for - article - substack - altruism - indigenous - Will Ruddick - adjacency - indigenous altruism mythology - Deep Humanity - individual / collective gestalt - source - Donna Nelham Summary - A brief but insightful article that clarifies the roots of common misunderstanding of - altruism practices in indigenous cultures. - As often the case, an oversimplification is the root of the misunderstanding - The oversimplification posits that such altruism is completely selfless, - but this contradicts common sense as well as the foundations of biology and evolution - From a Deep Humanity perspective, it again highlights the importance of the idea of the intertwingled individual / collective gestalt

for - progress trap - dangerous mythology

progress trap - dangerous mythology - We subscribe to a dangerous myth that: - progress will go on forever and - everything will get bigger and better and - we don't have to control our numbers - or our demand on nature - because we will always find a way to make it work

• We have to break out of that mindset

The Latin incantation to exorcise demons in Supernatural is real. And it sounds cool like Chris Aldrich.

Fascinating, Carl Jung was into the occult.

05:14 Myth associated as false "That is a myth" as opposing facts. But, myth and lies aren't the same? So, myth as common held belief a among a group of people, that are, in fact, false?

Mythology, in its classical sense, is about stories, rather than statements (06:58)

for - progress trap - Prometheus complex - Dan Carlin - Gaston Bachelard - philosopher

summary - This short article brings up an interesting connection between - the Prometheus complex, - a term coined by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard and - progress traps, - the unintended consequences of progress - The key insight is that human beings may have an Achilles Heel - the desire to know, even at the cost of harm - could be such a powerful impulsive urge - that we throw caution to the wind and - Icarus mythology may be a self-fulfilling prophecy - This also echos the views of my colleague Gyuri Lajos, - that invention for invention sake possesses this very dark side. - This is an important adjacency - as it questions the ethics of knowledge for knowledge sake - As we know from - the history of - progress and its shadowy counterpart, - the progress trap - our impulsive urge to invent has harmful impacts on everyone, - and these continually compound with time

for - Joseph Campbell - outdated mythology - adjacency - Joseph campbell - myth - paradigm shift - gestalt switch - symbolosphere

adjacency - between - Joseph Campbell - myths - symbolosphere - gestalt switch - paradigm shift - adjacency statement - The grand myths that invisibly guide our collective, - and therefore individual - behavior remains invisible as long as there is no crisis sufficiently powerful to portend a paradigm shift - At that point, the existential crisis forces us to recognize the invisible narratives that have led to our demise - and forces us into take emergency measures to stabilize the situation - This transition period also makes us aware that we spend the majority of our lives inhabiting the space of the symbolosphere

Is this documented in the Child Ballads?

Compare with The Turkish Lady- Forget-me-Not Songster c.1845<br /> http://bluegrassmessengers.com/the-turkish-lady--forget-me-not-songster-c1845.aspx

The Turkish Lady https://mainlynorfolk.info/peter.bellamy/songs/theturkishlady.html

https://www.composers.com/composers/allan-blank/variations-turkish-lady <audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload"> <source src="http://acacomposers.s3.amazonaws.com/audio/andrewkohn-allanblank-variationsonturkishlady_-_excerpt.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"> </audio>

Young Beichan<br /> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Beichan

Lord Bateman<br /> https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2012/05/english-folk-songs-lord-bateman.html

extended look at the mythology of Pocahontas here

Do some of these same types of stories and mythologies also erase the harm of an over-armed populace with respect to the lack of appropriate gun control and mass shootings versus gun rights in America?

As a country our gun mythology is stronger than our desire to act to improve our (collective) lives....

Examples of this to collect in the future, including:

• Civil War monuments
• Pilgrim monument ( National Monument to the Forefathers) 1898 by Hammatt Billings (mentioned in White Trash)
• others...

https://www.reddit.com/r/AYearOfMythology/comments/18ia0dj/2024_schedule_greek_year_2/

2024 schedule for r/AYearOfMythology

https://www.aaanativearts.com/winabojo-birch-tree

Winabojo has blessed the birch tree for the good of the human race. And this is why lightning never strikes the birch tree, and why anything wrapped in the bark will not decay.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0896Q51QM?binding=kindle_edition&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_bs_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1697421707&sr=1-3

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087JDPY7F?binding=paperback

Harl, Kenneth W. The Vikings: Course Guidebook. Vol. 3910. The Great Courses. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2005.

