Discuss one of Joseph Campbells Four Functions of Mythology...

Discuss one of Joseph Campbells Four Functions of Mythology contained in the Mesopotamia myth of Utnapishtim and the flood in the book The World of Myth page 44 .  What questions does this element of the myth answer and how might it benefit the society to which this myth belongs? 

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MESOPOTAMIA (SUMER-BABYLON): Utnapishtim (Ziusudra) In the eleventh tablet of the Semitic Babylonian epic of the legendary king Gilgamesh, we find a flood story that is clearly the source for the Old Testament Noah story. The Gilgamesh story itself is based on an earlier, third-millennium BCE myth of the Sumerians. In the Sumerian myth, the gods decide to destroy humankind with a flood. The god Enki, disagreeing with this decision, in- structs a worthy man named Ziusudra, who narrates the tale, to build a great boat in which to save himself, his family, and a few other people, as well as animals. In the later second- millennium BCE Babylonian version, Ziusudra has become Utnapishtim, and Enki has become Ea. Ut-napishtim spoke to him, to Gilgamesh, "Let me reveal to you a closely guarded matter, Gilgamesh, And let me tell you the secret of the gods. Shuruppak is a city that you yourself know, Situated [on the bank of ] the Euphrates. That city was already old when the gods within it Decided that the great gods should make a flood. There was Anu their father, Warrior Ellil their counsellor, Ninurta was their chamberlain, Ennugi their canal-controller. Far-sighted Ea swore the oath (of secrecy) with them, So he repeated their speech to a reed hut, 'Reed hut, reed hut, brick wall, brick wall, Listen, reed hut, and pay attention, brick wall: (This is the message:) Man of Shuruppak, son of Ubara-Tutu, Dismantle your house, build a boat. Leave possessions, search out living things. Reject chattels and save lives! Put aboard the seed of all living things, into the boat.

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ii The boat that you are to build Shall have her dimensions in proportion, Her width and length shall be in harmony, Roof her like the Apsu.' I realized and spoke to my master Ea, 'I have paid attention to the words that you spoke in this way, My master, and I shall act upon them. But how can I explain myself to the city, the men and the elders?' Ea made his voice heard and spoke, He said to me, his servant, 'You shall speak to them thus: "I think that Ellil has rejected me, And so I cannot stay in your city, And I cannot set foot on Ellil's land again. I must go down to the Apsu and stay with my master Ea." Then he will shower abundance upon you, A wealth of fowl, a treasure of fish. [ ] prosperity, a harvest, In the morning cakes/ "darkness," In the evening a rain of wheat/ "heaviness" he will shower upon you.' When the first light of dawn appeared The country gathered about me. The carpenter brought his axe, The reed-worker brought his stone, The young men [. . .] [ ] Children carried the bitumen, The poor fetched what was needed [ ]. On the fifth day I laid down her form. One acre was her circumference, ten poles each the height of her walls, Her top edge was likewise ten poles all round. I laid down her structure, drew it out, Gave her six decks, Divided her into seven. Her middle I divided into nine, Drove the water pegs into her middle. I saw to the paddles and put down what was needed: Three Jar of bitumen I poured into the kiln, Three Jar of pitch I poured into the inside. Three Jar of oil they fetched, the workmen who carried the baskets.

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Not counting the rar of oil which the dust (?) soaked up, The boatman stowed away two more Jar of oil. [. . .] I slaughtered oxen. I sacrificed sheep every day. I gave the workmen ale and beer to drink, Oil and wine as if they were river water They made a feast, like the New Year's Day festival. When the sun [rose (2')] I provided hand oil. [When] the sun went down the boat was complete. [The launching was (?)] very difficult; Launching rollers had to be fetched (from) above (to) below. Two-thirds of it [stood clear of the water line (?)]. I loaded her with everything there was, Loaded her with all the silver, Loaded her with all the gold Loaded her with all the seed of living things, all of them. I put on board the boat all my kith and kin. Put on board cattle from open country, wild beasts from open country, all kinds of craftsmen. Shamash had fixed the hour: 'In the morning cakes/ "darkness," In the evening a rain of wheat/ "heaviness" (I) shall shower down: Enter into the boat and shut your door!' That hour arrived; In the morning cakes/ 'darkness,' in the evening a rain of wheat/ 'heaviness' showered down. I saw the shape of the storm, The storm was terrifying to see. I went aboard the boat and closed the door. To seal the boat I handed over the (floating) palace with her cargo to Puzur-Amurru the boatman. When the first light of dawn appeared, A black cloud came up from the base of the sky. Adad kept rumbling inside it. Shullat and Hanish were marching ahead, Marched as Chamberlains (over) (?) mountain and country. Erakal pulled out the mooring (P) poles, Ninurta marched on and made the weir(s) overflow.

