Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Post for October 15

Hello All,

As the syllabus notes, you need to read pages 2-48 of Mircea Eliade's The Myth of the Eternal Return for Friday.

This text is a bit more challenging than Ariadne's Clue; Eliade constantly refers to figures from world mythology. Don't get caught up in trying to research each of those places and names. We'll discuss some of them together in class.

Instead, focus on the the core concepts.

In pages 2-48, Eliade defines, describes, and gives examples of key archetypes:

1. the Center
2. the Road to the Center
3. Sacred vs. Profane time and space

For this blog, find one quote that deals with one of these three concepts, and explain what you think Eliade is trying to express with that quote. Be sure to give the page number with the quote.