Vikings. Streaming Video. Vol. 3910. The Great Courses. Chantilly, VA, 2005. https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/vikings.

annotation URL: urn:x-pdf:e17d7b3a22a4a56be07f2afb64548410<br /> search

Started 2023-09-18

Where are the synoptic studies of mythology? (In the way the Bible has been pulled apart.) Naturally we're missing lots of versions to be able to compare, but synoptic studies of Greek and Roman mythology would potentially have some interesting things to say about the oral traditions of Jesus which passed down his story before they were written down decades (or more) following his death.

https://theconversation.com/beatrix-potters-famous-tales-are-rooted-in-stories-told-by-enslaved-africans-but-she-was-very-quiet-about-their-origins-202274

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUWlZ7yoQmc

Has a somewhat touchy-feely approach, but there are some interesting touchstones worth exploring here from a cultural perspective.

reply to u/atrebatian at https://www.reddit.com/r/antinet/comments/13dsj8v/celtic_druid_history/

I've only scratched the surface of the Druids, but have gotten pretty deep into Celtic history over the past few years, including becoming reasonably fluent in colloquial Welsh and working on old Welsh for some research.

As an excellent set of introductions, I'd recommend:

Paxton, Jennifer. The Celtic World. Great Courses, 2251. The Teaching Company, Chantilly, VA, 2018. Cunliffe, Barry. The Celts: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.<br /> ———. Druids: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

You'll also probably appreciate the following:

Aldhouse-Green, Miranda. Animals in Celtic Life and Myth. Routledge, 1993.<br /> ———. Caesar’s Druids: An Ancient Priesthood. Yale University Press, 2010.<br /> ———. The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends. Thames and Hudson, 2015.<br /> ———. The Celtic World. Routledge, 2012.<br /> Avalon, Annwyn. Water Witchcraft: Magic and Lore from the Celtic Tradition. Red Wheel Weiser.<br /> Bridgman, Timothy P. Hyperboreans: Myth and History in Celtic-Hellenic Contacts.<br /> Chadwick, Nora. The Celts: Second Edition. Revised edition. London ; New York, N.Y: Penguin Books, 1998.<br /> Conway, D. J. Celtic Magic. LLewellyn’s World Magic Series, 1.0, 2011.<br /> Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts. 1st edition. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.<br /> Fagan, Edited by Brian M., ed. The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Oxford Companions. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.<br /> Fimi, Dimitra. Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy: Idealization, Identity, Ideology. Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature, 1.0, 2017.<br /> Forest, Danu. Celtic Tree Magic: Ogham Lore and Druid Mysteries. Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD., 2014.<br /> Hughes, Kristoffer. The Book of Celtic Magic: Transformative Teachings from the Cauldron of Awen. Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD., 2014.<br /> King Arthur: History and Legend. Streaming Video. Vol. 2376. The Great Courses: Literature and Language. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2015. https://www.wondrium.com/king-arthur-history-and-legend.<br /> Rutherford, Ward. Celtic Mythology: The Nature and Influence of Celtic Myth from Druidism to Arthurian Legend. Red Wheel Weiser.

One of my favorites on memory which underpins early Celtic life and is likely related to Druids, (but which doesn't cover them directly, but is likely similar to their memory practice) is the anthropology text:

Kelly, Lynne. Knowledge and Power in Prehistoric Societies: Orality, Memory and the Transmission of Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107444973.

I've also got lots of research on henges and wooden/stone circles and related archaeology in early British isles history, but this may be afield from your interests.

women and gender roles.

If my perception of mythology and orality is correct, can we look at Indigenous stories, myth, and knowledge and draw parallels from their knowledge about women and gender to similar stories in the Western canon which have lost linkage to their narratives? What would this show us potentially about Western mythology and gender studies?

I'll bet there's no mention that this is useful because it's an incredibly memorable image!

On first blush, disappointed not to see any mentions of orality. There's a reference to Parry, but it's his son Adam instead of him.

Looks like there's some interesting material here with respect to anthropology, cultural anthropology, and myth theory early on.

Vandiver, Elizabeth. Classical Mythology. Audible (streaming audio). Vol. 243. The Great Courses: Western Literature. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2013.

Vandiver, Elizabeth. “Classical Mythology: Course Guidebook.” The Teaching Company, 2013. https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/classical-mythology.

