Block 3: Ancient Rome Myth of Aeneas

The Myth of Aeneas is both a hero myth and a early times myth. A hero myth is is a story of a hero on their journey. The Myth of Aeneas is the story of Aeneas on his heroic journey. It is an early times tells about something that happened a long time ago. The myth of Aeneas tells about how Rome was founded.

This is a modern image of what archeologists think
Troy, the hometown of Aeneas, looked like.

Aeneas is the son of the goddess Venus and the Trojan prince Anchises. He was raised by nymphs and received his education from Cheiron, the king of centaurs (half human and half horse). He was part of the royal family in Troy, his hometown.

One day, the Greeks came and attacked Troy. This started a war between the Trojans and the Greeks. Aeneas did not help the war effort until Neptune persuaded him to do so after Achilles stole some of his cattle. When he did enlist, he served under the command of the Trojan prince, who at the time was named Hector, the cousin of Aeneas. At one point, Apollo encouraged him to challenge the god Achilles to a fight. But Aeneas was later removed by Neptune. Neptune wanted him to become the future ruler of Troy.  

This is a painting of Prince Hector's body being dragged around the city by chariot.

On the day Troy was sacked, the king Prium was killed. The Greek soldiers ran through the city. Aeneas, Anchises and the remaining Trojans who survived the war, all embarked on an odyssey to make landfall at different places in the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of establishing new civilization. Aeneas carried Aphrodite and his son Ascanius with him. He went back to the flaming city to get his wife Creusa, but she had already died in the fire. That night, they stayed on Mt. Ida near Troy. There they prepared for their sea voyage by building their ships. Their first stop was Thrace.

This is a drawing of Teucer.

At Thracem Aeneas was met by the ghost of Priam’s son, Polydorus, who informed him to leave this city. They continued to Delos to speak with the oracle of Apollo, who informed him to leave and find the “ancient mother” of his people. Anchises said that the oracle was talking about Crete, the homeland of Teucer, an ancestor of Troy’s founder.

This is a painting on a clay pot of harpies attacking
the boat of Aeneas.

Arriving at Crete, Aeneas had a dream that the oracle was referring to Italy, the home of Dardanus, another one his ancestors.The Trojans traveled to Epirus on Greece’s western coast. Here, a Trojan prophet named Helenus, advised Aeneas to travel to Sicily. On the way at sea, they were attacked by Harpies and Aeolus. But Neptune protected them on their journey.  When they arrived at Sicily, Anchises died. Aeneas buried him at Drepanum where a shrine already stood in honor of his immortal mother, Venus. Eventually, they landed at Carthage. Aeneas and his people were greeted by Queen Dido, the founder of Carthage.

This is a painting of Aeneas talking to Queen Dido.

When they arrived, Cupid disguised himself as Aeneas’s brother and persuaded Dido to love Aeneas. And soon enough they fell in love with each other. Mercury was sent twice to remind him of the mission he had to accomplish. With great sadness and sorrow, Aeneas and his crew left Carthage. The heart-broken Dido asked her sister, Anna, to build a huge heap of everything Aeneas left behind, particularly Aeneas’s sword. As Aeneas’s ships sailed away, Dido cursed at him for a hard journey and that his descendants have a long war with Carthage. Dido then lit the pyre and threw herself onto Aeneas’s sword. She burned to ashes soon afterwards.

Aeneas and his crew arrived a Sicily once more and had a funeral in honor of Anchises. After colonizing Sicily Aeneas moved on to Italy. Once in Italy, the king of the area they landed in, Latinus, received them with great welcome. But everyone else, notably Turnus, the ruler of Rutuli and Latinus’s wife, did not welcome Aeneas and his crew. They especially protected the marriage rights of Aeneas and Lavinia, Latinus’s daughter. War broke out and the Trojans were victorious, destroying Turnus. Aeneas and Lavinia married and founded Lavinium.

This is 1500s map containing Latium.

After the war Aeneas united the Trojans and the Latins to form a powerful civilization. Over the generations the new kings founded new cities. More and more people populated the civilization. This civilization that Aeneas had founded was the prelude the creation of the Roman empire.

This is a image showing the land controlled by the
Roman Empire.

