Week 6 Reading: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories Part A

 

Hathor, in bovine form, emerges from a hill representing the Theban necropolis, in a copy of the Book of the Dead from the 13th century BC. (source: wiki)

Gods:

Nu - Oldest of the ancient Egyptian gods and father of Ra, the sun god.

Nun's name means “primeval waters,” and he represented the waters of chaos out of which Re-Atum began creation. ... Nun was also thought to continue to exist as the source of the annual flooding of the Nile River

Ra - Sun God. He was often considered to be the King of the Gods and thus the patron of the pharaoh and one of the central gods of the Egyptian pantheon. He was also described as the creator of everything.

Isis - Goddess of the moon. As goddess of life and magic, Isis protected women and children, and healed the sick. She was the sister and wife of Osiris. Isis and Osiris had a son named Horus.

Shu - God of the air and supporter of the sky, created by Atum by his own power, without the aid of a woman. Shu and his sister and companion, Tefnut (goddess of moisture), were the first couple of the group of nine gods called the Ennead of Heliopolis

Tefnut - Deity of moisture, moist air, dew and rain in Ancient Egyptian religion. She is the sister and consort of the air god Shu and the mother of Geb and Nut.

Seb - the Egyptian god of the earth and a mythological member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. he could also be considered a father of snakes. It was believed in ancient Egypt that Geb's laughter created earthquakes and that he allowed crops to grow.

Nut - goddess of the sky, vault of the heavens, often depicted as a woman arched over the earth god Geb. ... As the goddess of the sky, Nut swallowed the sun in the evening and gave birth to it again in the morning

Hathor - goddess associated, later, with Isis and, earlier, with Sekhmet but eventually was considered the primeval goddess from whom all others were derived. She is usually depicted as a woman with the head of a cow, ears of a cow, or simply in cow form

Storybook Plan

 

(Image Source: dummies.com)

 

Storybook Theme: The myths behind Astrological signs. I'll be focusing on Aries, Cancer and Scorpio, however I would like to cover all of the signs if I have the time.

Stories: Greek myths: The Golden Fleece, Karkinos and Hercules, Orion and the Scorpion.

Story Style: These stories are part of an anthology of separate myths. I will retell the stories and explain how they relate to astrology.

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aries_(astrology)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aries_(constellation)#History_and_mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Fleece

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(astrology)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(constellation)#History_and_Mythology

https://www.theoi.com/Ther/Karkinos.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpio_(astrology)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpius#Mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(mythology)

https://classicsmalta.org/greek-myths-and-constellations/

https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/signs-of-the-zodiac.html

 

Comment Wall

 

Image Credit: Miriam Espacio

 

Astrology Myths Storybook 

Storylab: Crash Course

 

Mythology and junk

What is Myth?

This video was so informative. I had never really thought about what "myth" was — I just kind of assumed I knew, but I think the videos explanation of "myth" really puts into perspective the differences between story telling types. 

"Myth comes from the Greeks word "mythos" — which means "word" or, more significantly, "story""

This entire video summed up is myths are stories that have staying power. They aren't necessarily true or untrue, they simply have survived for many centuries. They mostly involve stories of Gods and Goddesses — and this includes Hero tales.

Theories of Myth 

The idea that Zeus was once a king who did such fantastic things that he was eventually turned into a God is so cool. I'm not sure that I believe it, but it's fun to think about! 

The theories presented by ancient philosophers are fascinating. I'm not much into philosophy, so I had never looked into their teachings. Their thinking that myths are seems like an early form of atheism. I'm not sure though, don't quote me on that. 

On the flip-side, Christian philosophers thought it was true, but associated the myths as demons creating the worship of pagan gods. 

PROTO-INDO EUROPEAN — this entire bit makes me think of the story of the Tower of Babel. The world only had one language. Collectively, humans decided to build a tower large enough to reach heaven which angered God. He scattered humanity around the world and created different languages.

The Hero's Journey

I love learning about story structure, and this video was a great way to lay out the template of the hero's journey. 

