Stratification-Analyses of Mythic Plots and Texts in Ancient Cultures

古代神话研究的特点是研究方法的多元性，几乎表现为漫漫性的随意性，反映了研究结果及其评价的异质性。比较研究方法是可以发现的，但它们主要是在对不同来源的并列列举和专门的个人研究中耗尽自己的精力。要对古代神话进行系统的、比较有根据的研究，就必须找到一个具有代表性的物质基础、一个全面的理论框架和一种既适用于一种文化又适用于比较文化的方法。虽然对古代神话的研究主要集中在希腊和罗马的来源，但STRATA研究小组通过纳入最早的古代近东以及后来的犹太-基督教古代世界，拓宽了关于时间、地区、主题和类型的物质基础。这一基本映射的理论框架的进一步发展和应用将在形式、特色和动态方面引发发展。在形式上，神话被包含在以不同形式具体化的情节中，可以在较大的作品中找到，也可以在独立的主题中找到，比如苏美尔人的神表、希腊喜剧或古代晚期的基督教布道中。一种差异化的、详尽的语言历史方法，侧重于分析作为主题序列的情节和孤立的主题，为研究小组提供了创新的工具，作为系统的、量化的比较区分的坚实基础。对以往神话研究的问题分析进一步表明，传统方法的一个隐含的预设，即神话情节和文本的所有元素必须在一个单一的一致的水平上有意地联系在一起，在古代神话中是失败的。相反，研究小组将以一种全新的方式探索神话的动态潜力。如果神话情节和文本的异质形态、不相容和不一致不被视为错误或不准确，因此不被平滑或修改，而是作为一个复杂传播过程的指标来评估，这种方法将是成功的，对它的分析将有助于我们识别不同的、历史上生长的阶层。这种创新的方法将被典型地应用于关于改变球体的古代神话中，即关于去天堂和地狱等垂直遥远的球体或水平遥远的外围如“受祝福的岛”的神话。初步研究表明，到目前为止，这种情节在许多方面仍然难以理解。因此，正是在这里，需要一种新的方法方法。在第一个赠款期间，将主要通过文本来源加强该方法；在第二个资助期，它将系统地扩展图像来源。

Characteristic for research about ancient myths is a plurality of approaches which might almost appear as diffuse arbitrariness and which reflects the heterogeneity of research results and their evaluations. Comparative research approaches are detectable, but they exhaust themselves largely in paratactic enumerations of different sources and in specialised individual studies. In order to work through ancient myths in a systematically and comparatively founded manner it is necessary to find a representative material base, a comprehensive theoretical frame and a method which can be applied for one culture as well as for cultures in comparison.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.