In this work, I will analyze several ancient myths, which are bonded by theme of chthonic symbolism. Vegetation cycle, dead and rebirth are topics, which we think were important for ancient cultures and analyzed myths should be a way, how those civilizations interpreted and understood to various aspects of rebirth and periodicity of life. In my effort to better comprehension of various attempts to cycles of vegetation and life, I will analyze several chthonic myths of ancient societies, which I will compare afterwards. Methodology of my analysis is inspired by narrative analysis and studies of folktales made by Vladimir Propp. I am using my own method based on his analysis of characters and their function. I am mostly focusing on characteristic of persons in myth, their role and function and on presence of chthonic symbols. This analysis is used for comparison of specific aspect of researched myths. Outputs of this research are some similarities founded in structure of myths, mostly in characteristic and roles of specific characters. On the other hand, some deities, which were commonly equated for instance by J.G. Frazer, are looking much more different, in their roles in researched myths. Analysis of methodology leads me to belief, that bigger attention to specific myths could be more useful, than...

In this work, I will make content analysis of several ancient myths, which are bonded by theme of chthonic symbolism. Vegetation cycle, dead and rebirth are topics, which we think were important for ancient cultures and analyzed myths should be a way, how those civilizations interpreted and understood to various aspects of vegetation rebirth and periodicity of life. In my effort to better comprehension of various attempts to understand and clarify cycles of vegetation and life, I will analyze several chthonic myths of ancient societies. For that I will use content analysis, where I am coding content of analyzed myths to several categories and subcategories. Afterwards, I am trying to find chthonic motive in coded content. This motive is explaining, how myth understand the cycles of life and death or vegetation. At the end, I am looking for this motives, in social institutions of those ancient societies. Founded motives are different in every myth, but they are still bonded with question of chthonicity. They also have a counterpart in various social institutions.

8 Univerzita Karlova v Praze Filozofická fakulta Katedra filmových studií Diplomová práce Jitka Kotrlová Stínová kinematografie: mytologie australského gotického filmu 70. let Shadow Cinematography: Mythology of the Australian Gothic Film of the 1970's Praha 2015 Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Petra Hanáková, Ph.D Abstract: The thesis focuses on the mythological aspects of films of the so-called Australia gothic in 1970's. In a detailed form of thematic analysis it discovers three fundamental myths within the gothic cycle which then examines the semiotic method of Roland Barthes. The first part is dedicated to the specific situation of the film industry and describes the principles of film funding. The second part is focused on the concept of national cinematography in relation to Australia. The third part is dedicated to the gothic imagination and definition of Australian gothic within the contemporary discourse. The fourth part focuses on the term "mythology". The main part of the thesis presents the three myths emerging from the cycle of Australian gothic films. The first one is the myth of the feeling of isolation that focuses on the meaning of an isolated man in the inland and on the alternation of this myth in the form of a person isolated in the society. On the examples of the films Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg,...