University of Maryland Humanities Greek culture & Myths Research Paper

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Humanities

University of Maryland Global Campus

Description

Stage 3: Interpretation Paper

The topic can be any chosen myth and how the narratives of the myth relate to it.

The paper should address the relationship between your chosen topic and the narratives that relate to it and shape its meaning. 

Your paper should include the following: 

  1. An introduction which introduces your topic (activity, place, artifact or cultural production) and your approach to analyzing its underlying narratives. 
  2. A summary of what you learned or observed about your topic and its underlying myths. 
  3. An analysis using one of the methodological approaches we have covered throughout the semester to show how myth and your topic interact and connect. Examples of what is expected could include: 
    • Showing how an initiation ritual and its underlying myths connect within the cultural context of the ritual and then discuss how Victor Turner’s concept of communitas in that ritual helps uphold societal norms of that culture. 
    • Examining a Greek statue of Venus, her myths, and how both can represent an archetype that expresses specific values about womanhood in Greek culture and womanhood in the collective unconscious, as per Carl Jung’s ideas. 
    • Discussing a sacred place, its underlying myths, and how historical processes and social power within this site’s culture play a role in the construction of its significance, in accordance with Johnathan Z. Smith’s ideas.

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Explanation & Answer

View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.

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Interpretation Paper
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Myths are common across all cultures and influences the understanding of different
practices and beliefs in a community. Initiation rites are the most widespread rituals amongst
societies of the world, performed mainly during puberty. Most of the initiation rituals are held
during the puberty stage and have been labeled as puberty rites; however, Van Gennep claimed
that this name is unsuitable for females. However, many cultures worldwide believe that
initiation rituals are crucial in symbolizing that boy have moved away from their childhood
nature to adulthood. Initiation rituals are every day in many cultures worldwide because they are
believed to play an essential role in the transition from childhood to adulthood. Many societies
attach strong meaning to initiation ceremonies because they ensure that people transit from one
stage to the other. Victor Turner argued that rituals like an initiation in many cultures had been
taken as a shared experience that transcended many generations. The beliefs and myths held
during the Greek period concerning initiation rituals are still present in modern times.
Moreover, initiation as a passage of rite is based on a belief that it is a way of acceptance into a
group. It implies that the ceremony practiced by many communities is essential in accepting one
into a specific group. In many cultures, initiation rituals in initiation rituals or ceremonies since
they believe that it is a stage where boys become men and that they have sex. Thus, the
importance of initiation rituals in some communities offers an essential platform where different
programs may reach several adolescents and affect their thinking. Specifically, initiation rituals
have extensively addressed the belief among the initiates that attending these rituals symbolizes
that they are no longer children and may have sex. This myth has resulted in severe
consequences among adolescents who believe that these rituals comply with having sex. The
initiation rituals have created a belief that once a boy, for instance, undergoes the rite, he can
engage in sex without any question from the seniors. The myth has gone far to affect the health

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of the adolescents who, after undergoing the ceremony, can indulge in sex without protection
contracting diseases, like HIV/AIDS.
Many cultures worldwide have capitalized on initiation rituals to the extent that they set a
specific time of the year to perform them. Even in modernized societies, initiation rituals have
dominated their calendar because of the attachment that they have attached to it. Many cultures
believe that initiation rites are essential in bonding with the ancestors. In some cultures,
especially African, initiation ceremonies will entail shedding blood to signify the transition from
childhood to adulthood. There are some c...


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