods are real forces, and a man is born into his character depending on his relationship to them and to other men" (Atchity xxiii).
Our struggle to understand the interchange of history and myth gives us different answers in all junctures of our search.
It has been said that, "The collective imagination of the Greeks became the mythology we have today"…and ultimately that "the Greeks accepted the idea that there were many gods and that they were very near." (Evslin 112). Palmer Bovie summarizes our search by saying in the Forward of Bullfinch’s The Age of Fable:
Mythology is not entertainment or history. It is a marvelous cultural vision, a dazzling and dramatic struggle of values and forces… This literature is the art by which man freed himself from blind superstition and opened his eyes to the wonders of human behavior, sensing joy and tragedy inherent in his condition and seizing the challenge of thought." (Bullfinch).
As time went on and Christianity rose, the two views of allegory and distortion of history prevailed: "This process of absorption and mingling throughout the Middle Ages found its ultimate synthesis in the work of Dante, where the classical myths were used and criticized and, in the process, vindicated." (Morford 613). Also, "Shakespeare’s bitter play Troilus and Cressida is therefore a dramatization of part of a translation into English of the French translation of a Latin imitation of an old French expansion of a Latin epitome of a Greek romance." (Gilbert 55). This amalgamation progressed until the nineteenth century when the myths were embraced by folklorists, philologists and literary groups. Today we have a plethora of ideas with many seeking the true historical underpinnings and many others interested in the psychological and moral lessons; still others are simply enjoying them as literature and literary reference. "They have taken out a new lease on life that still endures." (Murford 613).
The third goal of this unit is to address the twentieth and twenty-first century interpretions of mythology, discuss the definition of myth, and determine the present day importance of myths. In Myths to Live By Joseph Campbell investigates the historical trend that continued through the Middle Ages, and in Dante’s vision of the universe in the Divine Comedy. After discussing explanations of the Aztec religion and Christianity, he moves on to Freud and Jung and the benefits and dangers of myths to a culture.
Campbell continues to talk about the impulses to mythologize, the first evidence of mythological thinking, and the psychological and mythical values of male and female presences along with many other pertinent topics:
Mythology is apparently coeval with mankind. As far back, that is to say, as we have been able to follow the broken, scattered, earliest evidences of the emergence of our species, signs have been found which indicate that mythological aims and concerns were already shaping the arts and world of Homo sapiens. Such evidences tell us something, furthermore, of the unity of our species, for the fundamental themes of mythological thought have remained constant and universal, not only throughout history, but also over the whole extent of mankind’s occupation of the earth (Campbell, 1972:19).
Campbell elaborates in The Power of Myth: "The myths and rites were means of putting the mind in accord with the body and the way of life in accord with the way that nature dictates."(Campbell, 1988: 70). One feels throughout his writing, however, that he has found the answers and because he knows the meaning of myth and treasures it (and understands its relationship to society today) that we too should take his word and thoughts.
Implementation
This unit has grown out of a desire to help students understand the purpose of myths and, in so doing, understand themselves better. In addition students need to be literate in regard to classical mythology and Greek history. I have chosen the Iliad
as the focal point of the unit because through the archaeological search at Hisarlik, the students can have a humanities experience linking history, epic myth, archaeology, psychology and philosophy into meaningful avenues of exploration.
Since the unit is highly focused and so little time is given to Greek history in the curriculum, the length of the unit will be two weeks. The first week will be a general introduction to all things Greek, and the second week will delve into the Iliad. Plans for each day are centered on essential questions.
Day One – Why did myth develop? Why were they so important to the Greeks? The teacher will select five to six readings that help answer these questions and establish a knowledge base. Distribute them to groups (depending on class size) and give the students time to read and reflect on their individual answers. Students will write individual responses and share them in a small group. The groups will report on their responses to the whole class. Responses will be logged on an overhead for all to see and copies given to students the following day. Students can finish their individual responses and turn them in for credit.
Day Two – What is the relationship of mythology to the geography of Greece? The teacher should use slides, books, overhead projections, or a Power Point presentation of various parts of Greece for a mini-lecture. If possible bulletin boards should support this project. Then students should be given a map of Greece to label towns, cities, mountains, rivers, bodies of water and so forth. At this point the geographic areas associated with particular gods and goddesses should be introduced and labeled. Discuss why localities are important. What are the relationships between geography, myths and the people? Students can turn in the maps for grades.
Day Three – Where does Greek history take us? Distribute and read a short history of Greece up to approximately 1200 B.C. showing architecture, sculpture, landscape, pottery on slides, Power Point, etc... to illustrate as much as possible. A student worksheet outline of Greek history (that students fill in with notes) would be helpful and can also be turned for a grade.
