Hey there, I'm Mike Rugnetta, this is Crash Course Mythology, And today, we are going- spelunking! Spelunking in the world of myth! Also gardening in the world of myth. You know what they say: Dress for the job you want- not the one you have. Many myths take place outside of time and space, remember, "without form and void"? But often, myths have specific meaningful settings, and over the next few episodes, we're going to talk about some of the most important places where myths have happened. According to scholars Lenard and McClure, there are many location-based tropes that repeat in myths from around the world. Sacred waters, caves, mountains, and there are mythic gardens, and forests, too. Scholar David Leeming has even added cities and temples to the list. Today we're going to look at two mythic settings side-by-side: the garden, and the cave, which play complementary roles in various stories of creation. (Theme music) Considering that gods hate weeding, it's surprising how many myths involve gardens. We've discussed a few already, like the Garden of Eden, or the Garden of the Hesperides, where the apples of immortality were kept. Gardens come in different shapes, and sizes, there are even stories of gardens, inside caves. You can see this clearly in the Greek and Roman myths of the Underworld. Hades is a vast, underground land. Dark and shadowy, but it still has some lush garden features, there are pomegranate trees that provide food for Persephone, and grapes which tempt Tantalus. And yet, when Orpheus attempts to bring Eurydice out of Hades, He's described as bringing her up through the dark mouth of a cave. Mythic gardens and caves often work as symbols, more than literal descriptions. And where the meaning of those symbols need to overlap, they do. Sometimes in a way that's weird or otherworldly to those of us with first-hand experience of actual gardens and caves. But this raises a question: What symbolic values do we associate with caves and gardens? To answer, let's turn to a pair of stories about the origin of humanity. First up, the garden. We already talked about this story in an earlier episode, with Adam, and Eve, and a sneaky serpent. Then, we focused on the actions and relationships of these characters, and how they set up a social order. Now, we'll focus on how heavily rooted this story is in place: the idyllic Garden of Eden. the idyllic Garden of Eden. We can talk about the garden of Eden, as both, a physical setting and a metaphor, as a place Eden is described as lush and growing. In addition to Adam and Eve, the place is overrun with nature and wildlife. Livestock and creeping things and bests of the earth According to their kinds. Hey! creeping things, we missed you we missed you guys. Of all the fruits bearing trees in the garden, there are two that matter most. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of eternal life. Entered the sneaky serpent, and attempt to lied to Yahweh and... you know the rest but more important than the physical features of Eden, is its position as a paradise from which humans are expelled because of their disobedience and as hopeful state we supposedly want to return to. Eden doesn't disappear, but humans never find a way past the angel with the flaming sword who's stationed at and blocking the entrance. So, the perfect image of the garden, helps tell the story of humanity's fall from a state of perfection, to one of debasement. As mythology scholars Lener and McClure put it, after their disobedience humans must life "in an ill word, marked by disharmony, broken relationships suffering and death." We can compare this story and the symbolism of the garden with a creating myth from the zuni people of the american west which involves a very important cave, one inspired by the grand canyon. According to the Zuni, humanity wasn't expelled from a bright garden, but rather emerged from a system of dark forbidden caves. Instead of paradise, these caves serves as a symbol for chaos. Lets go to the thought bubble. Long ago, before humanity was fully formed, they all lived deep on the ground, in dark caves. No one can see could see each other, the humans have horns and a tails, they have webbed finger and toes and lack some... other... features too. You'll see soon enough! The sun, sees humanity living in this state and sends his two sons, younger brother and elder brother to help the people travel off to the bright hills of surface. Elder and younger find the people in, gross conditions stepping and spitting and urinating on each other. So, elder and younger plant trees. Pines, spruce, silver spruce and aspen. Each representing one of the cardinal directions. As the brothers rise through the levels of the under realm, they drive a prayer stick from one of the trees into the earth. This creates a sound like thunder, that raises the people into each new world. The people are now on the surface but they aren't fit for their new home. Elder and younger, given them corn, only to realize, the people have not mouth so while the people sleep, the two sneak among them and cut mouths into