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Talking Heads: Comparative and Structural Analysis of the Myths of Vital Severed Heads
Sojková, Barbora ; Lyčka, Milan (advisor) ; Chlup, Radek (referee)
The thesis deals with a symbolism of the head and its attachment to knowledge, which will be presented on the Indo-European myths of severed heads with the use of methods of comparative mythology and structural analysis. In the first part of the thesis is introduced general symbolism of the head and its possible transformations in Indo-European mythologies. Nevertheless, the focus of the thesis is in presentation of myths, in which the decapitated head plays the central role. Those myths are formed into three types based on power, which is given to the severed heads. In the second part the thesis deals with three particular myths of the speaking severed heads, namely Greek myth of Orpheus, Welsh story of Bran and Old Norse myth of Mímir, whereas those myths are thoroughly presented, interpreted by using structural analysis, and compared. The results of interpretation are afterwards transposed to the other myths of severed heads and to the general symbolism of a head. The focal point of the text is mainly work with primary mythological sources, even though metodological basis of interpretation is also emphasised.
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The Archaic Slavic Religion in a Perspective of Georges Dumézil's Comparative Mythology
Dynda, Jiří ; Antalík, Dalibor (advisor) ; Téra, Michal (referee)
THE ARCHAIC SLAVIC RELIGION IN A PERSPECTIVE OF GEORGES DUMÉZIL'S COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY JIŘÍ DYNDA ABSTRACT The presented paper deals with the application of Dumézil's comparative mythology on religion of ancient Slavs. I will briefly introduce the life and method of Georges Dumézil and examine the influence of Durkheimian sociology and Lévi-Straussian structuralism on his research. A short summary of his focal theory of tripartite, three-functional ideology will be presented as well. Then I will present an analysis of Slavic archaic social stratification by means of tripartite ideology; I will also accentuate the importance of Slavic religious specialists, i.e. the "priestly class", and also the need of searching of (supposed) clearly articulated tripartite theological structures of Slavic paganism, especially in cultic practices. In the last third of this work, four possible dumézilian interpretations of Slavic pantheon will be demonstrated. Each function will be examined on the basis of primary sources reading and secondary interpretations. In the concluding synthesis there will be shown the antithetic, yet complementary character of given academic theories and interpretations and subsequently I will evaluate the dumézilian hypothesis in general. Furthermore its contributions as well as inherent...
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