research paper on greek culture

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The cultures within ancient Greek culture: Contact, conflict, collaboration

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David M Pritchard

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Lydia Papadimitriou

Journal of Modern Greek Studies

Vassilis Lambropoulos

"Modern Greek Studies in the Age of Ethnography," Journal of Modern Greek Studies 15: 2 (October): 197-208

Aris Tsantiropoulos

This article presents an overview of Greek ethnography. It argues that ethnography in Greece cannot be seen as separate from its preceding fields of history and folklore studies, alongside Greece itself being viewed as a research field by foreign anthropologists. Because of the late introduction of anthropology in Greece it followed very quickly the main theoretical stream of postmodernism in its view of Greek society. The main argument of this article is that the introduction of postmodernism in Greek Anthropology prevented a dialogue with the pre-existing field research work that had been conducted in Greece by non Greek Ethnographers and Greek Folklorists or Historians. This fact has specific consequences at the epistemological, theoretical and methodological level of contemporary Greek Ethnography.

George Boys-Stones

In: R. Rollinger, A. Luther, J. Wiesehöfer (eds.), "Getrennte Wege? Kommunikation, Raum und Wahrnehmung in der alten Welt". Oikumene 2:13-49.

Erik van Dongen

The subject of the relations between pre-classical Greece and the ancient Near East has received ample attention in recent times. Archaeologists and historians have discussed ways in which peoples came into contact in the Late Bronze, Dark and Greek Archaic Ages, while others have published about cultural elements that the Greeks might have taken over from the ancient Near East. As a result, the old position about the isolated development of the Greek world has become untenable: the origins of many elements of Greek culture can now without a doubt be traced outside the Greek world. Nonetheless, the available archaeological and historical data is hardly ever taken into account in research on cultural influences. Consequently, publications on influences often seem incomplete, since attention is paid only to the similarities between certain cultural elements without consideration of the process of transmission. This article is intended to contribute to changing this situation by gathering the archaeological and historical data relevant for research on Near Eastern influences on ancient Greece, in order to present an overview of which groups of people in what time and under what circumstances the Greeks met or came to know about.

MA in Greek Civilization

Avra Xepapadakou , Niki Sioki

The MA programme explores the multifaceted phenomenon of Greek civilization, both in its diachronic and in its thematic range. At the core of its design lies the investigation of the fundamental Greek concepts and values that shaped and are still central to the modern Western world. Courses draw on thematic material from various disciplines in the field of Greek civilization such as history, philosophy, literature, science, the arts and language. Moreover, students will deal with topics that attract international interest as they combine aspects of Greek antiquity with contemporary culture.

Joseph Skinner

Traditionally conceived as an exclusively literary genre predicated upon stark polarities between “Greeks” and “Barbarians”, ancient ethnography might seem to encourage the view both that ethnic groups and boundaries were clearly perceived in antiquity and that these were often identified and categorized according to variations in material practice. However, whilst we have ample evidence that ancient Greeks associated material objects with specific identities, close examination of ancient ethnographic interests reveals a body of thought and enquiry encompassing a wide variety of media and genre incorporating Greeks and non-Greeks alike. Far from being a convenient prop upon which to base essentialized notions of “Greek” or “barbarian” culture, discourses of identity and difference were socially constructed and historically contingent. Like material artifacts, their analysis requires close attention to the specific frameworks and contexts in which they were created if we are to understand their full significance in the wider processes of identity construction. In both cases, the complexities surrounding their origin, mode of production, adoption and reception make it difficult to avoid labels, ethnic or otherwise, that aren’t subject to the same “play” of difference characteristic of all modes of cultural production (Hall S. 1990).

Alexander Makedon

Greek Culture and Traditions

This essay about Greek traditions explores the deep-rooted customs integral to the culture and daily life of Greece. It highlights the significance of name days, which are celebrated more prominently than birthdays, emphasizing hospitality and community. The essay also discusses Greek cuisine, describing it as a reflection of the country’s agricultural practices and geographic diversity, emphasizing communal meals as a focal point for social gatherings. Additionally, it covers Greek festivals, particularly Easter, which includes unique rituals and symbolizes renewal through communal participation. Traditional Greek music and dance are also examined, showing their regional diversity and role in expressing cultural identity. Overall, the essay portrays these traditions as vibrant elements of modern Greek life, linking the past with the present.

How it works

The opulent mosaic of Greek customs presents a captivating insight into a civilization that has profoundly shaped the Western hemisphere. From the age-old reverberations of mythology to contemporary festivals, Greece’s rituals serve as both a homage to its historical profundity and a vibrant component of everyday existence.

One of Greece’s most emblematic traditions is the observance of name days, a practice deeply entrenched in the Greek Orthodox faith. Unlike birthdays, which receive universal recognition, Greeks attach greater significance to the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.

These observances are characterized by open-door gatherings, where acquaintances and kin drop by to extend well-wishes and modest offerings. The host reciprocates with victuals and libations, rendering it a convivial, communal affair. This custom not only underscores the primacy of religious devotion in Greek society but also mirrors the values of cordiality and communal spirit that lie at the heart of Greek ethos.

Greek gastronomy, another cornerstone of cultural heritage, is renowned for its palatal delights, utilization of fresh produce, and nutritional virtues. Culinary delights such as moussaka, spanakopita, and souvlaki enjoy widespread recognition. However, the traditional Greek culinary repertoire transcends these ubiquitous dishes. It constitutes an integral facet of daily existence, emphasizing the significance of seasonality and locality in culinary practice. Olive oil, cheeses, verdant vegetables, grains, and marine fare not only define the gastronomic landscape but also reflect the geographical diversity and agrarian legacy of the nation. The preparation and communal relishing of meals are deemed celebratory activities, fostering familial ties and nurturing social cohesion.

Festivities also occupy a central role in Greek tradition, encompassing a spectrum of jubilant ceremonies from religious observances to musical and terpsichorean revelries. One of the foremost and pan-Hellenic festivities is the Easter observance, steeped in distinctive rituals and customs. Preparations commence weeks in advance with the Great Lent, while the Holy Week is punctuated by daily liturgical services and solemn candlelit processions. The apex is the Midnight Service on Easter Saturday, during which the ‘Holy Light’ is passed among the congregation, symbolizing anticipation and rejuvenation. Subsequently, a festive repast ensues, featuring magiritsa (a traditional soup) to break the fast, alongside the ceremonial cracking of red-hued eggs, emblematic of Christ’s blood and resurrection.