The myth of Aeneas was very important to the Romans. Aeneas was thought to be the ancestor of the Romans. Aeneas was the founding father of the civilization that came before the Roman Empire. After his journey, Aeneas had settled down and made a new civilization. The people of this civilization eventually evolved into the Roman Empire. This civilization would become the foundation of the Roman Empire.Most Romans credit the founding of Rome to Romulus and Remus. But is some versions the Romans say that Aeneas was actually the founder of Rome because of all the cities that his descendants founded and the expansion of the civilization. Either way Aeneas is the ancestor and preluding figure of the Roman Empire. If Aeneas had never come to Italy the Roman Empire would have never come to be. Aeneas was even destined to become the founder. It says in the myth the Venus had prophesied that Aeneas would become the founder of a great and undying empire.

This is an artistic representation of what President Barack
Obama would look like as a super hero.

The myth of Aeneas can be connected to President Barack Obama and a super hero. In this myth, Aeneas defends his city, Troy, from the Greeks. In a similar way, a super hero defends his/her city from crime. Aeneas was pushed by Neptune to defend Troy from the Greeks after Achilles stole some of his cattle. In a similar way, President Obama is pushed into doing things by his administration. Aeneas is inspired by his mother Venus and father Anchises to complete his mission. President Obama acknowledged his mother for inspiring him on the right path. This shows that ancient myths are being implemented into modern day systems. It is important because this is clear evident that old traditions and myths are not lost forever, there are still in use even today.

Works Cited     

"Can You Compare Aeneas to a Modern Day Hero?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 18

Nov.2014.<https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20131027034130AARZHa0>

"KET - Greek/Roman Mythology." KET - Greek/Roman Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.

2014. <http://www.dl.ket.org/cgi-pub/foxweb.exe/Gods@/db/pub/pub?by=romanname>.

"Myths Encyclopedia." Aeneas. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/A-Am/Aeneas.html>.

"Mythical Story the Founding of Rome." The Founding of Ancient Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 17

Nov. 2014. <http://historylink101.com/2/Rome/roman-founding.htm>.

Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling. London: Duncan Braid,

2002. 238-40. Print.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Aeneas." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7113/Aeneas>.

Computer Modeled Reconstruction of Troy 6. N.d. History Wiz. The Discovery of Troy. Web.

<http://www.historywiz.com/troy.htm>.

The Body of Hector. N.d. Luminarium. Achilleshector.jpg. Web.

<http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/achilleshector.jpg>.

Harpies. N.d. Theoi.com. O21.3Seirenes.jpg. Web.

<http://www.theoi.com/image/O21.3Seirenes.jpg>.

Queen Dido. N.d. Wikipedia Commons. Web.

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Gu%C3%A9rin_%C3%89

n%C3%A9e_racontant_%C3%A0_Didon_les_malheurs_de_la_ville_de_Troie_Louvre_5

184.jpg/350px-Gu%C3%A9rin_%C3%89n%C3%A9e_racontant_%C3%A0_Didon_les_

malheurs_de_la_ville_de_Troie_Louvre_5184.jpg>.

Latium Map. N.d. Wikipedia Commons. Web.

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Abraham_Oertel_-_Latium_-_15

95.PNG>.

Roman Empire. N.d. Wikipedia Commons. Web.

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Amphi-Rome.PNG>.

Roman Empire. N.d. Barack Obama Superman. Wikia. Web.

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ck-obama-superman-byron-furgol.jpg/300px-Barack-obama-superman-byron-furgol.jpg>

Block 2: Ancient Maya Hero Twins Myth

The Hero Twins myth is mostly a hero myth, but it is also a nature myth and an underworld myth. A hero myth is a myth that tells the story of a hero on his or her heroic journey or quest. In this myth,  Hunahpu and Xbalanque are two heroes who go into the Underworld to finish the ballgame their father and uncle did not finish. A nature myth is a myth that explains in a supernatural manner how animals and the natural world came to be. When the Hero twins held the tail of a rat they caught in their garden over a fire, it lost all its hair on its tail. This is what the Mayan people thought happened to the rat that made it have no hair on its tail. Though parts of the myth took place in the Underworld, Underworld myths are about what happens after death. This myth talks about the defeat of the Lords of the Underworld, who were death and sickness.