Wiki table of contents of the Icarus paradox

https://www.digitalmedievalist.com/opinionated-celtic-faqs/learn-medieval-welsh/

It's odd that a historian would have to say this about history... it's definitely not mythology that we're creating here.

This perspective is the same sort of hero worship that has too often been beaten into people (and especially students) over the centuries.

You have to be an absolute genius to be able to create work like that of Francis Bacon, Conrad Gessner, John Locke, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Carl Linnaeus, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Marcel Mauss, Isaac Newton, Umberto Eco, Philip Melanchthon, Erasmus Darwin, Rudolphus Agricola, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Burns right?

Here's the secret: all of them kept extensive notebooks, commonplace books, or zettelkasten-like note collections. Small little pieces aggregated over time allowed them to create great things.

I suspect that if one looks at famous creators/writers throughout history they will discover that some sort of personal knowledge management system at the core of their practice.

https://forum.saysomethingin.com/t/could-we-have-a-thread-on-welsh-customs/4068

• robingoch
• hawthorn
• The Hamish Macbeth series By M.C.Beaton has superstitions of highlanders
• Mari Lwyd
• Siôn Corn
• Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (1923) by J. Glyn Davies
• Folklore of West and Mid Wales by John Ceredig Davies
• Welsh Folk Customs by Trefor Owen
• Welsh Folklore and Folk-Custom by T Gwynn Jones
• Wirt Sykes including a volume on British Goblins
• John Rhys
• Welsh Folklore: Folktales & Legends of North Wales (1896) by Elias Owen
• Calan Mai

Storm gods like Baal are commonly seen defeating the sea in legends in the ancient Near East.

Link this to mention of Rahab in Job 26:12.

He was Greek warrior who was known for many feats including the killing of the minotaur, a mythical monster. There are many accounts of how his marriage to Hippolyta came to be. The following sources might have influenced Shakespeare narration of the popular story.

Link 1: Plutarch's biographical narrations (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14033/pg14033-images.html#LIFE_OF_PLUTARCH). During the Amazonian war, Hippolyta was influential in brokering, peace between the Athenians and her people. She was set to marry him but died on the battlefield.

Link 2: Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Texts and Contexts, edited by Gail Kern Paster and Skiles Howard, Bedford/St. Martins, 1999

Christine De Pizan (1405 - 1521), wrote a popular text about how women should conduct themselves. She also wrote on the relationship between Theseus and Hippolyta. In her version, Theseus ambushed the Amazonians because they were afraid of their influence. On the battle field, Theseus saw Hippolyta and kidnapped her. In order to bring peace, the queen, Orythia, allowed Theseus to marry Hippolyta.

This line might take from the account where Hippolyta and Theseus get married after the war Theseus waged on the Amazonians. Hippolyta was a fierce warrior and fought Theseus on the battleground. He was so impressed with her, he asked her to marry him or she was kidnapped and then forced to marry him.

She was an Amazonian warrior who fought bravely when the Athenians led by Thesues attacked her homeland. Plutarch writes that she died on the battlefield. Other accounts claim that she was kidnapped by Theseus whom she later married and a child with.

Diana is most associated with the moon or sometimes as the moon. She is also viewed as a guardian of virginity and fertility. When Theseus complains about how the "old moon wanes," perhaps he is complaining about the moon/Diana might be lingering on purpose delaying his marriage to the virginal Hippolyta

Links:

[(https://commons.mtholyoke.edu/arth310rdiana/the-moon/#:~:text=Diana%20was%20not%20only%20a%20moon%20goddess%3B%20she,the%20Sun%2C%20father%20of%20Phaethon%2C%20is%20presumably%20Apollo.)

[(https://www.gods-and-goddesses.com/roman/diana/)

(https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Diana_(mythology)&oldid=972698)

He was Greek warrior who was known for many feats including the killing of the minotaur, a mythical monster. There are many accounts of how his marriage to Hippolyta came to be. The following sources might have influenced Shakespeare narration of the popular story.

Link 1: Plutarch's biographical narrations (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14033/pg14033-images.html#LIFE_OF_PLUTARCH). During the Amazonian war, Hippolyta was influential in brokering, peace between the Athenians and her people. She was set to marry him but died on the battlefield.

1. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Texts and Contexts, edited by Gail Kern Paster and Skiles Howard, Bedford/St. Martins, 1999

Christine De Pizan (1405 - 1521), wrote a popular text about how women should conduct themselves. She also wrote on the relationship between Theseus and Hippolyta. In her version, Theseus ambushed the Amazonians because they were afraid of their influence. On the battle field, Theseus saw Hippolyta and kidnapped her. In order to bring peace, the queen, Orythia, allowed Theseus to marry Hippolyta. Hisotry

This line might take from the account where Hippolyta and Theseus get married after the war Theseus waged on the Amazonians. Hippolyta was a fierce warrior and fought Theseus on the battleground. He was so impressed with her, he asked her to marry him.

Diana is known to go hunting at night and she is very fond of her "silver bow."

She was an Amazonian warrior who fought bravely when the Athenians led by Thesues attacked her homeland. Plutarch writes that she died on the battlefield. Other accounts claim that she was kidnapped by Theseus whom she later married and a child with.

In Greek mythology, Ino (/ˈaɪnoʊ/ EYE-noh; Ancient Greek: Ἰνώ [iːnɔ̌ː][1]) was a mortal queen of Boeotia, who after her death and transfiguration was worshiped as a goddess under her epithet Leucothea, the "white goddess." Alcman called her "Queen of the Sea" (θαλασσομέδουσα thalassomédousa),[2] which, if not hyperbole, would make her a doublet of Amphitrite.—Ino (Greek mythology)—Wikipedia)

<small>Leucothea (1862), by Jean Jules Allasseur (1818-1903). South façade of the Cour Carrée in the Palais du Louvre.</small>

The reason an eagle is Jupiter's symbol is because they were believed to have oracle, or prophetic, properties. They were divine and as such, only the most powerful god could have one. The thunderbolt is also a symbol because Jupiter is the god of skies and everything with it. Ribbon is a headpiece and crown for victory.

penalty in Portugal for anyone who puts his feet on the ground?”

Was this truly a joke or is there more cultural subtlety here than provided?

Compare this with Welsh mythology from the fourth branch of the Mabinogi and a tale from Cpt. James Cooks' travels

The Fourth Branch pivots upon the towering figure of Math, Lord of Gwynedd, son of Mathonwy. Math was almost certainly of divine origin. His story is distinctive in Welsh mythology because it may reflect a pre-Christian myth of Creation and Fall. A condition of Math’s power – and indeed his life – was that, unless he was away fighting his enemies, he must stay at home and, bizarrely, sit with his feet in the lap of a maiden: the girl’s virginity was imperative. The name of Math’s foot-holder was Goewin. This strange prohibition on Math’s rule can best be explained if his origins lay in the pagan mythic tradition of sacral kingship so prevalent in Irish myths, wherein the mortal king ‘married’ the land in the form of the goddess of sovereignty. In a Welsh twist, the virgin status of the ‘goddess’ appears to reflect the perceived power of undissipated female sexuality, whose concentrated potency was necessary for the land to remain prosperous.

But the connection between royal feet and the land may have even more complex roots. When Captain Cook explored Tahiti in the mid-18th century, he came across a tradition in which a Polynesian chieftain journeying outside his own lands had to be carried because any territory on which he set foot automatically became his, thus risking war between him and neighbouring chiefdoms. Clearly it would be outrageous to suppose direct connections between early medieval Wales and 18th-century Polynesia. But Cook’s observations inspire us to look for deeper ways of interpreting Math’s situation. via chapter 4 of Aldhouse-Green, Miranda. The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends. (Thames and Hudson, 2015)

Looking back on these "mythical" stories of lion tamers and people with extraordinary facility with animals, one can now see that these interactions are much more common in the modern world.

People can earn the trust of animals, tame, and even train them. As a result, we view these people now as talented rather than magical and/or "helped by god" as they may have been in the past.

As the author Ursula Le Guin once put it, if you wish to understand that which is enduring, you’re better off exploring the capaciousness of myths than fine-tuning present lines of reasoning. “True myth may serve for thousands of years as an inexhaustible source of intellectual speculation, religious joy, ethical inquiry, and artistic renewal. The real mystery is not destroyed by reason. The fake one is.”

I'm reminded of the research implied by Arthur Conan Doyle's writing about Sherlock Holmes. We hear about the time and effort spent studying the smallest things, but we don't see it, instead we see the mythical application of it at the "right" times to solve cases in spectacular fashion.

