At first, I will try to differentiate the terms, although the borderlines are somewhat fluent. One thing should be common: These stories are not about historical facts or true events. If that would be different, they would not be myths, folktales or legends.
Storytelling is a common feature in all cultures. Most people enjoy stories, true or untrue. Consequently, this has created the storytellers and they have balanced the demand and supply from the beginning of civilization.
The myths have a religious or occult background and have their focus on prehistoric times, along with the inventing of mythical creatures and demons. They try to explain to us the origin of the earth. On top of that, the poets have dreamed up all kinds of gods.
The folktales, very similar to the myths, are said to have a central message. They are dealing to a lesser extend with the gods, but tend to refer more to heroes of flesh and blood. Based on oral transmission, they sell us incredible events, yet after all with a claim to truth slightly above the fairy tales.
Legends pretend to be more factual reports. They have been communicated over the centuries and adapted or changed to the spirit of the time, whenever they were passed on in their more befitting style.
All together, the myths, folktales and legends are an important part of our mental foundations and our culture, despite the fact that – to a large degree – they are mostly plain bullshit. Nevertheless, they had great influence on human society and still influence our thoughts and actions to this day.
Facts are facts, but unfortunately often twisted. When the facts are twisted – we call it ‘spinning’ in the political arena – it becomes an art, as the spider has created an intrica...
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...opulation rather believe in the versions of our ancestors, which have explained in an easier way where flashes and rainbows come from.
We want to know exactly what has happened about 4 billion years ago when the life on Earth has developed, and a simple ‘I don’t know’ is not accepted. There must always be a distinct explanation and if there is none, we are making it up.
There is an old Egyptian saying that among all sorts of grass, the papyrus plant is growing the highest. In the early days, it wanted to run away and avoid to be inscribed with ancient Egyptian myths, and as it has no legs, it shot upwards.
‘Literature’ comes from the Latin word ‘litterae’ (plural for letter). In the case of Greek or Roman myths, we should better spell it ‘litterature’– deriving from the word ‘litter’ – rubbish carelessly dropped or left about, especially in public places.
Perhaps some of the best stories told are classified as urban legends. Urban legends have become a part of culture, and a way to tell stories. They can tell us things about ourselves and about how we lead our lives. They serve to entertain us, but can also teach us lessons, such as morals to live by. Urban legends are passed on between generations, and become a part of the oral history of a place. Whether the stories are true or not, urban legends are often taken to hold at least some truth about a culture. No matter how radical some of the stories may be, people often take the urban legends to be true. People may take these stories to be true simply for entertainment purposes, but mostly because the morals the stories teach are important. Urban legends can become a part of the place where they originate, and can help define a culture, and shape its history.
Main Idea: The importance of Shakespeare, the Bible, and fairy tales is that they are all myths. Myth in this case doesn’t mean that they aren’t true, but rather that they are stories that seek to, as Foster puts it, “explain ourselves to ourselves.” Myths are important and are a part of a culture’s collective memory. Here, in Western culture, we are mostly associated with Ancient Greek civilization and the myths that lie there. We can see references to those myths in all sorts of literature.
Many oral traditional stories have been told and passed down from person to person and family to family for thousands of years. Almost every story that has been told has either been altered or told in a different way so after 100 years of one story being told someone will decide to create their own version of it.
Myth… legend or fable? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a myth as, “A story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence.” Children, often sit around, listening to their elders speak of myths. These myths have existed throughout American culture for many centuries and will continue for many centuries to come. These myths, legends, and fables provide the elders with enjoyment, as they observe the children, listening so intensely, believing every detail, amazed at the unimaginable adventures told in each story. Myths reflect experience but go beyond limitations. Indeed the children enjoy the excitement of the fantasy a myth creates. As we grow, we need to realize that these myths, tell an imaginary story and only contain a kernel of truth. Myths serve as a mental escape, stories with few actual facts embellished with many fantasy details. Although, used to entertain, these myths can hurt or even destroy the individuals that believe them.
Folklores are stories that have been through many time periods. Folklore include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are traditional tales handed down from earlier times and believed to have a historical basis. Myths are ancient stories dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes. Fairy Tales are fantasy tales with legendary being and creators.
While researching fairy tales I came across an article titled “Fairy Tales and Fables”. As I
Why do myths from different cultures around the world address such similar or universal themes? Do we see these same themes in today's myths? Think about how myths explain the unknown and the tribulations of mankind.
Myths and religious doctrine are generally recognized as two entirely different things. Myths are usually referred to as a fictitious story or a half-truth; often they are stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural society. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, and purpose of the universe, and often containing an ethical code dictating appropriate human conduct. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to parables within the Bible, myths have different versions which are both motivating, as well as entertaining. There are not only parallels to the idea of the stories but specific tales hold similar morals and equivalent characters.
( Legends): Based on history (Myths): Based on religions, and (Fairy Tales): Fiction/ false/unreal Each of them have been passed down through the years and have had changes made to them to make them more interesting.
Folklore is very important on a culture relating to legends, myths and fairy tales. The generations will keep telling the legends, myths and fairytales to the next
“A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence.” ― Rollo May
Evolution views life to be a process by which organisms diversified from earlier forms, whereas creation illustrates that life was created by a supernatural being. Creation and evolution both agree on the existence of microevolution and the resemblance of apes and humans but vary in terms of interpreting the origins of the life from a historical standpoint. A concept known as Faith Vs Fact comprehensively summarizes the tone of this debate, which leads to the question of how life began. While creation represents a religious understanding of life, evolution acknowledges a scientific interpretation of the origins of life. The theory is illustrated as the process by which organisms change species over time.
Throughout time, mankind has forged stories and legends to explain the unknown. As years went along the stories and tall tales were passed down to each generation. Each recount of the inherited stories are always told differently, how the story was told usually depended on the person and their particular region of habitance. Thus leading to hundreds of different versions of a single story told throughout the world, written and told by different people. Not only are these stories told as pure entertainment, they serve as wise life lessons and set examples for children when they were eventually introduced to society. These stories are so prominent in human history that even to this day the same stories that were told to children centuries ago
Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are stories about people or events which have been written in history. The stories can be made up, but the events may be loosely based on facts. Myths are stories that contain little to no historical facts, and are so far fetched that it is easy to distinguish. Fairy Tales are stories that can contain fantastic elements, and/or supernatural events or mythical characters.
Normally, when one was a child, our parents would tell us fairy tales as bed time stories, or to simply entertain us. This is a worldwide tradition in which every parent tells their child the stories they were told when they were little, or new stories. There are infinite stories to be told as well as infinite stories that have already been written or told. The stories told by our parents have influenced us and still influence us in our beliefs and values today. Throughout our childhood, we have been told many stories that teach us to be brave and courageous, respect others, love ourselves and others, to obey orders, and even to help and