Browsing by Subject "Mythology, Greek"
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Item The sea as a two-way passage between life and death in Greek mythology(2008-05) Beaulieu, Marie-Claire Anne, 1979-; Perlman, Paula JeanThe sea has two major roles in Greek mythology. It is associated with the voyage into Hades, and as the primordial water, Oceanus, it represents vitality and even eternal life. Until now, scholars have viewed these two aspects as fundamentally antinomic. I propose to treat them as complementary to show that the sea is an intermediary locus between the earth and the Underworld that allows initiatory passages to adulthood, heroization, and divinization by symbolic death and return to life. For women, immersion, just like a nuptial bath, is a one-way, irrevocable transformation from parthenos to gynê that separates them forever from their families. In myths such as those of Danae and Auge, girls find a husband and a new community in foreign lands as well as a new identity as queens after having been exposed on the sea by their families. The chest in which they are shut with their illegitimate children conveys the double meaning of the myth: it saves the heroines' lives, but it was also used as a bier in Antiquity. Conversely, girls such as Britomartis leap into the sea to get away from their lovers. Their immersion is an escape from the power of Eros, an anti-initiation into adulthood. This denial of Eros is also present in Sappho's leap at Leucas. The poet escapes Eros and enters Hades by leaping down the cliff and she returns to the earth free from passion. For adolescent men, immersion into the sea is a two-way passage accomplished under no compulsion. Taras' and Theseus' passage in the sea results in their recognition as the sons of gods. They return to their communities as fully integrated leaders.Item The use of mythology and archetypes in character development in an actor training program: a professional problem(Texas Tech University, 1994-05) Benson, Ruthann E.An actor brings not only his first-hand experiences to his work, but also second-hand knowledge that comes from observing either the real world of characters around him or the fictional world of characters in television, film, theatre and literature. Young actors have limited first-hand experience with the depths of emotional love and hate involved with marriage or divorce; the joys, fears and weight of responsibility connected with parenting; the anxieties of day to day work; or the fear of death on the battlefield or in the circle of family and friends. The problem of inadequate experience through secondary sources daunts the young actor, as well, because more and more this knowledge comes from television and film with their emphasis only on surface appearance rather than from theatre and literature which tend to probe more deeply into the inner depths of its characters.