their heads so they can eat and luckily, the people love eating. Until... another problem pops up. All that digested corn has no where to go. Younger realizes that none of these people have anuses. [fart sound] So, another round of sleepy top surgery and everyone fells much...relieved. Over the next days elder and younger keep tweaking the humans, slicing their webbed hands so they can cook, chopping off their horns and tails, until at long last, humans... are complete. Thanks thought bubble! there are other versions of the Zuni myth where, after emerging from a spot at the grand canyon, the Zuni people set off in search of the "idiwan'a" or "Middle place", where they can achieve balance. On their journey, they stopped at a number of sites that become sacred to the Zuni, until finally settling at a spot near the head waters of the Zuni river. All the sacred places are tied together by the river of the region. But, we're going to talk about the sacred waters in a later episode, whats important for now, is the role that caves play in the symbolism of this creation story. As a place of confusion, out of which humanity is guided. Before, comparing this cave of creation with the garden of Genesis, it's interesting to look at another image of the cave that has had profound influence on the western thinking, and echos the association of caves, with immaturity or under development. Plato's allegory of the cave. In his Republic, Plato describes a great cave as a way to explain, why people wouldn't readily accept the wisdom of awesome philosophers? like himself. It asks us to imagine a world in which humans are sitting in a dark cage, chained up so they can only face forward. Behind them, out of view, unseen agents parade a series of objects, in front of a great light, from where humanity sits, they can only see the shadow that flicker across the wall, cast by the real objects behind them. The shadows, are their reality. Plato says imagine that one of the chained viewers breaks free and makes his way out of the cave. Just like the Zinies, Plato's imaginary escapee is blinded by the brightness of the world outside the cave. Eventually, his eyes adjust and things come into focus but, he still has difficulties believing that what he sees, is real but knowing about whats outside the cave, he runs back in to tell the others. When he tries to explain to them that what they think is really is only a projection, people in the cave don't believe him. Plato suggests that those chained up might even try to kill, who ever got free. That person, who escape the cave is, you guest it a philosopher. Point out to the rest of us that our reality its actually a pale reflection of a more true world. Plato's cave and the Zuni emergence story are obviously very different but we want to involve the creation of the anus, for instance. But in both cases, the world of the cave is both physically and metaphorically dark, The cave is a position of ignorance or inability and the surface represents represents enlightenment figuratively and literately. One can even say that, the emergence leads to humanity reaching a more perfect state. As Lener and McClure put it: "In the Zuni tale... humans existed in a dark, imperfect world... At the calling of father , they emerged from this dark chaos into a world of light and healthy relationships and harmony with their fellow inhabitants...." This is a stark contrast to the creation story of Genesis, where human beings, having being created by God, begin as perfect beings and then are forced into a state of imperfection, when ejected from the garden, like the heaveness revelers they are. The story of humanity, isn't only a story of a fall but a quest to return, to reenter paradise. Obviously, in the Zinies story, none is clamoring to get back into the cave of no anus. We can ask then, whether this inverted orientations regarding creation make a difference in their respect to cultures. Do you go about your day differently, depending upon whether you think of earth as a place of punishment for leaving a perfect garden versus the garden itself? A reward for making it out of the dark cave of chaos. Next week, we are going to stick with our mythical settings and head for the hills to talk about, magical mountains. Thank for watching, well see you next time. Check out our Crash Course mythology Thoth, Thoth bag and poster Available now at datdf.com [Theme song] Crash Course mythology is filmed in Chad & Stacey Emigholz Studios, in Indianapolis, Indiana and is produced with the help of all of this very nice people. Our animation team is Thought Cafe. Crash Course exists, thanks to the generous support of our patrons at patron. Patron is a voluntary subscription service, where you can support the content you love, through a monthly donation, you can help keep Crash Course free for everyone, forever. Crash Couse is made with Adobe Creative Cloud. Check the description for a link to a free trial. Thanks for watching and while you might thing endless soups, salads and bread-sticks must be a myth! That garden, is for real That garden, is for real