Day Four – Who are the main Greek gods and how are they all related? The teacher returns the three papers to the students and suggests the idea of a small portfolio for the unit grade, with students taking the initiative in collecting work from class and their own private research. Use the wall map of Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece and student worksheet of the thirteen main Greek gods. Have students prepare reports on the gods to present the following day. Provide plenty of resources and reference material for students to use.
Day Five – How are Greek myths related to religion and society? The teacher should discuss the Bury research about Greek history and how that would affect our understanding of the heroes, gods and society. Have student presentations on major gods and goddesses. The teacher will continue Greek history if the class has not progressed to 1200 B.C., or review if they have.
Days Six and Seven – Why is Homer so important? What is an epic? What is the story of the Iliad? The teacher will introduce the concepts of epic and hero while discussing the blind bard. Tell the story of the Iliad through a combination of overhead projections or a Power Point presentation interspersed with students reading and discussing the actual epic poetry at several pertinent points (e.g. Book 6, 22 and 24). The teacher will help them keep the story straight by using concept mapping. The product they are responsible for during these two days (and to be handed in on the third day) is an illustration of one of the characters they admire (or a symbol of the character) to be assembled later into a "hero board."
Days Eight and Nine - To what extent have archaeologists proven the location of the ancient remains of Troy? Clarify the facts about modern research at Troy. The teacher will clarify Greek history from 1200 to 500 B.C. and discuss the Greek historians. Tell the students about Schliemann’s desire to find Troy and his discoveries, along with mentioning other notable anthropologists. Then, in the computer lab on the Internet the students will research information about recent work near Hisarlik. Students should document their research.
Day Ten – Why do myths continue to be important to us today? The teacher will explain that this can only be answered individually by each student on their own, however, society as a whole has chosen to keep the myths alive in many different ways. New research on "neurotheology" suggests relationships with the brain and study of religion (Newsweek, 7 May, 2001, 50- 58). Continue to refer to the Campbell works by doing group reading of pertinent passages and remind students of the idea of cultural history. The students will develop a personal answer to the main question of the day and assemble their portfolios to be handed in to the instructor.
Application of New Mexico Social Studies Content Standards, Benchmarks, and Performance Standards (taken from the "draft" published January 12, 2001)
Content Standard: Students will identify important people and events to interpret significant patterns, relationships, themes, ideas, beliefs, and turning points in New Mexico, United States, and World History in order to analyze and understand the complexity of the human experience in New Mexico, the United States and the World over time.
Benchmarks:
- Students will identify, describe, compare and contrast the influence of major historical eras, events, and figures from ancient civilizations to the Age of Exploration.
- Students will identify, describe, analyze, interpret and evaluate impact on the major eras and important turning points in world history from the Age of Enlightenment to the present to develop an understanding of the complexity of the human experience.
- Students will research historical events and figures from a variety of perspectives.
- Use critical thinking skills to understand and communicate perspectives of individuals, groups, and societies from multiple contexts.
Performance Standards
- Compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, and social characteristics of the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and their enduring impacts on later civilizations and their enduring impacts on later civilizations to include:
- The influence of the geography of the Mediterranean on the development and expansions of the civilizations;
- Development of concepts of government and citizenship, specifically democracy, republics and codification of laws;
- Scientific and cultural advancements (networks of roads, aqueducts, art and architecture, literature and theatre, and philosophy);
- Contributions and roles of key figures, (e.g., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Augustus).
- Use critical thinking skills to understand and communicate perspectives of individuals, groups, and societies from multiple contexts.
- Apply chronological and spatial thinking to understand the importance of events.
- Use a variety of historical research methods and documents to interpret and understand social issues (i.e. the friction among societies; and the diffusion of ideas).
- Distinguish "facts" from author’s opinions and evaluate an author’s implicit and explicit philosophical assumptions, beliefs or biases about the subject.
- Interpret events and issues based upon the historical, economic, political, social, geographic, and chronological context of the participants.
- Students will pose significant questions about ongoing and prior conditions, seek, interpret, analyze, and evaluate information, and communicate feelings.
Documentation
Allen, Susan H. Finding the Walls of Troy. Berkeley: University of California, 1998.
This is an exploration of the value of Schliemann’s contributions and his elationship with the Calvert family and their interest in Troy.
Asimov, Isaac. Words from the Myths. Boston, Massachusetts: Signet, 1969.
In this book Asimov retells the ancient stories, explores our living heritage from the ancient world and describes their influence on modern language and life.
Atchity, Kenneth J. The Classical Greek Reader. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.
This work portrays classic literature in thumbnail sketches with insightful analyses and characteristic fragments from many of the works.
Begley, Sharon. "Religion and the Brain". Newsweek. May 7, 2001. pages 50-58.
Science and psychology are joining forces to track the brain activities when it is contemplating or deep in prayer. The idea of our brain being "wired" to the necessity of worshipping gods/God is discussed scientifically.