The hero's journey is made up of tiers that represent the adventure. The call to adventure, the challenges faced, transformation, atonement, return. There's more stuff sprinkled in between, but that's the gist. 

I'm not sure this template could be applied to every story ever, but there's many I can think of that fit it. So cool to think about!

Reading Notes: Gospel of Mark Part B

 

The Kiss of Judas (between 1304 and 1306) by Giotto di Bondone depicts Judas' identifying kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane

 (image source: wiki)

Judas Iscariot - Betrayed Jesus

And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth with me shall betray me."

Judas betrayed Jesus for a bribe of "thirty pieces of silver" by identifying him with a kiss—"the kiss of Judas"—to arresting soldiers of the High Priest Caiaphas, who then turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate's soldiers.

"Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely."

Etymology:

Judas's epithet Iscariot (Ὶσκάριωθ or Ὶσκαριώτης), which distinguishes him from the other people named Judas in the gospels, is usually thought to be a Greek rendering of the Hebrew phrase איש־קריות, (Κ-Qrîyôt), meaning "the man from Kerioth".^[16][8][17]  One of the most popular alternative explanations holds that Iscariot (ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ 'Skaryota' in Syriac Aramaic, per the Peshitta text) may be a corruption of the Latin word sicarius, meaning "dagger man",^{[16][8][18][19]} which referred to a member of the Sicarii (סיקריים in Aramaic), a group of Jewish rebels who were known for committing acts of terrorism in the 40s and 50s AD by assassinating people in crowds using long knives hidden under their cloaks.^[16][8]

16th-century fresco from Tarzhishte Monastery, Strupets, Bulgaria, showing Judas hanging himself as described in Matthew 27:1–10

(image source: wiki)

Reading Notes: Gospel of Mark Part A

 

Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, dating to the sixth century AD

(image source: wiki)

 

Jesus Christ - Son of God 

Casts out "unclean spirits" — first exorcist 

Heals the sick and dying. 

Bleeding? "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

Etymology:

The word Christ was a title or office ("the Christ"), not a given name.^[63][64] It derives from the Greek Χριστός (Christos),^[48][65] a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh (משיח) meaning "anointed", and is usually transliterated into English as "messiah".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus#Etymology

 

John the Baptist -  Baptized Jesus

Imprisoned by Herod after criticizing him for divorcing his wife, and marrying Herodias

Beheaded after Herodias asked for his head through her daughter Salome.

Herod mistook Jesus for John the Baptist after hearing of his miracles. He believed John revived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist

Apostles:

Simon Peter - Follower of Christ, One of the Twelve Apostles 

James the Great - Son of Zeebedee 

John - Brother of James the Great  

Andrew -  

Philip -

Bartholomew -

Matthew -  

Thomas -

James the Less -

Thaddeus -  

Simon the Zealot -  

Judas Iscariot - Betrayed Jesus by kissing him 

 

Bibliography: Gibbs, Laura. Gospel of Mark

https://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-gospel-of-mark.html

Feedback Strategies

 

(Image source: matterapp)

I chose Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset and How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk for this post. These two articles give great tips about giving feedback.

I have never been good at giving feedback, because I don't know what to say. I know if an essay is good or bad, but beyond that I'm at a loss. How do I tell the person their writing is awful without outright saying it's awful? How do I say it's good without just saying "this is good."?

Be a Mirror explains rather well how to do this — "be specific, focus on what the reader is doing (not on what is missing), focus on the process, and take yourself out of the feedback."

This is such simple advice, and I'm not sure why I never thought to do this. I think I just worry too much about hurting someone's feelings. 

The jerk article really narrows down how to give feedback without being a jerk — "explain why you're giving feedback, take yourself off a pedestal, ask if the person wants feedback, and have a transparent dialogue."

I think this advice tends to lean more toward in person/work feedback, but the advice is sound. Instead of trying to beat around the bush, be direct with your feedback and explain your reasons for the feedback.

I think I need to practice giving feedback, and being more confident in the feedback I give. I know that I'm not just being mean, and if I word it in a way that makes my meaning abundantly clear, then it benefits everyone involved.