Friday Seminar: Case Study #2, Emotional Undertones

Dear Readers,

It's time for my Friday Seminar again. This is a weekly feature, where I take you through part of the material in my introductory class, CHRN/AUG 100.

For the past two weeks of Seminar we've discussed the leap from emotive connotations in sources to conclusions about overall "zeitgeist," or spirit, of a given society in a given time stream. To review, we use the emotive undertones of a source to extrapolate what the driving passions of the culture that produced that source are. In principle, it's straightforward. In practice it can be tricky.

Since I featured neo-Aegea this week, I'll use the source I posted yesterday for our case study. My analysis of that source is by no means complete, so the conclusion I come to here are as new to me as they are to you.

The first steps in our analysis, as they have been since the beginning, are to establish a quick idea of the source type and a short critique of that source for us to keep in mind as we go forward.

What I posted yesterday is an easy source type. It was a myth, recorded for the purpose of public performance by a storyteller who hoped to earn money for his efforts. Therefore, I'll call it a mythic play, and leave it there.

What about our critique? That is a little more complicated. Let's keep in mind:

• This source is a myth. Myth typically describes any story with some religious tones that would be called "true" by the people who produced it, but doubted by people from virtually any other society. We have to keep in mind not that this source seems false to us, but that it is quite real to a neo-Aegean.
• This source is for commercial gain. Because it was meant to make money for the storyteller, there are places where clearly the events in the original myth are over-dramatized. It's possible that the original myth, even, is not as bombastic as this source. It's possible that the religious account has wild differences from this text. We need to keep that in mind as well.

While the downside of these two points is that we can't trust the source for much about the everyday life of an average Aegean, the upshot is that this source gives us a great idea of both the sorts of beliefs held by Aegeans as well as the kinds of entertainment that they sought out. Perfect for our emotive undertone analysis.

Let's look at some of the major emotional elements of this story:

• Engineers: Cadmus represents an active authority in his role as an adventurer, explorer and religious official. He is the "hero," and the fact that he is an "Engineer," which means a priest to an Aegean, tells us that religion is rather central to their society. Furthermore, the only entityies that Cadmus subordinates himself to are either gods, or another Engineer like Tiresias, with inspiration from the gods. Clearly, this society has a hierarchical view of the world, with religion at its apex.
• War: this myth is quite foreboding. The "sown men" are meant for war, as Athena warns us. The Storyteller is invited by the stage directions to advertise further stories of war, as well, and to increase the suspense just before the prediction of war is made. That tells us that stories of battle captivate the Aegean audience. These are not pacifists.
• Darkness: dark areas, caverns, and pitch-black oracular halls dominate this story. Aegea is a place full of darkness, and the contradiction presented by a blind seer in a dark room tells us more about Aegeans. Their need to "see" around them is more limited than societies that include greater description in their stories. This may have something to do with their sea floor life, or perhaps some the anti-curious drives that are prevalent in such a Dark Age society.
• Light: still, there is one very strong source of light in this story. The "Golden Bathyscaph" that Cadmus uses to travel, which you would probably call a "golden submarine," is a source of brightness and light. Through the Engineer, darkness is banished, light is produced, and preparations are made to defend from war. This kind of thing entertains the Aegean audience; again we see a centralizaation of the Engineers in their culture, as a source of light against the pervasive darkness.

So far, we have themes of subordination to religious order, in other words, submissiveness, as well as themes of violence, darkness, and light, again from the religious order. These emotive themse combine to paint a picture of at least part of Aegean society. In the era of this story's telling, it is a violent, dark place in most of its corners, with the stability and light sourced only from the powerful religious system. The rest of the people look to these Engineers for the goodness in their lives because of the darkness that surrounds them, both in terms of knowledge and literal currents of war and danger in the environment. And with that, we've reached an understanding of part of the zeitgeist, the driving spirit, of their Age. This understanding, gleaned also from other sources, inspired my "Day in the Life" post earlier this week.

Now, off to your weekend.

Always,

Dr. John Skylar
Chairman
Department of Anachronism
University of Constantinople