Bowra, C. M. and The Editors of Time-Life Books. Classical Greece. New York: Time-Life Books, 1971.
From the Ages of Man series on the history of the world’s cultures, this one specializes in Classical Greece to the time of Alexander the Great. It is an excellent student source book because of the illustrations and depth of the material.
Brown, Truesdell S. The Greek Historians. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C.Heath.
The author indicates some of the important changes that took place in the writing of history from the old logographers down to the period of Roman supremacy.
Bullfinch, Thomas. The Age of Fable. New York: Mentor, 1962.
First published in 1855 it is the "classic" retelling of the well-known stories and legends drawn from various cycles of Greek and Roman myth, Nordic, Arthurian and European chivalric legends, to express for his contemporaries the traditional accounts of European mythology.
Bury, J.B., Russell Meiggs. A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great.
London: Macmillan and Russell Meiggs, 1978.
This revised and thoroughly reliable history of Greece used in undergraduate studies presents a complete history of the accumulated knowledge of Greece in a readily understandable form.
Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday, 1988.
Recorded here is a conversation with Bill Moyers from several different occasions addressing the fundamental and difficult subject of myth. The book is possible because the author is willing to answer Moyers’ penetrating questions of his personal life with myth in a self-revealing way.
Campbell, Joseph. Myths to Live By. New York: The Viking Press, Inc., 1973.
This book contains a discussion of the vital link between man and his myths, and the way in which they can extend our human potential and re-create ancient legends in our daily lives to release human potential.
Carratelli, Giovanni Pugliese, ed. The Greek World. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. 1996.
Art and civilization in Magna Grecia and Sicily are examined and illustrated in the weighty, comprehensive text. Unparalleled visual and textual documentation of these Greek colonies is compiled in this comprehensive book. It was written to document an exhibition of the Western Greeks in Palazzo Grassi.
Carroll, Aileen M. Mythology Masters: A Teaching Unit. Portland, Maine: J. Weston Walch Publishing Company, 1984.
This is a very useful teaching unit used by English teachers for years. It contains fifty-two pages of useful data about mythology, including worksheets, reviews and even assessments. They can be copied with purchase of the package.
Coolidge, Olivia. Greek Myths. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1964.
Since this book consists of selected episodes from various myths it is intended for Middle School or lower level high school use. It also contains a Study Guide and a Pronunciation Guide.
Dartmouth, "Lesson 27: Troy VII and the Historicity of the Trojan War".
http://devlab.cs.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/lessons/27.html Trustees of Dartmouth College: 1997.This paper is part of the "Prehistoric Archaeology" of the Aegean series and discusses the location of Troy in very detailed scientific terms. There is no scientific conclusion, however, and all beliefs and conclusions about the historicity of Troy are based on an "act of faith" no matter what position one adopts. It is very insightful and scientific in terms of recent research.
DeFina, Allan A. Portfolio Assessment: Getting Started. New York: Scholastic Professional Books, 1992.
This is an explanation of how to get started in the classroom with putting together a portfolio for each student. It contains helpful suggestions and steps to take in order to organize this type of assessment to benefit students and teacher.
Duncan-Hewitt, Wendy, Dan Apple and David L. Mount. A Handbook on Cooperative Learning. Corvallis, Oregon: Pacific Crest Software, Inc., 1995.
In this book are techniques for designing teams and facilitating cooperative learning as well as a discussion of learning styles and personality style and other useful learning skills. It also has a section on the assessment of cooperative learning and a discussion of appropriate questioning techniques.
Evslin, Bernard, Dorothy Evslin, and Ned Hoopes. The Greek Gods. New York: Scholastic Inc. 1966.
This is a student book and has very short accountings of the Greek gods of the Pantheon and short easy to read explanations of the nature myths.
Flaherty, Thomas H., ed. Barbarian Tides. Morristown, New Jersey: Silver-Burdett Company, 1993.
Here we have a description of historical events and various civilizations that flourished throughout the world from 1500-600 B.C. It is part of the TimeFrame series distributed by Time-Life Books.
Golub, Jeff, Chair. Activities to Promote Critical Thinking: Classroom Practices in Teaching English, 1986. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1986.
This book is filled with activities that are useful and adaptable for all teachers, not just teachers of English. Each section has five to eight individual descriptions of a technique that has been useful to those individual teachers.
Goodrich, Norma Lorre. Ancient Myths. New York: The New American Library, 1960.
Ms. Goodrich presents a lively recreation of the great myths of mankind from ancient Sumer to Imperial Rome. Even though it is a student book it is full of detail and even black and white maps.
Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. New York: Dell Publishing, 1960.