No one focuses on the time spent studying and learning and instead we mythologize the effects at the other end.

Another example of this is the fêting of Andrew Wiles's proof of Fermat's last theorem, while simultaneously ignoring the decades of work he poured into studying and solving it not to mention the work of thousands before him to help give him a platform on which to see things differently.

This has been on my list for a bit. I'm also reminded that I ought to get back to The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

The novel’s subtitle invokes the trickster hero of Greek mythology, Prometheus, who defies the Gods by stealing fire (a symbol of knowledge) and giving it to humanity. Akin to Victor Frankenstein, Prometheus is also credited with the creation of man, which he fashions out of clay. As punishment for the disobedience, Zeus condemns Prometheus to eternal torment: he is chained to a rock for eternity while an eagle feeds on his liver. Shelley’s husband Percy would later take up the Prometheus myth in the closet drama Prometheus Unbound, published in 1819. Reading the novel against the myth, we can understand Prometheus’s punishment for the Gods akin to Victor’s psychological torment for defying nature.

Alliteration. See also "female franchise." I wonder if you could scan the first three sentences: "Men of the South Heed not the song of the suffrage siren Seal your ears against her vocal wiles"

I'm no physicist or astronomer, but I do think of much of unformed space in our universe or the spewing of forth from the initial white hole from which our galaxy was formed as a kind of Chaos. And the Greeks basically said that in the beginning there was Chaos, and from Chaos sprang Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaia (earth).

Also I just looked up "Chaos" at etymonline.com:

late 14c., "gaping void; empty, immeasurable space," from Old French chaos (14c.) or directly from Latin chaos, from Greek khaos "abyss, that which gapes wide open, that which is vast and empty," from khnwos, from PIE root ghieh- "to yawn, gape, be wide open."

Meaning "utter confusion" (c. 1600) is an extended sense from theological use of chaos in the Vulgate version of "Genesis" (1530s in English) for "the void at the beginning of creation, the confused, formless, elementary state of the universe." The Greek for "disorder" was tarakhe, but the use of chaos here was rooted in Hesiod ("Theogony"), who describes khaos as the primeval emptiness of the Universe, and in Ovid ("Metamorphoses"), who opposes Khaos to Kosmos, "the ordered Universe." Sometimes it was personified as a god, begetter of Erebus and Nyx ("Night").

Meaning "orderless confusion" in human affairs is from c. 1600. Chaos theory in the modern mathematical sense is attested from c. 1977.

Also, in Greek mythology, there is a lot of incest and violence between the earliest gods, the Titans, and many monsters born of their matings.

n. Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory.

n. Roman Mythology. Goddess of agriculture, grain, crops, fertility and motherly relationships.

yall know the drill by now

Sollux rather transparently divides into "sol-lux", the Latin words for "sun" and "light", respectively. As such, his name would literally mean 'Sunlight Catcher'.

If one would switch the S and P in his name it becomes "Pollux Castor." Pollux and Castor are the two brightest stars in the constellation of Gemini. It is also worth noting that Pollux is a red giant, while Castor is bluish white, complementing the red/blue duality theme. Castor and Pollux were famous mythological twins, which is where Gemini - Latin for "twins" - gets its name. Pollux and Castor were also the names of two characters in the movie Face/Off, a Nicolas Cage flick that came out the same year as Con Air and one that John Egbert has a poster of in his room.

http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Sollux_Captor

This line refers the curse refers to the requirement in greek mythology that you must honor the dead by giving them a proper burial

Translates to: “When shall I be as the swallow?” This is referring to Philomela (daughter of Pandion, King of Athens). In the story, she was transformed into a nightingale or something like that.

Having students make this connection will help them realize the importance of myths in today's society. Often times students disregard things that they think are not relevant today because they are so old, but when a connection can be made it helps them to think about these things differently.

This is no excuse. There are ways that myths can be incorporated into present units it just takes creativity and time. A good teacher provides meaningful instruction to students no matter how difficult that may be.

This exercise will help to ensure that students actually understand what they read. I have always found that the best way to measure your understanding of something is to teach it to someone else.

It is absolutely necessary for students to learn about different cultures and how they interpret different phenomenons of the world. Today's society is so diverse, yet many of our schools fail to incorporate different cultures into instruction. Mythology is a great way to do this.