Another vibrant facet of Greek heritage is its enduring melodic and choreographic expressions, which exhibit considerable diversity across regions. The traditional music of the Greek archipelagoes, distinguished by the evocative strains of the bouzouki and lyra, narrates tales of quotidian existence, historical junctures, and enduring myths. Dance forms like the zeibekiko and syrtaki, frequently showcased at communal celebrations and familial gatherings, provide a means for individuals of all ages to articulate themselves through movement deeply entrenched in their cultural subconscious.

The traditions of Greece, spanning from communal festivities to quotidian rituals, present a tableau of a society deeply enmeshed in its heritage yet perpetually evolving. These customs are not vestiges of yore but are vibrant, dynamic facets of contemporary Greek life that continue to bind communities and underscore the nation’s multifaceted cultural legacy. Whether through the exuberant abandon of a village fête or the reverent observance of a name day commemoration, the essence of Greece thrives vividly in its traditions and observances.

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145 Ancient Greece Research Topics and Essay Ideas

🏆 best greek topics to write about, 💡 most interesting ancient greece topics for research, 📌 simple & easy topics about ancient greece, 👍 good ancient greece writing prompts, ❓ research questions about ancient greece.

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Women’s Roles in Ancient Greece and Rome
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The Significance of Honor and Respect in Ancient Greece
The Goddess of Love, Desire, and Beauty, Aphrodite, was Worshipped by Ancient Greece for Many More Reason
Humanity As In Ancient Greece An Analysis Of Greek Influence And Literature
Women in Time: Ancient Greece and 19th Century Norway
To What Extent Has the Theater of Ancient Greece Changed the Acts of Modern Day Theater
The History and Use of Pantomime in Theatrical Dance from Ancient Greece to Ballet D’Action
Types Of Governments Of Ancient Greece And Rome
How the Texts of Architects Vincent Scully and R.E. Wycherley Depict the Culture of Ancient Greece
The Worship of the Roman Dionysos in Ancient Greece
Women in Lysistrata and Women of Ancient Greece
The Study of Behaviorism in the Ancient Greece in the 19th and 20th Centuries
The Importance Of Hospitality In Ancient Greece Versus The Dark Ages
What Role Did Socrates Play in Ancient Greece
The Value of the Individual, Virtue, Honor, Humanity, and Love in Ancient Greece
The Importance of the Fertility Goddesses Demeter and Persephone in the Society of Ancient Greece
The Strict Laws and Penalties in Ancient Greece Market Places and the Male Domination in Greek Societis
The Topic Of Fate Of Ancient Greece During The Golden Age
Women of Ancient Greece and Rome
Things Fall Apart:The Cultures of Ancient Greece and The Lower Niger
The Forms in Which Theater and Drama Took in Ancient Greece in the 5th Century
The Importance of Athletics in Ancient Greece and the History of the Olympics
How Did Ancient Greece Influence Western Civilization
Feminism And The Power Struggle Of Women In Ancient Greece
The Influence and Effects of Geography on the Economic, Religious, Philosophy, Art and Literature Advancement of Ancient Greece
The Portrayal and Views on Women in Ancient Greece
The Perception of Gender in the Literature of Ancient Greece and Middle Age
The Impact Of Freedom On Ancient Greece And Modern America
The Insignificance Of Women And Ancient Greece
The Olympic Games: its Origins, Sources and Images in the Art of Ancient Greece
Exploring the Integrity of Gender Distinctions Made in the Literature on Ancient Greece
What Features of Modern Europe Have Been Traced Back to Ancient Greece and Rome
The Role Of Women In Ancient Greece As Depicted In Homer’s The Odyssey
The Prejudiced Attitude on the Role of Women in Ancient Greece
The Question of Infanticide in Ancient Greece Based on Several Texts
The Role of Gods and Their Human-like Personalities in Ancient Greece
The Roles of Women in Ancient Greece and the Reasons for their Subordina
The Legend of Oedipus the King of Thebes in Ancient Greece
The Relationship Between Slave and Master in Ancient Greece
The Music of Ancient Greece and the Instruments We Still Use Today
The Significance of the Tragic Plays Written by Sophocles in Ancient Greece
How Did Ancient Greece’s Geography Affect Its Civilization?
What Role Did Socrates Play in Ancient Greece?
How Has the American Society Been Influenced by Ancient Greece?
What Was Greek Law?
Why Was Ancient Greece the First Civilization to Develop Democracy?
What Role Did Tribalism and Racism Play in Ancient Greece?
How Did Ancient Greece Influence Western Civilization?
What Were the Characteristics of Oligarchy and Democracy in Ancient Greece?
Who Did the Ancient Greeks Worship?
What Was the Importance of Religion in Ancient Greece?
Who Was a Citizen in Ancient Greece?
What Were the Ancient Athenians Like?
Was Greek Law Formally Written Down?
What Rights Did Women Have in Ancient Greece?
Who/What Are the Main Legends and Myths About?
What Is the History Behind the Olympics Games?
Who Were Slaves in Ancient Greece?
What Did the Theaters Look Like in Ancient Greece?
Who Were the Famous Mathematicians or Philosophers of Ancient Greece?
What Was “Medicine” Like in Ancient Greece?
How Were Plato’s Divisions Different From Athenian Democracy?
What Are the “Famous” Wars From Ancient Greece?
How Did Athenian Democracy Differ From Modern Democracy?
What Were the Major Ancient Greek City-States?
Exactly What Was the Oracle at Delphi and How Did It Work?
What Were the People Like in Ancient Greece?
Why Did Greece Spread So Far West and South?
What Was the New Idea of Male Homosexuality About in Ancient Greece? How Was It Derived?
What Was the True Name of Ancient Greece?
How Were the Ancient Greeks Influential?
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Ancient Greece Research Paper

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Ancient Greece, at its peak in the fourth century BCE, fostered Homeric ideals of heroism that inspired writers and philosophers of the classical age to portray the human condition against the world’s uncertainties. Greek contributions in science, philosophy, art, literature, religion, and politics thus spread far and wide. European humanists in the fourteenth century revived interest in Greek culture and ideals, which still color contemporary thought.

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The civilization of ancient Greece twice effected important changes in world cultural balances, first when Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great, 356–323 BCE) conquered a vast empire in western Asia, Egypt, and northwest India, spreading Greek ideas and customs far and wide, and a second time, beginning about l400 CE, when well-to-do citizens first in Italy and then also in northwestern Europe found that ancient Greek literature provided a useful guide and enrichment for their own lives.

