FOR 2064:  Stratification-Analyses of Mythic Plots and Texts in Ancient Cultures

• Subject Area: Humanities
• Term: since 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 235014259

While the research of ancient myths has focused mainly on Greek and Roman sources, the research group STRATA broadens the material base regarding time, region, topics and genre by incorporating the earliest, Ancient Near Eastern as well as the later, Jewish-Christian ancient worlds. The further development and application of the basically mapped theoretical framework will initiate a development in formal, distinctive and dynamic respects. Formally myths are encompassed as plots which concretise in different forms, available in larger compositions and in isolated mythemes as in a Sumerian gods list, a Greek comedy or in a Late Antique Christian sermon. A differentiated, elaborated philological-historical method focusing on the analysis of plots as sequences of mythemes and of isolated mythemes provides the research group the innovative instruments to serve as a solid foundation for systematic, quantified comparative distinctions. A problem analysis of previous research on myths shows furthermore that one implicitly presupposed postulate of traditional approaches, namely that all elements of mythic plots and texts have to be intentionally related on one singular consistent level, fails ancient myths. In contrast the research group will explore the dynamic potential of myths in a completely new way. This approach will be successful if heterogeneous morphologies, incompatibilities and inconsistencies of mythical plots and texts are not regarded as mistakes or inaccuracies and as such are not smoothed or emended, but evaluated as indicators of a complex process of transmission, the analysis of which will help us identify different, historically grown strata. This innovative approach will be applied exemplarily to ancient myths about changing spheres, that is to myths about going to vertically remote spheres as heaven and netherworld or to horizontally distant peripherals like the ¿Island of the Blessed¿. Preliminary studies have shown that such plots up to now remain incomprehensible in many respects. So it is just here that a new methodological approach is a desideratum. During the first grant-period the method will be enhanced primarily through textual sources; during the second grant-period it will be expanded systematically on iconographic sources. The practical steps will be technically supported by a scientific database, which will be built in cooperation of the research group and informatics. Within two grant-periods the research group aims at establishing a new research field for ancient myths, essential for culturespecific and for cross-cultural studies: the establishing of the mytheme-based stratification analysis of mythic plots and texts of ancient cultures.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• Alte Geschichte: Hermes und Herakles. Formen, Strata und Funktionen mythischer Sphärenwechsel in der griechischen Kultur (Applicant Scheer, Tanja Susanne )
• Antikes Christentum: Stratifikation des Heilsgeschehens im antiken Christentum: Der Himmelsaufstieg Christi und der Märtyrer als mythischer Sphärenwechsel (Applicant Gemeinhardt, Peter )
• Antikes Judentum: Henochs Reisen durch die Sphären der himmlischen und irdischen Welt: Stratifikation von Schriftauslegung und mythischem Stoff in der Henochliteratur (Applicant Kratz, Reinhard Gregor )
• Antikes Ugarit und antikes Israel: Sphärenwechsel der Macht im ugaritischen Baal-Yamm-Mot-Zyklus und in hebräischen Yhwh-Königund Königs-Psalmen (Applicant Spieckermann, Hermann )
• Autonomous secondary divinities of the netherworld: stratification-based and comparative ap-proaches to mythical Stoffe of Hecate and the Erinyes in Graeco-Roman sources (Applicant Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther )
• Computational Methods for the Reconstruction and Comparative Analysis of Mythical Erzählstoffe (Applicant Sporleder, Caroline )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Zgoll, Annette )
• Divinities and domains of the netherworld. Reconstruction, stratification and comparative analyses of mythical Stoffe from ancient Mesopotamia (Applicant Zgoll, Annette )
• Koordination der Forschungsgruppe 2064 (Applicant Zgoll, Annette )
• Neues Testament: Die mythische Stratifikation der neutestamentlichen Christologien als Reflexe eines Machtdiskurses. Die Mythemsequenzen der Christusmythen und deren Einfluss auf die Formierung des Lukasevangeliums (Applicant Feldmeier, Reinhard )
• Searching for Persephone. Transmedial, comparative and digitally supported approximations to a polymorphous figure of the underworld in Greco-Roman sources (Applicant Zgoll, Christian )
• Stratification-Analyses of Mythic Plots and Texts in Ancient Cultures (Applicant Zgoll, Annette )

• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Annette Zgoll