This is a picture of the Lords of the Underworld.

One and Seven (their names are One and Seven) Hunahpu were the 1st generation of the Hero Twins. They were passionate ballgame players. Their skill and noise about the ballgame caught the attention of the Lords of the Dead, the rulers of the Underworld. They sent messengers to summon the twins for a ballgame and to bring their gear and ball. One and Seven traveled with the messengers to Xibalba; the kingdom of the Lords of the Underworld. On the way, they had to cross three rivers: a river of spikes, a river of blood and a river of pus.

Once they entered the throne room, carved wooden replicas of the Lords greeted them by name. Failing to realize they were not the real Lords, they sat down on a burning bench. Immediately jumping up, they were sacrificed by the Lords of the Underworld for failing such test. Their bodies were buried underneath the ballcourt in Xibalba.

This is a picture of One spitting on the Blood Woman

But, One Hunahpu’s head was placed on the branch of a tree. A maiden named Blood Woman walked by and his head began to talk to her. When he was done, she reached out her hand and One Hunahpu spat on it. The saliva in her hand grew into the Hero Twins; Hunahpu and Xbalanque (2nd Generation).

A person wearing ball game gear, the same type of
gear that the hero twins wore.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque tried to make a living by growing a garden, but even the animals knew they were bad at it, and kept on messing the garden up. The twins tried to shoo them away but even that did not work. Until one day, they caught a rat in their garden and held it’s tail over fire (this is why rats do not have hair on their tail). The rat told them that they were destined ballplayers, like their father and uncle.The rat found the hidden ballgame player’s gear that the twin’s father and uncle had hid before in their house.

With that, Hunahpu and Xbalanque began to play like their father and uncle, making lots of noise that caught the attention of the Lords of the Underworld, who sent messengers to summon them the ballcourt in Xibalba. The Hero Twins succeeded in what their 1st generation failed in. Knowing the lords wanted to be greeted by their names, one of them pulled out a piece of hair that turned into a mosquito. Then the mosquito bit a lord and no noise came out, they knew it was the wooden replica. When the mosquito bit one of the real lords he would cry out, then another lord would ask what was wrong using his name. This is how they found the names of all the lords.

The twins entered the throne room. When they got there the lords were very angry so they gave the twins to many challenges to go through. They had to go through many houses that each had a different challenge in it. The twins went into every house and successfully defeated every challenge. But in the last house, the bat house, Hunahpu made the mistake of looking out to see if it was day yet and a bat chopped of its his head and it rolled into the ball court. Xbalanque took a squash and made it into a replacement head for Hunahpu.

Usually balls for the ball game were
made out of hard rubber

After they came out of the bat house the lords challenged the twins to a ball game. They used Hunahpu’s real head as the ball. When the lords hit the ball Xbalanque hit it to where there was rabbit hiding. The rabbit jumped away and the lords ran after it thinking it was the ball. The twins got Hunahpu’s head back and switched the head and the squash. When the lords returned, Xbalanque booted the squash so hard that it split and the seeds went flying and the twin won.

The Hero Twins sacrificing someone before
bringing them back to life

After losing, the lords of death gave the twins one last challenge the twins would have to jump over an oven four time, but instead of jumping over they went inside the oven. The lords of death then ground their bones on a grinding stone and sprinkled it into the river. This act allowed the twins to be able to come back to life. When they did come back they became performers. They would do amazing things. They would sacrifice animals and then bring them back to life. They would even sacrifice each other and then bring each other back to life. People were so excited about them that the lord of death heard about it. The lords summoned them to perform for them. The twins first sacrificed a dog then brought it back to life. The lords then demanded that the same were to be done on a human, so Xbalanque sacrificed his brother and danced. Hunahpu soon got up and danced beside Xbalanque. The lords were so excited that they wanted it to be done on them. The twins took the two highest lords and sacrificed them, but they did not bring them back. At that very moment the twins had truly defeated the lords of death. Honored for their cleverness, the twins became the sun and the moon.