What made Greek patterns of civilization so attractive was that for a few generations a handful of Greek cities mobilized intense and widespread popular participation in politics and war, while also combining monumental public art with market economics. They called this unusual mix “freedom,” and the literary expressions of Greek freedom in poetry, history, and philosophy appealed to intellectually restless citizens in other times and places as both admirable and practical. Freedom continues to figure in contemporary politics, so the Greek example still echoes in our public affairs, though less strongly than it did before 1914, when the study of Greek (and Latin) literature dominated the schooling of Europe’s political leaders and many of those who supported them. Revival of the Olympic Games in 1896 was a late example of how ancient Greece continued to offer a model for Europeans to emulate, and by now Olympic competition has become worldwide.

The Rise of Ancient Greece

How did ancient Greece achieve its distinctive character? For more than a thousand years after 2000 BCE, when Greek-speaking invaders began to filter in from the north, changes in Greece closely paralleled what was happening elsewhere. The initial invasions, for example, were part of a general expansion of herdsmen from the grassy steppes of Eurasia that brought Aryans to India, Persians to Iran, Hittites to Anatolia, and Slavs, Germans, Latins, and Celts to other parts of Europe. The newcomers had the advantage of warlike habits arising from the necessity of protecting their flocks and herds from raiders and from attacking neighbors in retaliation. Moreover, these warrior tribesmen had a superior diet, thanks to the milk and milk products they consumed, making them bigger and stronger than the grain farmers they displaced.

Dry summers prevail in most of Greece and are bad for grass, so the invaders had to depend more on grain farming and to cut back on herding by sending flocks to high mountain pastures in summer. This brought Greek society into line with the contemporary scene in western Asia, where steppe invaders had overrun somewhat larger populations of farmers and the urban centers they supported. Accordingly, by about 1600 BCE, closer encounters with centers of civilization in Crete, Egypt, and western Asia brought familiarity with royal government, bronze weapons and armor, chariots, writing, and monumental stone construction to Greece. Mycenae became the principal seat of wealth and power, where a massive lion gate and large beehive tombs attest to the greatness of the kings for whom they were built. Rural taxpayers, sometimes conscripted for work on such buildings, together with booty from sea raids along the shores of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean sustained the kings of Mycenae and rulers of a handful of similar fortress-palaces in other parts of Greece. But chariots as well as bronze weapons and armor were scarce and expensive, so fully equipped warriors remained very few. Hence, about 1200 BCE, when a second wave of Greek-speaking invaders, known as Dorians, armed with comparatively cheap and abundant iron weapons, advanced from the north, the superior number of their fighting men overwhelmed the old order of society. The newcomers promptly destroyed and abandoned Mycenae and the other palace-fortresses of Greece.

The Homeric Ideal of Individual Heroism

With these invasions, a ruder, more egalitarian age dawned. Writing disappeared, so did monumental building. But bards who recited their poems to the sound of a lyre kept memories of the Mycenaean past at least dimly alive, especially among descendants of pre-Dorian Greek-speakers, known as Ionians. Soon after 700 BCE Homer gave lasting form to this oral tradition by composing a pair of epic poems. One, the Iliad, described a critical episode during a sea raid that Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, perhaps (even probably), led against the city of Troy; its twin, the Odyssey, recounted the perilous return of Odysseus from Troy to his home in Ithaca. Homer’s poems were soon written down in a new alphabetic script imported (with adjustments) from Phoenicia, and they became fundamental to subsequent Greek assumptions and ideas about how men ought to behave. Homer’s heroes seek and attain glory by risking death in war, knowing ahead of time that sooner or later they will be defeated and die. Moreover, according to Homer, the gods play games with men, favoring some, defeating others whimsically; yet the very fact that the gods were immortal meant that they could not be truly heroic by risking life and limb. Instead, according to Homer, they were often merely spiteful and were ultimately subject to Fate—the nature of things—mysteriously spun out in detail by enigmatic, silent supernatural beings. Oddly, therefore, by risking everything, heroic humans surpassed the gods, at least morally, while sharing with them a common subordination to Fate.

This unusual twist diminished the power of priests and conventional religion among the ancient Greeks and opened a path to all sorts of speculation seeking to anatomize Fate and penetrate more deeply into the nature of things, including, ere long, the nature of human society and of morals. No other ancient civilization centered so much on merely human affairs or unleashed human imagination and reasoning from sacred traditions so recklessly. That is why in later times urban populations among whom local versions of sacred doctrine had worn thin from too many encounters with persons of different religious background so often found Greek high culture powerfully attractive.

From Individual to Collective Heroism

The civilization of ancient Greece further enhanced its attractiveness when Homeric heroism was transformed from an individual, personal pursuit into collective heroism in defense of small city-states, into which ancient Greece eventually divided. Greek city-states had their own complex development from older migratory and tribal forms of society. Ionian Greeks, fleeing from Dorian invaders across the Aegean to found new settlements on the coast of modern Turkey, led the way. Kinship ties crumbled among haphazard groups of refugees, who consequently had to improvise new ways of keeping peace and order among themselves. Elected magistrates, holding office for a limited time (usually one year) and administering laws agreed upon by an assembly of male citizens, proved maximally effective. When such self-governing communities began to thrive and, after about 750 BCE, started to found similar new cities in Sicily, southern Italy, and around the shores of the northern Aegean and Black Sea, an enlarged Greek world began to emerge, held together by shipping and trade, a more or less common language and the distinctive public institutions of the polis, to use the Greek term for a locally sovereign city-state.

In ancient Greece proper, the polis supplanted older kinship arrangements much more slowly. In the wake of the Dorian invasions, as people settled down to farm the same fields year after year, local hereditary kings, assisted by councils of noble landowners, began to emerge. They much resembled contemporary local rulers of western Asia. Population growth soon provoked a painful process of differentiation between noble landowners and dependent rent- and tax-paying peasants. This process went unchecked in Asia and quickly led to the emergence of new empires and kingdoms, like the biblical kingdom of David. In ancient Greece, however, for something like three hundred years, a different pattern prevailed.

Military and Economic Power of Ancient Greece

The critical difference hinged on the emergence of phalanx warfare among the Greeks. Beginning about 650 BCE, well-armored farmers, trained to keep in line so each man’s shield helped to protect the man next to him, proved superior to disorganized personal combat of the sort Homer had celebrated. When such men, equipped with spears and swords, arrayed themselves six ranks deep to form what the Greeks called a phalanx, their concerted charge easily swept less disciplined and closely packed opponents before it. Once this simple tactic proved uniformly successful, every Greek city had to maintain and if possible increase the size of its phalanx to be able to protect itself against its neighbors.