I definitely believe that mythology is not taught enough in schools. I never learned about mythology in elementary school. The only reason that I know anything about it is because my mother is an educator and was constantly reading different genres of literature to me as a child. This lack of instruction is going to become a viscous circle if teachers do not start incorporating mythology into their literature lessons. The only way to become comfortable with a genre is if you are exposed to it.

Having students make connections to the different lessons they are taught is a great way to have the students participate. This also helps students see similarities between different things. I like how they can make connections between Greek and the present world.

I like the idea that the students are sharing their work/findings to the class. More classrooms need to be open and have the students collaborating with one another, instead of teachers just lecturing.

Students should know that there are different ways in which a story could be told. Also, students should know that even though stories have been around for years, doesn't mean they can't be told.

I don't agree that mythology is long-dead stories. Even thought these stories may not be "real" there is still some type of idea that students will walk away with.

This is a very interesting way to go about teaching myths (by making the children learn and teach it). This allowed students to be very engaged in the learning process as well as work on presentation and research skills. I really like that they also make worksheets and used aids. I agree with this method of instruction.

Looking holistically at the benefits of engaging with different types of literature it is crucial to introduce the and learn about the various archetypes that occur in literature and the differences between such pieces.

I agree! It is so easy to "other" cultures that are not our own, and the classroom can prove to be a bridge of cultures when it is shown that the country/people might be different but the stories/nature of humanity is not.

Folk tales and mythological literature have and always will play an important role in our culture, not to mention the fruitful discussions on writers craft that always can take place, they are so important for students to learn.

Looking at the relationships between works is crucial for learning about literature as a whole. It is often the history of the time that affects literature so looking at how stories relate outside of plot line is so beneficial for the classroom discussion.

it so important to stress to students that although stories may not be "real" the morals and what the story is saying may very well be.

I think this is such an awesome approach to providing a deeper understanding of the key components of mythology to students, especially to those who are visual learners! This is an excellent unit and maybe I will incorporate it into my future teaching!

I feel that often times, teachers are ill prepared to teach such concentrated, but undeniably valuable, lessons. I think colleges should require courses that provide future educators with a well-rounded framework, ensuring that they will be able to effectively teach concentrations in literature, math, and science.

I think this is an awesome strategy on effectively teaching mythology. Incorporating mythology with forms of media that current students are well adapted to, such as films, songs, and television, is a great way to enhance comprehensions amongst connections.

I think this is a very true and great definition of both mythmaking and mythology. As Jeff House mentioned previously, we oftentimes think of Greek tales as well as tales of other ancient civilizations like the Egyptians and the Romans. Mythology is a wonderful way for students to grasp an understanding of the key values of another culture, in a fun and creative way.

The River Lethe was one of the rivers of Hades in Greek mythology. Exposure to its waters was held to lead to loss of memory, or, more intriguingly, a state of "unmindfulness" and oblivion. From this origin, it has re-appeared throughout western culture, from Dante to Tony Banks's first solo album (River Lethe in popular culture, Wikipedia).

By providing the alternative spelling of Leith, Alasdair Roberts 'doubles' this meaning with the Water of Leith, a river that runs through Edinburgh, and co-locates ancient Greek and contemporary Scots mythology.

The idea of eternal return is bound up with memory, with cultures being compelled to repeat and confront the missteps of the past. So the oblivion of forgetfulness provided by the endless Lethe provides a form of antidote or escape.

The concept of eternal return has a chequered history through philosophy and culture, but Alasdair Roberts is invoking the particular use of the term by the religious historian Mircea Eliade. The Wikipedia entry) says that Eliade's eternal return is "a belief, expressed... in religious behaviour, in the ability to return to the mythical age, to become contemporary with the events described in one's myths".

Thus, through the medium of song, we are taken back to become contemporary with, among other things, the Crusades and the falls of Jericho and of Babylon.

From Alasdair's interview by Tyler Wilcox in 2009:

the first song in some ways explores the idea of “eternal return” – I was reading Mircea Eliade on the subject, and Nietzsche obviously wrote about it – I became obsessed with the idea and the various ways in which it could be configured. There’s obviously the classic image of the ouroboros serpent… but I was also think about it in terms of the myth of progress – when what we think of as progress is actually destruction. Like Kekulé’s ring, Benzene. And the fact that I personally constantly return to Song as a form of “expression” or creation rather than, say, improvisation or composition.