Theories of Mythology
The definition of mythology is derived from the word “myth”. The word itself is developed from the Greek word “mythos”, which means sagas, legend, or fable. The word “myth” is a chronicle that seeks to prove the world around us and is passed down from generation to generation (Lincoln, 1999). It is the nature of humans to marvel about the unknown and explain the unaccountable. It is also the desire for knowing that has inspired humans to fabricate amazing stories of his descent. Although segregation has been caused by geographical barriers many cultures have developed creation myths that have basic factors like chaos, the creation of humans, and the explanations of natural phenomena. Whereas few see myths as a universal pattern, mythology can be defined as a form of human nature (Magoulick, 2010). Most myths have extraordinary explanations for natures unexplainable but seem to have no match against the force of modern science. However, there are several basic theories of mythology. Even though no particular theory has been deemed right or wrong, the three most common theories of mythology seem to be the rational theory, structural theory, and the psychological theory.
The rational myth theory is one of the most comparable methodological approaches to the interpretation of a person’s behaviors. A rational myth theory claims myths are designed to construe common forces and happenings. The theory is established on the concept that people behave for a specific intention and that is to maximize their usefulness. This theory is made so that humans can better comprehend the natural occurrences in their everyday lives. The theory also speculates that every person recognizes what they want and can...
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...hough they are all very different they do have a lot of similar qualities, and traits about them. Different people follow different theories and their studies. What is important is that all myths have the same basic factors surrounding them. Those factors are chaos, the creation of humans, and the explanations of natural phenomena. It is all how a person or culture has interpreted them.
Works Cited
Lincoln, B. (1999). Theorizing Myth. Narrative Ideology .
Magoulick, M. (2010). What is Myth? Retrieved June 23rd, 2010, from faculty.com:
http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/defmyth.htm
Scott, L. M. (2004). Myth And Knowing-Introduction To World Mythology. McGraw-Hill
Company.
Vaknin, D. S. (2010). Psychological Theories and Psychotherapy of Personality Disorders
Retrieved June 23rd, 2010, from tripod.com: http://samvak.tripod.com/faq24.html
Although the myths share many similar ideas, the myths are created differently with contrasting ideas and parts. For example, one difference between the two myths is in Genesis, God created the Earth, while in The World on Turtle’s Back, a woman created the Earth. Regarding creators, there is only one God and creator in Genesis, while there are multiple in The World on Turtle’s
From before the dawn of civilization as we know it, humanity has formed myths and legends to explain the natural world around them. Whether it is of Zeus and Hera or Izanami-no-Mikoto and Izanagi-no-mikoto, every civilization and culture upon this world has its own mythos. However, the age of myth is waning as it is overshadowed in this modern era by fundamental religion and empirical science. The word myth has come to connote blatant falsehood; however, it was not always so. Our myths have reflected both the society and values of the culture they are from. We have also reflected our inner psyche, conscious and unconscious, unto the fabric of our myths. This reflection allows us to understand ourselves and other cultures better. Throughout the eons of humanity’s existence, the myths explain natural phenomena and the cultural legends of the epic hero have reflected the foundations and the inner turmoil of the human psyche.
Have you ever noticed why so many creation myths seem to talk about the same thing? The world being created by the body of a god is a common one. Many myths mention how humans at one point got destroyed or wiped out, or something happened that made their lives difficult forever. The most common motif I found is that humans were made from organic material such as bones left from dead gods, clay, mud, corn, trees, and even tears. It never occurred to me how so many motifs had so many similar things in them.
Long ago, stories of gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters in ancient Greece were essential to everyday life. Mythology is a culture’s collective rationalization of events, history, and super natural power. Myths are told to have originated in ancient Greece during but the concepts true source is unknown. Influences mythology has on Greeks and Romans include religion, history, art, and entertainment.
The creation myths that I have studied are similar in many ways. They also have differences that show an inherently different way of thinking about the world. All have creators-gods that make the world into what is now. There are conflicts within their world, and these conflicts change the face world. God to god or human to god maybe be involved in these conflicts. Their bloody struggles prove who is more powerful, causing change in the control of the world. Some gods are beneficial to man and others are self-serving, using man only as a tool.