Since fighting farmers had to arm themselves for the phalanx with income from the family farm, radical steps were necessary to prevent them from losing their land by going into debt to richer landowners. In Sparta, a (perhaps mythical) lawgiver named Lycourgos(Lycurgus)was credited with setting up a system of military training that required the “equals,” as Spartan citizens officially called themselves, to live in barracks between the ages of 20 and 30, practicing military skills and eating together. Family life became correspondingly marginal. Conquered helots in neighboring Messenia supplied the equals with the food they consumed, so Spartan citizens, specialized for war, became an unusual kind of upper class by exploiting the helots collectively. Prolonged military training soon made the Spartan phalanx superior to others, and by 490 BCE Spartans had compelled most other city-states of southern Greece to become their allies.

Athens, the other city whose internal history mattered most in later times, never attained internal stability to compare with Sparta’s under the Lycourgan constitution. In 594 BCE, for example, Solon, after being elected chief magistrate with extraordinary powers, set out to check the decay of the Athenian phalanx by canceling debts and prohibiting debt slavery. But Solon’s efforts to invoke justice and “good law” did not make friction between rich and poor disappear. Half a century later a noble usurper, Peisistratus, seized power by force of arms and with popular support, then exiled his rivals so that his sons retained control until 510 BCE. Two years after their forcible overthrow, another nobleman, Cleisthenes, instituted a more democratic regime in Athens. Rivalry between democratic Athens and Sparta’s mix of radical equality among a citizen elite and harsh repression of disfranchised helots became overt only after the Persian invasion (490–489 BCE), when a precarious alliance of about twenty Greek cities, led by Sparta, managed to defeat the imperial army of perhaps sixty thousand men that Xerxes I, king of Persia and ruler of the largest empire Asia had yet seen, led against them. This surprising victory proved to the historian Herodotus (d. c. 425 BCE) that free men, obedient to law, fought willingly and therefore better than unfree Persians subjected to a king. More generally, the victory gave an enormous fillip to Greek self-confidence and inaugurated what in retrospect seemed a golden age of creativity, concentrated especially in Athens.

At the time, however, uncertainty and divided councils prevailed and ceaseless warfare continued to disturb civil society. Those who lived through that tumult would surely be surprised to know how reverently later generations looked up to their accomplishments. For in Athens, self-government by elected magistrates and an assembly in which all citizens could vote provoked perpetual dispute, and war mobilization required ever increasing effort. New thoughts and new dilemmas distracted people in private and public life, while sculpture, architecture, drama, history and philosophy all attained what later generations recognized as classical expression.

This remarkable efflorescence of Greek, and especially of Athenian, civilization was sustained by an expanding market economy. Greek cities began to mint silver, copper, and even iron coins in small denominations, so everyone could buy and sell items of common consumption. Expanding markets, in turn, allowed specialized producers to achieve new levels of efficiency, thus enriching society at large. The most significant of these was specialized farming of olives (for oil) and of grapes (for wine). Beginning not long before 600 BCE, production of wine and oil for sale spread ever more widely through southern and central Greece, wherever climate and soil allowed. That was because olive oil and wine commanded a ready market throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea coastlands, where barbarian chieftains mobilized local peoples to supply grain, fish, timber, and other raw materials in exchange for the wine and oil they desired. For a long time terms of trade strongly favored the Greeks, so that the yield from an acre of land under vines or olive trees could be exchanged for far more grain than the same land in Greece could produce. As a result, throughout the classical age commercially specialized farming in Greece sustained free and more or less equal citizens far more comfortably (and in larger numbers) than could have been done by raising their own grain locally. In western Asia cities drew grain from their immediate hinterlands in the form of unrequited rents and taxes, but in ancient Greece ships allowed cities to draw grain and other resources from far greater distances, in return for the oil and wine their farmer-citizens brought to market each year.

Export of specialized artisan products—decorated Greek vases for example—supplemented this fundamental agricultural and raw-materials pattern of exchange. Artisans, too, specialized and rapidly improved the quality and quantity of their output. Thus, for a few generations, increasing wealth and skill concentrated in a few commercial cities, of which Athens was the most active. Eventually, when farmers in other parts of the Mediterranean learned how to raise olives and vines, Greeks lost their initial advantage. Greek rural prosperity waned correspondingly, and the expansive buoyancy of the classical age, when Greek population and wealth grew steadily, soon faded away. Yet it was political contradictions inherent in polis ideals of heroism and justice that brought an abrupt end to the Greek classical age in 338 BCE, when a semibarbarian conqueror, Philip of Macedon, deprived Greek cites of their cherished freedom. Until then, Greek freedom triumphed on every front, restlessly, ruthlessly, amazingly.

Athens Ascendant

Immediately after their victory over the Persians, Athens and Sparta went their separate ways. Athens had played a conspicuously heroic part in the Persian War. When Xerxes overran their city, Athenians fled to the island of Salamis nearby and refused to surrender. Athenian triremes (the specialized Greek fighting ship that relied on rams, affixed to the ships’ prows, to sink enemy ships) then helped to defeat the Persian fleet in the straits separating Salamis from the Attic mainland (480 BCE), compelling Xerxes to withdraw from Greece with most of his army before the Persian remnant suffered final defeat at Plataea the next year. Thereupon, the Athenians chose to keep their fleet in action and continued the war by sending naval expeditions to liberate Greek cities from Persian rule around the shores of the Aegean and beyond. Peace did not come until 448 BCE, by which time Athens had built an empire, first freeing cities from the Persians and then taxing them to help support the Athenian fleet that “liberated” them. Spartans at first held back, fearful of helot revolt at home and dismayed by the sudden surge of Athenian power.

Within Athens, the fleet’s annual campaigns swiftly altered internal balances. Citizens whose surplus younger sons lacked enough land to be able to buy armor and serve in the phalanx now had an attractive way to make ends meet by rowing in the fleet for a small wage, supplemented every so often by hauls of booty. In winter, when the fleet went ashore and stayed home, they were free to attend meetings of the assembly, whereas farmers, scattered across Attica, only attended when an unusual crisis arose. This gave a decisive advantage to property-less citizens and assured continuation of the aggressive overseas ventures upon which they had come to depend for a living. For a couple of generations, farmers served contentedly in the phalanx in summer when there was no work to be done in the fields, while a few wealthy aristocrats went along with the democracy, playing their own specialized part by refraining from conspicuous consumption in private life and competing instead for the honor of using their wealth for various public purposes, like equipping a trireme or financing one of the tragic performances that honored the god Dionysos (Dionysus).

