Date of Award

1-1-2011

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

Josef Korbel School of International Studies

First Advisor

Alan Gilbert, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Naomi Reshotko

Third Advisor

Arthur Gilbert

Keywords

Boon, Hero, Jesus, Myth, Socrates

Abstract

Joseph Campbell, a preeminent scholar of world mythology, wrote often regarding the “ power of myth ” in our society. Myth, which serves as a metaphor to explain the world and ourselves to ourselves, can be used to further the greater good of mankind. It can also be used to inflict great harm and hardship. Myth serves as either elixir or poison depending not upon he who consumes it, but upon he who conjures it. In this essay, we will look at the lives, work and myths of two historic figures who desired nothing less than the greater glory of God and man, namely, Jesus and Socrates. We will explore the creation of the myths surrounding Socrates and Jesus as heroes (in Campbell's sense of the monomyth) and the gifts which each gives to the world (i.e. their consonant messages of egalitarian rule, equality of the sexes, living a good life and nonviolent civil disobedience).

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Christopher James Tranchetti

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

100 p.

Discipline

Political Science, International relations

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