Definition of "myth" and its constituent parts:

1
Chapter 1

• Definition of "myth" and its constituent parts
• plot
• character
• setting.
• The significance of the words "tradition" and
  "traditional" as applied to myth.
• discussion of Yugoslav culture of oral
  storytelling
• scholars Albert B. Lord and Milman Parry
• Be able to contrast mythos and logos.

2
Homer

• 8th century B.C.
• 1 man or a collection of unknown people.
• Oral tradition kept alive the tales of Mycenaean
  times such as the Trojan war (1200 B.C. if it
  existed at all).
• Homer is reputed to have written both the Iliad
  and Odyssey
• Odyssey covers time after Iliad so it was
  probably written after Iliad
• Legend has it that Homer was blind
• Many cities claim him as their son

3
Chapter 1 contd

• 3 different kinds of traditional stories but
  often blended together in existing myth divine
  (or true) myth, legend (or saga), and folktale.
• myth and science, legend and history.
• Distinction between "myth" and "mythology" and
  the four general categories of the study of myth
  
• sources, functions, analogies from other
  cultures, deeper significance of myth per se.

4
Key Terms

• Myth A traditional story, originally oral, with
  no identifiable author.
• Logos "A reasoned account" can be contrasted
  with mythos, a story.
• Etiology An account of the cause of something
  often a myth has an etiological purpose or
  function.
• Divine Myth A type of myth that tells of the
  actions of the gods often as a way of explaining
  how something or some ritual practice came into
  being.
• Legend A type of myth that recounts the exploits
  of some great hero often contains some amount of
  historical truth.
• Folktale A type of myth that features common
  people and/or fanciful animals.