Despite rapid population growth, Athenian citizens remained comparatively few. War losses were substantial, and about a dozen colonies, dispatched to consolidate their emerging empire, also removed several thousand landless citizens. At the city’s maximum, in 431 BCE, adult male citizens numbered somewhere between 35,000 and 50,000, of whom as many as 20,000 drew salaries from the state for rowing in the fleet and for other forms of public service, such as serving on juries in the law courts. The total population of Attica was probably between 250,000 and 350,000 persons, almost half of whom were disfranchised foreigners and slaves. So as in Sparta, many though not all Athenian citizens had become militarized “equals,” disciplined to row and maneuver their triremes more swiftly and accurately than others, just as years of training allowed Spartan soldiers to prevail on land.

While the Athenian democracy thus concentrated on warfare, trade and artisan work fell mainly into the hands of resident foreigners. Slaves, too, played an important economic role as miners of newly discovered veins of silver ore in Attica. Silver from those mines financed the two hundred Athenian triremes that fought at Salamis; the mines also supplied silver for the Attic drachmae that soon became a standard currency throughout most of the Mediterranean coastlands.

Athens’s combination of economic and military power, based on oil and wine exports, other far-ranging market exchanges, and the personal participation in war by farmer-soldiers in the phalanx and landless rowers in the fleet, was unmatched elsewhere. Athenian polis-wide collaboration always remained somewhat precarious, but under Pericles, who dominated the city’s politics between 445 and 429 BCE, the Athenians indeed converted Homeric individual heroism into collective heroism on behalf of their polis. Rich and poor alike pursued honor more than personal gain, and their willing cooperation brought unusual success.

Yet that success was profoundly ambiguous, since victorious Athenians became collective tyrants, suppressing the freedom of others. Accordingly, most Greeks (including some Athenians) came to feel that Athenian democratic and imperial policies were profoundly unjust. Invoking the “freedom of the Greeks” against unjust tyrants, whether home grown or coming from abroad, became and remained a heartfelt protest, long after the enlarged scale of war had made the freedom of separate cities unsustainable.

The Peloponnesian Wars and the Coming of Philip

Sparta, where collective heroism dated back to Lycourgos, soon took the lead in challenging the emerging Athenian Empire. Two bouts of war ensued. The first, waged on and off between 460 and 445 BCE, turned out to be a draw; but the next Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE), as the Athenian historian Thucydides called it, ended in the overthrow of Athenian Empire and democracy. Yet the victorious Spartans were compromised from the start, as they prevailed only after accepting Persian money to finance the creation of the mercenary fleet they needed to defeat the Athenians at sea. The scale and intensity of these struggles altered Greek society very rapidly. Fighting became professionalized and commercialized; both Athens and Sparta hired troops and sailors from outside the polis to supplement armies and navies of citizens. Within Athens, rich and poor parted company when conspirators twice (411 and 404 BCE) overthrew the democracy. To be sure, democracy was soon restored in Athens, at least in form; but the solidarity between rich and poor in pursuit of collective greatness never came back. Instead, independent farmer-citizen-soldiers gave way to mercenaries, while Athens, and Greek society everywhere, divided more and more sharply between landowners and dependent tillers of the soil.

Simultaneously, commercial prosperity subsided as the Greeks lost their primacy in producing oil and wine for overseas markets. Politics changed to match, allowing larger landed property holders to monopolize what long remained vivacious political struggles among themselves at home and with neighboring cities. After 404 BCE, the victorious Spartans quickly became even more unpopular than Athenians had been, before meeting defeat in 371 BCE by the Thebans, who were in turn overthrown by Philip of Macedon in 338 BCE. To keep the peace, Philip made himself commander-in-chief of a Hellenic league of cities. His son, Alexander, after ruthlessly suppressing a revolt, led a combined Macedonian and Greek army against the Persians in 334 BCE. His victories brought the Persian Empire to an end, and after his death in 323 BCE, Macedonian generals set up kingdoms of their own in Egypt, Asia, and Macedon. Greek cities nominally regained their freedom but in fact remained bit players in continuing great power struggles until 31 BCE, when the Romans unified the entire Mediterranean coastline and its hinterlands in a more lasting empire.

Culture and Legacy of Ancient Greece

Long before 31 BCE, Athenian art and literature of the classical age, 480 to 338 BCE, had become familiar to wealthy Greeks everywhere. Precisely because the freedom of the polis was slipping away from their grasp, they cherished the Athenian literary heritage for showing how free men ought to conduct their affairs and lead a good life. Later on, Romans, too, shared a similar nostalgia, for their republican liberty was also a casualty of empire. Accordingly, Roman art and literature borrowed themes and ideas from their Greek predecessors, and the resulting amalgam was what, almost fourteen hundred years later, inspired Italian and other European humanists to revive ancient glories by teaching the young to read, admire, and emulate Greek and Roman literature and art.

The power and complexity of Greek thought, and its concentration in Athens between 490 and 338 BCE, remains amazing. Reason, imagination, doubt, hope, and fear all play their part in classical Greek literary exploration of the human condition. Fate, gods, and men interact, surprisingly, often inscrutably. Above all, classical Greek writers remained in thrall to Homer, portraying human beings heroically confronting the world’s uncertainties. Greek sculptors also portrayed both men and gods in heroic human form, and attained greater visual accuracy than art traditions of Asia or elsewhere had done before. Greek monumental architecture remained simple, featuring columnar facades and straight geometrical rooflines. But subtle curvature and proportion please modern eyes as much as they presumably did when first constructed. In later centuries, classical Greek styles of sculpture and architecture spread widely across Europe and Asia; they still affect many of our public buildings.

Religion in Ancient Greece

Yet there was more to the Greek cultural heritage than visual art, civic solidarity, and collective heroism. Rational argument, science, and philosophy burgeoned as well, rivaling traditional religious ritual and belief. This aspect of Greek society reflected the fact that religion in Greece had become a hodgepodge by the time written texts allow us to know anything about it. Ancient and secret fertility cults, like the one at Eleusis, promised eternal life to initiates. Such mysteries fitted awkwardly with Homer’s quarrelsome gods, living on top of Mount Olympus. In addition, Greeks engaged in ecstatic worship of Dionysos, god of wine, sought cures from Aesclapios (Asclepius) through dreams, and inquired about the future from oracles like that at Delphi, where fumes from the earth intoxicated the Pythia, making her babble in ways that priestly experts interpreted for inquiring visitors. The Greeks also honored the gods by stripping themselves naked to compete in athletic contests at Olympia and elsewhere at special festivals. This shocked others, but became a distinctive trait of Hellenism as it spread across western Asia in the wake of Alexander’s armies, rooting itself in new Greek-style cities founded by discharged veterans.