An Ancient Mayan ball court that was used by the
              Maya to play the ball game

The hero twins myth had multiple functions in the Mayan culture. The twins were believed to be the ones that made the sun and moon rise every day and night. The twins were honored not only because they rose the sun and moon but because they defeated death and sickness. The Maya thought that since they had defeated the gods of the dead that twins allowed them to have eternal life. The ball game was a very popular sport in Maya because every time it was played it was thought to be a reenactment of cheating death.

This is a picture of the Twins in their catfish form

The Hero Twins myth is important today because it gives evidence that the Maya had great knowledge of death and what happens to the remains of the diseased once they are left in the environment. In the myth the twin’s ashes are put into the river and then the twins resurrect. In other variations of the myth the ashes become a catfish and then the twins. The process of ashes to catfish to humans is very similar to modern theorems of evolution. Although this may be a coincidence the hero twins myth can be considered a nature myth which means it describes something they saw in nature. This means that the Mayans must have observed and understood this process thousands of years before others did. This myth shows us that they had knowledge above anything we thought they did.

Works Cited

"Ancient Cities of the Maya." American Egypt. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

"Hero Twins." Hero Twins. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.  

"Hero Twins." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Sept. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. "Maya Civilization The Hero Twins Myth." Maya Civilization for Kids: Hero Twins Myth. 
                N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2014      
                <http://www.ducksters.com/history/maya/hero_twins_maya_mythology.php>.
Rubber Ball. N.d. 
            Http://592f46.medialib.glogster.com/media/7a068db43bedbe2b025516ec9c39ce349e84327b
            f3f7bc897e7004566117fe17/rubber-ball.jpg, n.p.
Mayan Sacrafice. N.d.            Http://www.askpins.com/pics/3/did-the-mayans-sacrifice-their-own-people.jpg, n.p.
Blood Woman. N.d.
            Http://www.chapala.com/chapala/magnifecentmexico/herotwins/mitomaya1.jpg, n.p.
Hero Twins Catfish. N.d.            Https://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/catfish.jpg, n.p.
Lords of Xibalba. N.d.
            Https://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/lords.jpg, n.p.
Ball Court. N.d.           Http://traveljunkiejosh.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/p7092512.jpg, n.p.
Ball Player. N.d.           Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Maya_Vase_Ballplayer.png, n.p.

Block 1: Ancient Egypt Underworld Myth

An underworld myth is one that explains what happens when someone dies. It includes where they will go, what they will have to do to get there, and what should be done with their body.

The Egyptians believed that when someone died, they went to Duat. Duat was where all the dead lived. They also believed that Duat was the home of the gods. The Egyptians also believed in things they called the Ka and Ba. These were like the soul and body of a person. Duat was also the place of many Egyptian myths.

Priests covering the body in salt.

After someone died, they did not immediately go to Duat. The Egyptians believed that the body had to be prepared first. This preparation was necessary to keep the Ba intact. The Ba was the body of a person in and after life, so if it decomposed, the person would not be able to survive in the afterlife. The Egyptians created a revolutionary process to preserve the body. After a person died, all of the internal organs except for the heart were removed. The brain was removed by sticking a hook up the nose, breaking through the nose bone, blending the brain, and finally poring it out. After all of the organs were removed and set aside, the body was filled with linen balls to maintain the features of the deceased. The body was then covered in salt and left to dry out for forty days.

In the meantime, the organs were put in special containers called canopic jars. These canopic jars had the heads of gods on the lids. These gods were said to protect the organs.

A priest wrapping a body with the

four canopic jars in the front

 After forty days, most of the moisture had left the body. The body was covered in layer of linen and resin was used to attach the layers. Amulets were placed within the layers to help the deceased. A mask, called a cartonage, was placed over the head of the mummy so that it would be recognizable. Wealthier people had gold and jewels placed on their mummy. The mummy was then placed into a coffin and prepared for the funeral.

The funeral was where the Egyptians prepared the Ka. The funeral procession would begin early in the morning. The coffin was placed on a boat and rode down the Nile River. It was then placed on a sled and dragged to the tomb. Along the way the path was lined with Kites who were paid by the family to mourn. Shabties, or small statues of the diseased, rode along with the body. They were believed to become servants of the diseased in the afterlife.  A statue of the diseased was also brought to the burial site along with many animals. These animals were killed and offered to the diseased. 