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The Anunnaki had to carry torches, They lit up the land with their brightness. The calm before the Storm—god came over the sky, Everything light turned to darkness. [ ] iii On the first day the tempest [rose up], Blew swiftly and [brought 0) the flood-weapon], Like a battle force [the destructive kaffifa weapon] passed over [the people] No man could see his fellow, Nor could people be distinguished from the sky. Even the gods were afraid of the flood-weapon. They withdrew; they went up to the heaven of Anu. The gods cowered, like dogs crouched by an outside wall. Ishtar screamed like a woman giving birth; The Mistress of the Gods, sweet of voice, was wailing, 'Has that time really returned to clay, Because I spoke evil in the gods' assembly? How could I have spoken such evil in the gods' assembly? I should have (.9) ordered a battle to destroy my people; I myself gave birth (to them), they are my own people, Yet they fill the sea like fish spawn!' The gods of the Anunnaki were weeping with her. The gods, humbled, sat there weeping. Their lips were closed and covered with scab. For six days and (seven (?)] nights The wind blew, flood and tempest overwhelmed the land; When the seventh day arrived the tempest, flood and onslaught Which had struggled like a woman in labour, blew themselves out (P). The sea became calm, the imfiuiia-vrind grew quiet, the flood held back. I looked at the weather; silence reigned, For all mankind had returned to clay. The flood-plain was flat as a roof. I opened a porthole and light fell on my cheeks. I bent down, then sat. I wept. My tears ran down my cheeks. I looked for banks, for limits to the sea. Areas of land were emerging everywhere (3'). The boat had come to rest on Mount Nimush.

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The mountain Nimush held the boat fast and did not let it budge. The first and second day the mountain Nimush held the boat fast and did not let it budge. The third and fourth day the mountain Nimush held the boat fast and did not let it budge. The fifth and sixth day the mountain Nimush held the boat fast and did not let it budge. When the seventh day arrived, I put out and released a dove. The dove went; it came back, For no perching place was visible to it, and it turned round. I put out and released a swallow. The swallow went; it came back, For no perching place was visible to it, and it turned round. I put out and released a raven. The raven went, and saw the waters receding. And it ate, preened (?), lifted its tail and did not turn round. Then I put (everything?) out to the four winds, and I made a sacrifice, Set out a Surqinnu-offering upon the mountain peak, Arranged the jars seven and seven; Into the bottom of them I poured (essences of?) reeds, pine, and myrtle. The gods smelt the fragrance, The gods smelt the pleasant fragrance, The gods like flies gathered over the sacrifice. As soon as the Mistress of the Gods arrived iv She raised the great flies which Anu had made to please her: 'Behold, O gods, I shall never forget (the significance of) my lapis lazuli necklace, I shall remember these times, and I shall never forget. Let other gods come to the surqinnu-offering But let Ellil not come to the surqinnu-offering, Because he did not consult before imposing the flood, And consigned my people to destruction!' As soon as Ellil arrived He saw the boat. Ellil was furious, Filled with anger at the Igigi gods. What sort of life survived? No man should have lived through the destruction!'

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Ninurta made his voice heard and spoke, He said to the warrior Ellil, Who other than Ea would have done such a thing? For Ea can do everything!' Ea made his voice heard and spoke, He said to the warrior Ellil, You are the sage of the gods, warrior, So how, O how, could you fail to consult, and impose the flood? Punish the sinner for his sin, punish the criminal for his crime, But ease off, let work not cease; be patient, . . . Instead of your imposing a flood, let a lion come up and diminish the people. Instead of your imposing a flood, let a wolf come up and diminish the people. Instead of your imposing a flood, let famine be imposed and [lessen] the land. Instead of your imposing a flood, let Erra rise up and savage the people. I did not disclose the secret of the great gods, I just showed Atrahasis a dream, and thus he heard the secret of the gods.' Now the advice (that prevailed) was his advice. Ellil came up into the boat, And seized my hand and led me up. He led up my woman and made her kneel down at my side. He touched our foreheads, stood between us, blessed us: Until now Ut-napishtim was mortal, But henceforth Ut-napishtim and his woman shall be as we gods are. Ut-napishtim shall dwell far off at the mouth of the rivers.' They took me and made me dwell far off, at the mouth of the rivers." [Stephanie Dalley, trans., Myths from Mesopotamia (Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 109-116.]

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Joseph Campbell's Four Functions of Mythology Campbell introduced one of his principal theoretical constructs in the Masks of God series. Myths are not simple stories created to entertain. Mythology contains messages and truths of societal importance. A myth should never be read literally or these functions and truths will be overlooked. It was in Occidental Mythology ('l 964), that Campbell outlined the four functions of myth: 0 First is the metaphysical function. Myth awakens and supports a sense of awe before the mystery of being. It reconciles consciousness to the preconditions of its own existence. Myth induces a realization that behind the surface phenomenology of the world, there is a transcendent mystery source. Through this vitalizing mystical function, the universe becomes a holy picture. . The second is the cosmological function and deals with the image of the world that is the focus of science. This function shows the shape of the universe, but in such a way that the mystery still comes through. The cosmology should correspond to the actual experience, knowledge, and mentality of the culture. This interpretive function changes radically over time as human understanding of nature grows. It presents a map or picture of the order of the cosmos and our relationship to it. . Third is the sociological function. Myth supports and validates the specific moral order of the society out of which it arose. Particular life-customs of this social dimension, such as ethical laws and social roles, evolve dramatically. This function, and the rites by which it is rendered, establishes in members of the group concerned a system of sentiments that can be depended upon to link that person spontaneously to its ends. . The fourth function of myth is psychological. The myths show how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. It is this pedagogical function of mythology that carries the individual through the various stages and crises of life, from childhood dependency, to the responsibilities of maturity, to the reflection of old age, and finally, to death. It helps people grasp the unfolding of life with integrity. It initiates individuals into the order of realities in their own psyches, guiding them toward enrichment and realization. Source: http://www. foikstory. com/campbell/scholars_life.htmi

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