Philosophy in Ancient Greece

Nothing resembling a coherent worldview emerged from such confusion, and when Greeks began to buy and sell overseas, they encountered an even greater confusion of religious ideas and practices in Egypt, Asia, and more northerly lands. Polis magistrates could and did reconcile the irreconcilable in ritual fashion by sustaining traditional rites and in some cases elaborating on them, as happened in Athens with the development of dramatic festivals honoring Dionysos. Athenian playwrights, notably Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, used drama to explore moral and political issues. Although they advocated civic institutions like justice and moral courage as healthy alternatives to the violent uncertainties of human life, they never came near to making the world as a whole make sense. That was left to a handful of philosophers, who, beginning in Ionia with Thales of Miletus (d. c. 546 BCE), took the radical step of disregarding gods and spirits, surmising instead that just as men in the polis regulated their lives by invisible binding laws, nature too perhaps obeyed its own natural laws. Thales for example—perhaps drawing on Mesopotamian creation myths—said that everything came from water by rarification and condensation, with the difference that gods were erased, leaving water and other elements (earth, air, and fire) to behave lawfully. Others pursued this leap in the dark in different directions, proposing some notions that were destined to future significance, like the atomic theory of matter. Mathematics had special attraction for early Greek philosophers since geometrical demonstrations were logically certain and seemed universally true. Here, perhaps, was a model for natural law in general, of which polis law itself was only an instance. Pythagoras of Samos (d. c. 500 BCE) carried such ideas to an extreme. He founded a secret brotherhood that was soon forcibly dispersed, and taught that the world was made of numbers and that studying their harmonies might permit human souls to survive death through reincarnation. Only fragments remain from the sayings and writings of Pythagoras and other early Greek philosophers, so modern understanding of their efforts to make the world make sense remain very uncertain and imperfect.

Philosophical discussion turned increasingly to human affairs, with the intense controversies surrounding the rise of democracy. Not surprisingly, Athens became the principal center of debate. A school of sophists made their living by preparing young men for political careers, teaching them how to argue a case—any case—convincingly. Some sophists taught that right and wrong were merely human inventions. That in turn provoked others, of whom Socrates (d. 399 BCE) was the most influential, to argue that right and wrong, truth, beauty, honor, justice, and all the other ideas that citizens held dear, were unchanging and rooted in the nature of things, though Socrates was more successful in refuting those who disagreed with him than in explaining his own beliefs. Socrates wrote nothing, but his pupil Plato (d. 347 BCE) pursued the same effort by writing a long series of dialogues that survive for our inspection and continuing delight. Plato wanted to believe in a world of unchanging immaterial ideas that somehow guaranteed truth; but, to judge by his later dialogues, never entirely convinced himself that such a world existed. Nevertheless, Plato’s dialogues raised questions for subsequent philosophers to examine endlessly. In addition, by founding the Academy, where young men gathered for advanced study and debate, Plato set up a lasting institutional framework for ancient philosophy. His pupil, Aristotle (384–322 BCE), codified the rules of logic, and his other writings offered plausible answers to almost everything else his predecessors had argued about. Subsequent Greek and Roman philosophers continued to disagree until the Christian Emperor Justinian forcibly disbanded the Academy in 529 CE. All the same, pagan philosophers’ ideas provided an educated upper class of citizens in Hellenistic and Roman times with ready answers to a wide range of personal and scientific questions, independent of any sort of religious authority.

This body of learning—secular, rational, argumentative and complex—rivaled (and also suffused) later religious worldviews. It ranks among the most significant heritages passed on from Greek antiquity, for in later centuries Greek philosophy and natural science took on new life among both Muslims and Christians, and still colors contemporary thought.

In sum, science, philosophy, art, literature, war and politics throughout the world are still influenced by our complex and tangled heritage from ancient Greece.

Bibliography:

Alcock, S., & Osborne, R. (Eds.). (1996). Placing the gods: Sanctuaries and sacred space in ancient Greece. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press.
Andrewes, A. (1992). Greek society. Harmondsworth, U.K.: Pelican Books.
Boardman, J., Griffin, J., & Murray O. (Eds.). (1991). The Oxford history of Greece. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.
Dover, K. J. (1997). Ancient Greece: A political, social, and cultural history. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ehrenberg, V. (1973). From Solon to Socrates: Greek history and civilization during the 6th and 5th centuries b.c. London: Routledge.
Finley, M. I. (1982). The legacy of Greece: A new appraisal. New York: Oxford University Press.
Finley, M. I., Shaw, B. D., & Saller, R. P. (1982). Economy and society in ancient Greece. New York: Viking.
Forrest, W. H. (1966). The emergence of Greek democracy, 800– 400 b.c. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers.
Furley, D. & Allen, R. (Eds.). (1975). Studies in presocratic philosophy. New York: Routledge.
Guthrie, W. K. C. (1962–1981). A history of Greek philosophy (Vols. 1–6). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Hamilton, E. (1983). The Greek way. Mattituk, NY: Amereon Publishers.
Hanson, V. D. (1989). The Western way of war: Infantry Battle in classical Greece. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Hurwit, J. M. (1985). The art and culture of early Greece, 1100– 480 b.c. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
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Sealey, R. (1977). A history of the Greek city-states. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

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World Mythology (HUM 1015)

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Asian & Middle Eastern Cultures
European Cultures
North, Meso, South American Cultures
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Research Paper Ideas

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With approximately 300 collections composed of over 2 million images, find artifacts from the Smithsonian, treasures from the Louvre, and panoramic, 360-degree views of architectural wonders.

Mexico, Chiapas, Palenque Region, Maya. Incense-Burner Support. c. 600-900. Artstor, library-artstor-org.ccco.idm.oclc.org/asset/AMICO_CL_103802232

Painted incense stand with bowl. 1200-1000 BCE. Artstor, library-artstor-org.ccco.idm.oclc.org/asset/LESSING_ART_10313048841

Below you will find common mythic themes and elements for certain world mythologies. Also included are some ideas for research paper topics for each culture. You will notice that some mythic themes and elements are common across different cultures and mythologies (for example Greek and Roman).