This shows a funeral procession. To the left of the diseased are Muhu Dances. In front of the body there is a Kite. On the boat there are two Shabties. On the right there is the Sem.

Once the diseased reached the tomb, the head priest, called the Sem, touched the mouth of the diseased with a special instrument, called an ur-heka, in order to wake up the Ka and prepare it for burial. At the tomb, there were Muhu Dancers who danced as the coffin was placed in the tomb. The canopic jars, containing the organs, were also placed in the tomb. After the tomb was closed, there was a festival.

The care of the dead by the living did not end when the tomb was closed.The Egyptians believed that the body still needed sustenance after it died for its journey to the underworld. Offerings were made every day.

This a picture of a person getting their heart weighed on the
                 scale of Ma'at. Under the right side of the scale is Ammit.

The Egyptians believed that they had to have a pure heart in order to be allowed into the underworld. The heart was weighed on a scale by the god Ma’at. If the heart weighed more than a feather then it would be devoured by Ammit. Ammit was a beast with the head of a crocodile and the body of a lion. This kept the Egyptians on the right path.  If the heart weighted less than a feather, the Egyptians believed that the diseased would go to Duat and become an assistant to the gods.

Duat had the same terrain as Egypt except there were lakes of fire and iron mountains instead of lakes of water and mountains of sandstone. There were also servants of the gods in Duat that were not from earth and did not harm anyone. The Egyptians believed that when the sun set, it went to Duat, and then crossed Duat and rose again the next day. In this land is where the Egyptians would spend the rest of eternity.

The Pyramids at Giza were built for Egyptian Pharaoh's
               trip to the aferlife

This Myth had a profound effect in culture and led to the creation of massive burial sites and pyramids. Pharows had pyramids built to make the trip to the underworld easier. Feasts were brought to the diseased every day because of the Egyptians belief in the myth. All Egyptians worked hard to make sure that they did more good than bad so that their heart would weigh less than the feather. The priests who told the myth and helped people make sure that they would have a good trip to the underworld had more power than nobles.

A Egyptian statue of Ma'at

The myth of Duat is found in egyptian lituature. Many of Egypts famous writing had parts that tell about Duat. Art was also affected and there are many statues and shrines for Duat and the gods of it. Even before people died they still made offerings to the gods of duat. The last thing that the myth affected is the Egyptian economy. The building of the pyramids gave thousands of Egyptians work so that they could buy things and keep the economy running smoothly.

President Abraham Lincoln's tomb.

The burial procedures and preservation practices used by the Egyptians are also used today in modern culture to remember and preserve the dead. We have elaborate ceremonies to remember our dead that include funeral processions similar, but smaller, to the ones Egyptians had. We even build tombs for ourselves and our leaders. A famous tomb is the one of President Abraham Lincoln. It is built similar to an Egyptian mastaba, one of the earlier forms of pyramids. 

The Egyptian underworld myth not only effected ancient Egyptian society but also effected history.

                                                          Works Cited

"Ancient Egyptian Duat." Duat the Egyptian Underworld. Web. 3 Sept. 2014. 

          <http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall04/hilton/underworld.htm>.

Egyptian Funeral Procession. N.d. http://factsanddetails.com/media/2/20120215-Funeral.jpg.

"Duat." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 3 Sept. 2014. 

          <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duat>.

Drying a Mummy in Salt. N.d. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-

          byMqd4zWXcE/UOad9VxkGPI/AAAAAAAACNM/WPYYgtPLmb4/s320/mummification+

          (18).jpg.

Gold Statue of Ma'at. N.d. http://www.ravensmist.com/assets/images/sm370.jpg.

Lincoln's Tomb. N.d. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Lincoln's_Tomb.JPG.

The Pyramids of Giza. N.d.   
          http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/646x430/g_j/giza_cnt_30mar10_iStock_b.jpg.

The Scales of Ma'at. N.d. 
         http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6KELomUNsrM/UGWNuEgra2I/BD5bX6PpGi8/s640/29.
         gif.

Wrapping a Mummy. N.d. 

         http://ancientegyptrelgion.synthasite.com/resources/2197447039_c4ebcbc577.jpg.