Ελληνική Γλώσσα (Greek Language)

Oral Tradition in Persia - A Glance

In the ancient world of Persia (map; Iran is most of Persia), only official administrative documents--such as land grants and tax records--were written. Almost no narrative survives in written form from this time--the history of the kingdom was generally passed on as an oral tradition. Tales of the exploits of "the king" -- always recounted without time and without specifics -- were told and retold by the people, thus preserving a sense of national identity. (If I find the book I read this in I will come back and add the reference. It isn't on the library shelf where I found it, as others I've perused aren't...)

This pattern continued on through the ages in this region.

Common Peloponnesian Sense

Since we have started this class, I have been very interested in how knowledge has been acquired and manipulated in order for one to grow in power.  It would seem like he who knows the most holds the power, hence our allegiance to and dependence on God.  But what else do we know about power? As the  Latter-Day Saint Prophet Joseph Smith wrote in the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1839:

"We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion." (Doctrine and Covenant 121:39)


I did a little research to see how this principle is true in the case of Ancient Greece, the supposed birthplace of democracy.  Using analyses of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, I will demonstrate how through the manipulation of social conventions, mainly language and religion, the overarching political and social structures collapse.

RECITATIONATION

so the midterm recital of king benjamin's speech was REALLY interesting today. for whatever reason, when i listened to the audio recording of the chapters we recited on lds.org, i was bored out of my mind. the realism that an in-your-face oral performance lends to a text, however, is absolutely captivating!! not only did verses i've read dozens of times come to life in a new and cohesive way, but to be a part of the recitation of the speech gave me a sense of responsibility, as was said in class. In addition, i felt a heightened understanding of the motivation, emotion and desires of the original speaker when memorized my verses knowing the speaker would be ME! the "part of a whole" quality of the verses i was assigned to read translated into a "part of a whole" feeling towards my responsibility - i knew that my success or failure meant more than my grade, it would reflect on the class as a whole and possibly inhibit other performers from being able to perform their part. i feel that this unity or team feeling was the real miracle today - i found myself internally cheering for a whole bunch of people I've never talked to and who i had nothing really in common with, except the shared experience of frantically memorizing a bunch of scriptures over the weekend. just because i had been through that, too, i understood their struggles and rejoiced in their success. though we haven't really talked about the unity that oral traditions create between performers, i think this is one of the strongest of ways that the oral unifies people.

good job everyone!!

do you believe?

i do. miracles happen - i got a last-minute interview with a mesopotamian expert, expect a full post by the end of the weekend!!

Sing Me a Song of Ethos

Music has been around for centuries. Do you believe music serves the same role in every culture?

For the Ancient Greeks, music was a way to express their love and respect, even fear, towards their reigning gods. The oral tradition of ethos used in song created ways in which the entire culture learned more about and were strengthened in their polytheist beliefs.

mesopotamia - part one

Mesopotamian religion has been very interesting to study so far. certain aspects of it's structure are hard to conceptualize to someone outside of their mythological traditions. before i go too far, however, i have to say that this is not a polished, finished research report - as I've read about the beliefs of the Mesopotamians, i realize that I'm really only scratching the surface of a very complex polytheistic belief system. having said that, let's jump right in-

"in the beginning" as Christians would say, there was a watery chaos. from this chaos emerged Taimat and Abzu, who then created the four creator gods, The highest of the 4 gods was the sky-god An, the over-arching bowl of heaven. Next came Enlil who could either produce raging storms or act to help man. Nin-khursag was the earth goddess. The 4th god was Enki, the water god and patron of wisdom. there is a marked difference in the nature of these gods and the god of Christianity. while we may see god as influencing the weather,to Mesopotamians, enlil didn't control the weather, enlil was the weather. the Mesopotamians believed that their gods were continuously present with them (notably, this phrase sounds familiar to Christians, but is meant in a MUCH more literal way) these four gods were supported by a host of 50 advisor gods, each having their own role in the universe. however, the lines between god and spirit and transcendent presence were blurred to the point that while An was the highest god, the flowers in the field or the thunder accompanying the storm or the stream by your village could in its own sphere, be a god.

this fluidity of definition - a wide open canon - bears a close relationship to the oral nature of their belief system. I'm not going to try to guess which led to the other - stories of things experienced leading to social lore of gods of nature, or belief in the presence of gods all around them leading to stories shared around fires of the actions of the gods witnessed in their lives. the continual conversation between the young and the old, the community coming together to share these stories, forming a series of rites and rituals over time. the method of transmission in this case definitely affected the content of that knowledge.

how do you think the method of transmission of our religious beliefs affects the content thereof? and how does that compare to other modern religions? or to the religions you are studying?

"They mock me. Gods of Thebes!"

Ancient Greek religion sets itself in polytheist beliefs, with gods ranging from the mighty Zeus, ruler of all the gods, to Hades, the guardian of the Underworld. The ancient Greeks devoted their rituals to worshipping and pleasing the gods through animal sacrifices, temple-building, and other offerings. These ancient rituals were passed down orally from one to another partly through the context of dramas and comedies.