Motz "Mountain Mother" questions
Think about the connections between things Campbell and Eliade said about myths and the Mountain Mother mythology. Write brief answers to the following questions.
1. What central human themes/concerns are touched on by the myth? (This will tell you something about why people paid attention to the story and found it significant.)
2. What activity associated with Cybele worship would count as a ritual reenactment of an event in Cybele's story? What is the point of this ritual reenactment?
3. Cybele's unnatural origination is tied to Zeus. What does the process by which Cybele came into being tell us about her? (That is, why is this process religiously significant?)
4. How does Cybele influence events here and now (assuming she is real, and assuming she operates as described in the reading)?
5. How do Cybele priests get in touch with her?
Genesis questions
1. In what ways do the Genesis creation stories fit the definition of "myth" we are working with?
2. What central human themes/concerns are touched on by the Genesis myths?
3. If we say the Genesis stories are myths, does that mean they are false? Does it mean they are true?