This is a recounting of the mythological tales for students done by a noted scholar. He takes a fresh approach to give a fascinating and entertaining experience. This is the only text I have found that tells of the end of the Olympians through the story of Narcissus and Echo.
Guerber, Helene. The Myths of Greece and Rome. London, England: George Harrap and Co., 1978.
We find in this book a more involved portrayal of the stories of the Trojan War, Ulysses and Aeneas, all illustrated with quotations from the poets from Aeschylus to Longfellow. She also has an interesting chapter on interpretations of the myths, maps, genealogy table, a glossary and index. This has been a standard textbook since 1907. There are also illustrations.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Warner Books, Inc. 1999.
Touted as a popular exposition this volume can be read for entertainment or used as a reference book. It is comprehensive and clear in its discussion of the classic Greek gods and has at the end a section on Norse Mythology as well.
Hawkes, Jacquetta. Prehistory. New York: The New American Library, 1965.
Here is a description of Palaeolithic and Neolithic cultures and their evolution. Useful for the chapter on "Art and Religion" that lays the groundwork for the Greek myths, rituals and mother goddess.
Homer, (trans. By Richmond Lattimore). The Iliad of Homer. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1951.
This is the complete text of the twenty-four books of the Iliad with a Glossary and Pronunciation Guide at the end. It is lauded for being one of the best translations of Homer. Mr. Lattimore’s text is clear and readable.
Jacobs, Helen Heidi. Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1989.
This book introduces a concept model and introduces the processes of Bloom’s Taxonomy in a question matrix. Attention is paid to a structure for planning and use of thinking skills and use of the higher order thinking skills.
Luce, T.J. The Greek Historians. New York: Routledge, 1997.
This book covers the period from Herodotus to Polybius and serves as an introduction to Greek historiography. The "Before History" (Chapter One) was especially useful in this paper.
Moorehead, Caroline. Lost and Found: The 9,000 Treasures of Troy. New York: Viking Penguin, Inc., 1996.
An exploration of Schliemann’s adventures is one of the enduring stories of the 1870’s, and its explanation even to the present day harborings by the Soviets is discussed in detail.
Morford, Mark and Robert Lenardon Classical Mythology, New York: Longman, 1991.
This is an introduction and overview for those who have little or no background in classical mythology. It has been used as a college text since 1971. The section on the survival of Classical Mythology is especially interesting and thought provoking. It also contains references to music and films and a section on Greek spellings.
Osborne, Robin, Editor. Classical Greece. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
In the Preface the general editor explains the need for a concise history of Classical Greece that he could include in his general history of Europe. Hence it is not wordy and gives a deep entry into the creation of classical Greece.
Paul, Richard and Linda Elder. Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of YourLearning and Your Life. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.
Throughout this book there are descriptions and diagrams to help illustrate the concepts being explained. In a sense it is a do-it-yourself book fully explaining the steps you must proceed through to become a strategic thinker.
Pope-Hennessy, Sir John. British Museum Guide. London: British Museum Publications Limited, 1978.
This serves as an accompaniment to the visitation of the British Museum, considered important because of the Elgin Marbles housed there.
Raubitschek, A.A. (papers presented to). The Greek Historians. Stanford University: Anma, 1985.
In recognition of Raubitschek’s seventieth birthday, a group of fellow scholars presented him with papers in their areas of expertise.
Rouse, W. H. D. Gods, Heroes and Men of Ancient Greece: Mythology’s Great Tales of Valor and Romance. New York: The New American Library, 1957.
This book presents a student edition of the famous myths and legends of classical Greek mythology. There is a Pronunciation Index and a Genealogical Chart at the end.
Vernant, Jean-Pierre. Myth and Society in Ancient Greece. New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1974.
Vernant grapples headlong with the reason of myth and its opening up to linguistics and anthropology and bringing to light the substratum which lies below the legend. He also discusses the social contexts of marriage.
Vernant, Jean-Pierre. The Origins of Greek Thought. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1982.
With the availability of the Mycenaean Linear B script, Vernant makes us aware of a deepening of the chronological perspective in the entire framework or thought between the Mycenaean world and the Hellenic world of classical Greece. This book discusses various aspects crucial to understanding the change that occurred.
Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. New York, Facts on File Publications, 1985.
This is the story of the modern quest behind the story of Troy starting with Schliemann and on to Evans, Dorpfeld, Blegen and the more recent scholars and archaeologists. It is based on a BBC television series that is a detailed survey of the quest for the lost site of Troy. It is very readable and illustrated with geographic and artistic illustrations as well as maps.
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, Taylor, Phyllis. The Iliad, A Practical Approach: Contents of Curriculum Unit 84.02.09. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1984/2/84.02.09.x.html Yale – New Haven Teachers Institute, 2000.
This paper is a systematic approach to teaching the Iliad containing strategies for each book, suggested