Mythology is the study of a compiled group of stories that describe the culture’s practices and past experiences. Mythology is a valuable aspect of every culture. It communicates the culture’s truthful everyday experiences or fabricated details of past events, roles, and traditions such as family, sexuality, art, religion, philosophy, laws and marriage. A culture’s collective group of stories help communicate loyalty, ethical and rational teachings, and social models. Ancient Greece and Egypt are two cultures that we’ve studied in this course so far that I will discuss the Creation Myth associated with each culture.
Myths relate to events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basics to it” ("Myth," 2012). Mythology is said to have two particular meanings, “the corpus of myths, and the study of the myths, of a particular area: Amerindian mythology, Egyptian mythology, and so on as well as the study of myth itself” ("Mythology," 1993). In contrast, while the term myth can be used in a variety of academic settings, its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a fact and over time has been changed through the many different views within a society as an effort to answer the questions of human existence. The word myth in an academic context is used as “ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions: How did the universe and the world come to be? How did we come to be here? Who are we? What are our proper, necessary, or inescapable roles as we relate to one another and to the world at large? What should our values be? How should we behave? How should we not behave? What are the consequences of behaving and not behaving in such ways” (Leonard, 2004 p.1)? My definition of a myth is a collection of false ideas put together to create
Both of these myths reveal to us about their understanding of the universe, and about their culture. Not only do they talk about their various gods, and heroes, but they also talk about how they viewed the universe in general (Rosenberg 79). Greek mythology evolved from two early civilizations, the Mycenaean’s and the Minoans. It was the combining of these different Greek cities and Kingdoms during 10th century B.C. that created the Greek Mythology. Its geographic isolation gave it a place for mythologies to evolve (Gale Virtual Reference Library: Greek Mythology 454-456).
Mythology is known as a collection of myths, mainly belonging to a specific religion or cultural tradition. Mythology is known worldwide and is passed down, usually orally, to the youth. Mythology cannot be proven to be completely true, due to the lack of verified written proof. The three in this section include; Hindu, Egypt, and African each has their own way of how the world was created.
A mythology is an important feature of many cultures. A myth is a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humankind assumed their present form. In a broad sense, it can refer to any traditional story. A myth’s function is to provide a model for behavior and to provide a religious experience. By reenacting myths societies bring themselves closer to the divine.
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.
...milarities. Their single god creates a firmament, luminaries, dry land, and the people that inhabit that land. Chinese and Egyptian mythology also share an uncanny amount of coincidences, such as the presence of a dog-headed god, or the creation of Earth and the heavens from a cosmic egg. Norse, Japanese, and Greek mythologies, too, agree on a lot of ideals. They each contain a clash of gods and the death of certain gods in order to form life. The list of creation myths, and myths in general, that relate to each other could stretch out for miles. With these parallels, humanity can better understand earlier cultures and document the method to how mythologies change over time.
Essentially, there are three typical characteristics of mythology. Classic myths often include gods or supernatural heroes, are “closely linked to religion,” and “generally take place in a primordial age, when the world had not yet achieved its current form” (“Mythology” Wikipedia). Furthermore, myths provide an explanation for the existence of life and how the world came to be.
The Classical mythology contains tales and epics of the ancient Greek and roman literatures and myths. On the other hand, Homer’s two epic poems, the Iliad relates to the events of the Trojan War while the Odyssey details Odysseus expedition after the war. Homer’s epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad present a major part of ancient history as modern fictional heroic stories. In ancient Greek, heroes were humans who were depicted to possess superhuman abilities. A key example in the classical mythology is Akhilles who is later known in Homer’s Iliad as Achilles. Achilles is he greatest hero of the Iliad whereas Odysseus is the greatest hero of the Odyssey. The greatest heroes from classic mythology and the modern fictional hero’s stories are mortal, and subject to death. The Odyssey and the Iliad marks the beginning of modern fictional literature.
Mythology is defined as a collection of interrelated stories of a given culture. Myths are intended to explain and describe the mysteries of nature and give understanding about the world that surrounds us. Each culture has their own mythology that reflects their values and beliefs. Myths were also generated to tell the story of the first people to inhabit the earth. The Egyptian mythology elevated these people to the level of Gods and Goddesses by giving them supernatural and special powers. These myths of creation were passed from one generation to the next, either orally or by hieroglyphs painted in sacred temples, pyramids, and sanctuaries.