For Thursday: Hamilton, Mythology: Part 2, "The Two Great Gods of Earth" & Part 3, "How the World and Mankind Were Created"

As before, answer TWO of the following for class on Thursday. Think about some of the ideas we discussed in class, too, and see how they might help you answer these questions or see new possibilities. 

Q1: According to Hamilton, most of the Greek myths contain "two ideas...a primitive, crude idea and one that was beautiful and poetic" (27). How might the myths of the two 'Earth' gods, Demeter and Dionysus, be an attempt to make poetry out of the raw, 'primitive' facts of nature? In other words, why might each one be an attempt to translate the cruel realities of life into something more beautiful and civilized? 

Q2: Despite their message of resurrection and immortality, Hamilton calls Demeter and Dionysus "suffering gods" and even "tragic gods." Why might this make them unique about the Olympian pantheon, and how might it explain why people were so drawn to them (more than say, Ares or Aphrodite)? 

Q3: In most creation myths, the gods create the universe and populate it with man. The Greeks, as usual, saw it differently. Why do you think the Greeks might have created the gods as upstarts, sons of the Titans out for revenge? In other words, why make the story of the gods so violent and bloodthirsty? 

Q4: The myth of Pandora has some striking resemblances to that of Eve in the Old Testament. Are they basically two versions of the same story: a woman's curiosity dooming all of mankind? Or is the Greek version somewhat different than the Bible's? Is there a more charitable or hopeful way to read Pandora's story?