Note: The following information can be found using the Gale Virtual Reference Library Philosophy & Religion database provided under the Database and Internet Links tab, and the course study outline available in the Start Here! tab.

Universal Themes

Common Universal Themes in World Mythology

Creation and the Ordering of the Cosmos/Reality Afterlife and immortality Gender Roles - social roles and ideals Deities - relation to the divine, nature Acquisition of Fire/Technology Geophysical Phenomenon (e.g. Flood or Apocalyptic myths; Time)

Common Themes in Greek Mythology:

-Obedience to a higher being or beings

-Human behavior; explaining consequences of good and bad behavior

-Relationships between men and women to one another

-War and military honor; Creation of Heroes

-explaining the destructive forces of natural disasters

-passage of time and life, including the afterlife

Paper Ideas:

- A potter creating artistic pots depicting the relationship between Zeus and Athena, or other characters from Greek mythology.(Why are you depicting that scene; what does the myth mean to you?)

- A home owner, with a family, and a stranger come to the home asking for shelter (Xenos, Theos)

- A Greek solider explaining his experience during the Trojan War

- A young Greek person has a dream about crossing the River Styx and seeing a deceased relative (describe the journey, how did you get to the underworld, did you meet other characters from Greek mythology there?)

Common Themes in Roman Mythology:

-Celebration of Virtues (Honor, Bravery, Self-Sacrifice, and piety)

-Gods and Goddess represent Virtue (deities do not possess the same human-like weaknesses and vices)

-War and Military Honor

-Founding of Rome (Romulus and Remus story)

- A roman general speaks to his troops before a major battle (explain how the deities might favor those who demonstrate virtues listed above)

- Comparison of Greek and Roman Gods and/or Goddesses from the perspective of a Roman scholar

- You are an advisor to an Emperor of Rome, and have been tasked with explaining ways to honor the gods and goddess with a ceremony or festival

India/Hindu

Common Themes in India/Hindu Mythology:

Importance of nature (sacred Animals, Trees, and mountains for example)

Eschatology,Death, Reincarnation of the soul

Ritualistic festivals and devotion to gods and goddesses

- Parents explain why good behavior is important to a child (Dharma, reincarnation )

- A village elder explains the significance of a sacred Tree within the village

- a young person talks about the forms of Vishnu, and how they see Vishnu in their daily lives, to a sibling.

Common Themes in Norse Mythology:

- Bravery/courage while facing a harsh fate

-Impending destruction of man and deities

-struggle between good and evil

- focus on nature (fire, ice, trees, rainbows are all natural elements that appear in Norse Mythology)

- Creation of Sagas to honor ancestors

Paper Ideas:

- An elder member of a Viking family writes a saga describing the heroic efforts of a late family member

- You are part of the valkyries, and are selecting fallen warriors to enter Valhalla ( explain why a certain warrior makes it in to Valhalla, while another may be left out)

North American

Common Themes in North American Mythology:

-Bridge the gap between hunter/gatherer culture and settlement culture

-Varied beliefs according to unique history of events and geographic relationships

-Animal Spirits (e.g. Buffalos, wolves, rabbits are different types of animal spirits that appear in North American mythologies).

-Origin stories (Commonalities in stories due to mass migration across Bering Straight and later spreading of tribes across North America)

-Sacred pieces; pipes, drums, robes,

-Gender roles (e.g. Buffalo Woman & Handsome Stranger

- You are a young warrior sent on a vision quest; describe what you are doing, and how it relates to the mythology of your culture, why is your vision quest important?

- As a Navajo elder, you must explain the significance of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo and how the Navajo came to be.

- You are a Creek woman explaining the story of the Lucky Hunter and the Corn Woman to your children (Creek Indian creation myth).

- You are a Ute Indian tribesman, and you spotted a wolf and a coyote while wondering your territory. Explain the symbolism that these two creatures mean to your tribe. Is it good or bad that you saw these two animals? Should you be concerned at the sight of a wolf or coyote?

Meso-American

Common Themes in Meso-American Mythologies:

-Developed stable and sophisticated cultures early (as compared to Europe and China for example)

-astronomical observation and creation of complex calendars; movements of planets tracked (e.g. Venus)

-architecture ( pyramid builders)

-The mystery and mists of time; development of corn

-The use of slaves

-Human sacrifice

-The Green Man (The maintenance of the cycle of nature)

- You are a member of the Mayan civilization. Explain the significance of your birth date, does the date have any baring on the outcome of your life or your fate?

- As a high priest in the Mayan culture, you must keep the deities happy and appeased. What rituals and practices do you use, and why is this beneficial for your culture? ( NOTE : a paper like this can be graphic, please do not focus your paper on graphic or inappropriate images and themes. Human sacrifice and bloodletting are examples of practices that occurred in Meso-American cultures, do not include graphic details of these practices, but instead explain how and why such rituals were practiced in these civilizations .)

- You are an Aztec elder and want to explain the origins of the civilization to a young family member. You explain the 4 suns (or worlds) that came before your time, and explain their significance to the civilization.

Common Themes in Egyptian Mythology

-Creation Myth (e.g. World, Ennead of Heliopolis,)

-Afterlife ( i.e. Myths of Osiris, Book of the Dead, mummies & pyramids )

-Numerous cults and rituals to deities (e.g. Cult of Isis )

-Solar Myths; Sun deities and the cycle of their daily movement

-The idea of Order ( ma at )- reflecting notions of truth, cooperation and Justice

-The influence of Egyptian Myths and rituals (e.g. Greeks and Romans borrow mythological elements and deities to fit their cultures)

- You are an Egyptian watching the sun rise over the Nile River, explain the significance of this daily occurrence, where did the sun go when it was night? What do you believe happened to the sun or deities that are associated with the sun during the night?

- You are an ancient scholar, you are studying the Cult of Osiris. You have read or been told the story of Osiris by Egyptians, and discover that Plutarch, a Roman Historian, has also recorded a version of the story of Osiris. Do you notice any variation in the Egyptian version of the story whe comparing it with Plutarch's version?

- You are an Egyptian farmer working lands near the Nile. Which gods and/or goddesses do you rely on for a healthy and bountiful crop? Do you feel that they help or do the deities seem to be against you? Why would the deities favor you or want to destroy you?

Common Themes in Celtic Mythology:

- Celtic cultures were diverse and deities and myths were localized depending on the tribe.

- Oral tradition of myth telling; most tales not recorded in text ( recorded versions of Celt tales come from Roman sources; Romans and Celts were enemies, thus Roman accounts are often unfavorable views of the Celtic culture).

