Story Lab: Crash Course Myths

This week I decided to do the Crash Course Myth videos, which are a set of three videos from Crash Course about mythology (of course). There are three videos: the first one talks about mythology in general (how it’s defined, how it can differ from religion [or not], etc.), the second video talks about how myths are studied and interpreted, and the third is about the idea of the hero and how some people characterize the hero.

Screenshot from the first video (source)

The first video is exactly how it sounds: it gives a pretty good breakdown of what exactly mythology is, what influences it, what all can be learned from it, etc. Something they stress is that myths are old, and come from many different sources. They make sure to mention in the video that if they’re discussing a myth the viewer recognizes, but some details don’t seem right, it might just be they’re using a different source than the viewer has.

Notice they quote John Green! (source)

The second video actually gets into the theory of myth. It talks about how to analyze it and the theories about myth that people have developed. Basically people have been analyzing myth and its theory since Plato and his comrades. The idea that myths were created to explain scientific events, and that they were about real, ordinary people whose deeds were exaggerated until they were gods, has been around for centuries. As more was discovered about ancient civilizations, the more the idea of myths was reworked.

I don’t know who the sword belongs to, but I know where the shield and hat come from! (source)

The third video is about the Hero. The person in the myth or story who’s the main focus, the good guy who’s going to save everyone. Joseph Campbell created the theory of the Hero’s Journey, which is highly influential. Campbell noticed that in many stories from many cultures, there are basic events the hero must go through. The hero will journey away from home and towards adventure, then return home at the end, wiser and presumably in the same physical condition they were in when they left.

Reading Notes: Popular Italian Stories, Part B

For my second reading this week, I decided to continue with Thomas Crane’s Italian Popular Tales and summarize The Language of Animals.

Reading Notes

• A father had a son who was in school for ten years, and finally finished.
• The father threw a great banquet in honor of the son, and invited many important people to come.
• At the banquet, someone asked the son what he had learned, and the son responded that he had learned the languages of dogs, frogs, and birds respectively.
• This was met with ridicule, and the father was so upset at the shame the son had brought upon their name that he ordered his son killed.
• However, the servants he ordered to do the deed faked it, and the son fled the country.
• Eventually the son came to the house where the treasurer of the prince lived, and was granted lodging.
• A multitude of dogs gathered outside the castle; when asked, the son, understanding the language of the dogs, explained it meant that a hundred assassins would attack the castle that evening, and that the appropriate cautions should be taken.
• Soldiers were placed around the castle, and sure enough thieves tried to attack, but were defeated.
• The treasurer tried to give the son his daughter in gratitude, but the son refused, saying he would return in a year and three days.
• The son left, and came to a city where the king’s daughter couldn’t rest because the frogs in the fountain croaked so much.
• The son learned that the princess had thrown a cross into the fountain, and as soon as it was removed the girl recovered.
• Again, the king wanted the son to marry the princess in gratitude, but he refused, saying he would return in a year and three days.
• The son left and headed for Rome, making friends with three men along the way.
• One day they all took refuge under a tree to sleep, and a flock of birds flew to rest on the tree and woke the men with their singing.
• When asked, the son said that the birds sang because one of the men was to be the new Pope; a dove landed on his head, and sure enough he was made Pope.
• After he was made Pope, the son sent for his father, the treasurer, and the king to come before him.
• All three were sure they were in trouble for some sin they had committed, but the son had them all discuss their deeds.
• He then turned to his father and told him that he had ordered him killed because he said he understood the languages of a few animals, but the other two men were very grateful that the son had such knowledge.
• His father repented, the son pardoned him, and they lived on.

Source

Reading Notes: Popular Italian Stories, Part A

For my last Reading A, I decided to summarize the story called Water and Salt, from Thomas Crane’s Italian Popular Tales.

Reading Notes

• A king had three daughters, and one day he asked them to prove their love for him.
• One daughter said she loved him as much as her eyes, the second said as much as her heart, and the third said she loved him as much as water and salt.
• The king was angry at this last answer, and ordered her killed.
• The other sisters helped fake the death of their sister, and she was left in a cave.
• A magician who worked for another king found her and took her back to his house;  the king’s son fell in love with her, and they were to be wed.
• The magician told them to kill him before their wedding day, to invite three kings, including the girl’s father, and that all the guests but her father must be given salt and water at the dinner.
• Meanwhile, her father was regretting his decision and initially didn’t want to go, but decided to to avoid any political upsets.
• The day before the wedding, the magician was quartered, and his blood sprinkled all over the place; where his blood was became gold and precious stones.
• At the banquet, the king struggled to eat because he had no water to drink and no salt for flavor.
• They all told stories, and the king talked about his daughter.
• At that point, the bride went and put on the dress she had been wearing when he ordered her killed, and pointed out how important salt and water were after all.
• The king begged her forgiveness, which she gave, and they all lived in contentment after that.

Source