- Myths of the Otherworld ; How to get to the Otherworld; The use of Burial mounds ( sidhe), importance of geographic features (e.g. lakes, caves)

- Magic, Magicians, and supernatural events (e.g. the magic cauldron or kettles)

- Epic and perilous adventure stories; mysterious and dangerous lands; larger than life heroes

- Romance, love, and tricksters can be found any many tales.

- As a Druid priest, you are teaching the tale of Dagda. What role does Dagda play as a member of the religious sect of Celtic culture? Do you have any magic powers as a Druid priest?

- You are Celtic hunter that has come across another tribe of Celts that you are not familiar with. Discuss the differences in your tribes with a member from the new tribe you have found. Are your deities the same? Do they have the same names? Did you hear a new version of a old tale?

- You are a Roman solider that just fought a band of Celtic warriors. You have taken a Celt warrior prisoner, and having spent a lot of time in the region, can understand the what the prisoner is saying. Explain the conversation. Is the warrior praying to a certain deity? Does the warrior tell you anything about the Celtic culture and beliefs?

Common Themes in Chinese Mythology :

- Complex and old mythology (Chinese history, mythology, and reality intertwine).

- Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism factor into Chinese Mythology.

-Changing dynasties means more or less emphasis on particular deities in the pantheon of Chinese gods and goddesses.

- creation of the cosmos and human beings out of chaos (e.g. Pan Gu and the creation of the world)

- nature; Explanations of natural phenomena; Animism used often to explain the natural world.

- Astronomical observation and the use of myth to explain the origins of stars, the sun, the moon and their movements.

- moral issues.

- ancestor worship (became more important to Chinese culture with the rise of the Zhou Dynasty)

- An elderly member of your family has recently passed away after a long life. Explain how your family views the passing of your relative based on chinese mythology. Do you think your relative was favored by the deities, or does their death make you think that your ancestor crossed the deities somehow? Will your family do any rituals or ceremonies to honor your ancestors?

- As an ancient Chinese astronomers, you explain various myths that account for the sun, moon, and the appearance of the Milky Way in the night sky.

- You are a Chinese hunter/fisherman and are hoping to pass down your skills to your children. You tell them the legend of the three Sovereigns and explain how this story is important to understand if the children want to be successful as hunters/fishermen.

Common Themes in Japanese Mythology:

- Creation Myth (creation of the islands of Japan)

- Focus on nature; Everything in nature has a kami -- a spirit or soul.

- Many centuries myths were orally transmitted; 712 CE myths recorded in the Kojiki for Emperor; Another text, the Nihongi created around 720 CE contains more legends and myths, as well the genealogy of the imperial family (both text contain elements of Taoism).

- Gods granting divine rights to Japanese Emperor

- The importance of mirrors as a mythic symbol

- Rituals to honor the Gods and Goddesses (e.g.kagura dances)

- You have grown up in a mountainous region of Japan, and have heard tales of the tengu, or trickster spirits that are part human and part bird, and inhabit the area. You have figured out a way to play a trick on the tengu, who do not like being on the opposite end of tricks. What did you do and how did the tengu respond to your trickster ways?

- You serve the Japanese Imperial family as a scribe and/or scholar. You are writing a personal journal entry to yourself questioning the divine origins of the Imperial family. Do you believe that they are truly descendents from the gods and goddesses as Japanese mythology claims? Why or why not?

- As a Japanese rice farmer, you harvest the most important crop for the civilization. Discuss the various deities and legends that help you cultivate this important food crop. (e.g. Inari, Amaterasu)

Common Themes in Arthurian Legend:

- A blend of Celtic Myth, history, and medieval romance; Arthurian Legend factor in to the Mythology of the British Isles (Britain, Ireland, Wales).

- King Arthur may or may not have really existed

- Many Characters in early Arthurian Legends based on older Celtic myth characters (e.g. Merlin and Myrddin)

- Equality amongst Knights of the Round Table.

- Magic Powers, supernatural beings, and epic quests part of Arthurian legends.

- Loyalty and human weakness explored in Arthurian legends.

- King Arthur is considered a timeless, or eternal king; Scholars have seen similarities between King Arthur and Sun Gods (die and set in the west, but reborn)

- Legends transform over time (Search for Magic cauldron becomes search for Holy Grail); Medieval writers create new Arthurian legends

Paper Ideas:

- You are a medieval scholar and you have a new take on the Legend of King Arthur and his sword, Excalibur. Why do you need to retell this tale? What is different in your telling of the legend compared to other versions of the this legend?

- Suppose that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table did exist, and you are an aspiring Knight, hoping to be amongst those that set at the Round Table. How would you gain favor with the King? Describe what it takes to be a Knight of the Round Table.

- Compare an Arthurian Legend with the Celtic myth from which it originated. How are they similar? How do they differ? (e.g. Merlin compared to Myrddin ; Quest for the magic cauldron compared with quest for the Holy Grail).

Polynesian Mythology

Common Themes in Polynesian Mythology:

-Polynesia consists of several islands and cultures located in the Pacific Ocean ( Ranging from Midway and Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, the triangular area called Polynesia also includes Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotu, the Cook Islands, and the Pitcairn Islands).

-Though slight variations in mythologies exist based on particular island cultures, many of the basic themes, gods, and stories are shared throughout Polynesia.

- Large emphasis on nature; Myths and legends explain the importance of the Ocean to Polynesian cultures.

- Creation myths very important to Polynesian Cultures (e.g. Ao and Po Hawaiian Myth; Te Po, Te Kore, Rangi, and Papi Moari myth)

- Yams and sweet potatoes are stable crops of Polynesian cultures, and have their own myths and legends surrounding them.

- Humans must deal with uncooperative or unfriendly gods in someway (e.g. myth of Maui)

- As a yam farmer on the island of Samoa, you have had a dismal crop and need to explain to your family why the deities cursed you this harvest. Using myths, explain what went wrong, and if possible, how to correct this problem for the next harvest.

- You have grown up in the ancient Hawaiian culture, and experience the arrival of European explorers coming to your shore for the first time. Based on your myths, how do you interpret the arrive of of these entities? Are they human? Is this a good or bad sign from the Gods and Goddesses?

- As an experienced sailor from Tahiti, you are about to embark on a trip across the ocean. Are there rituals that will help you have a safe voyage? Are their mythical creatures or certain deities you should worry about while you prepare for the voyage? Explain your thoughts as you load your craft for the ocean voyage.

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