The word myth is derived from the Greek word mythos which translate to a set of beliefs about something. Myths were created to help illustrate the values and beliefs of a society. One common usage of myths were to serve as a belief system. These myths were created to explain the proper relationship between gods and man. Some people need to believe in a power greater than themselves to help them understand things that are difficult to explain. Such as the creation of the world or what happens after death. Religion and myths correlate with each other, some myths serving as the foundation of that belief system. Various myths are created based off of a society 's religious belief. The relationship between deities and mankind show that mankind …show more content…
Almost everyone has heard of the Story of Medusa, the monster who who had the ability to turn men into stone with her appearance. However, she hadn 't always looked like that, it wasn 't until she disobeyed the will of a god that she was transformed into the unsightly creature that we know of today. Medusa, was actually in fact a very beautiful girl who lived in the city states of Athens. She serves as a priestess for the goddess Athena, which meant that she had to take a vow of celibacy. The god Poseidon was so transfixed with Medusa 's beauty that he started to pursue her which eventually led to her breaking her oath. the two then proceed to have coitus inside the sacred temple of Athena. This act of disobedience and disrespect angered the Goddess, in her wrath she then cursed Medusa “ by transforming Medusa’s hair into snakes, so that anyone who gazed at her directly would be turned into stone” …show more content…
According to the bible, they were the first human beings that God created, and he took great pride in them creating them in his own image. When he made them, he gave them right to reside in the Garden of Eden and allowed them to eat from all the plants and trees in the garden. With the exception of one tree, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (KJV Genesis 2:17). One day when Eve was alone in the garden a serpent came to her and asked her why she didn 't eat from the tree of knowledge, she replied that God forbade them from eating from that tree. Playing upon the naivety of Ev, the serpent began tempting her to try the fruit from the tree of knowledge stating that “ [their] eyes shall be opened, and [they] shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Tempted by the prospect of acquiring wisdom, Eve ate the fruit of the tree then gave it to her husband to eat which he did. Upon eating the fruit “... the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (KJV Genesis 3:7). God then came down to visit them and they quickly hid, and when God asked Adam why, he answered that it was “because [he] was naked” and was afraid to face the lord (KJV Genesis 3:10). Hearing this God realised that Adam and eve had eaten from the tree of Knowledge. Their disobedience to God caused them to get kicked out of the
The “popular use of the word myth to denote something that is thought by many people to be “true,” but actually is not true can be examined through history. Today’s current understanding of myth is: “A traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or heroor event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a naturalexplanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigodsand explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature,istories or matter of this kind,iany invented story, idea, or concept,ian imaginary or fictitious thing or person,ian unproved or false collective belief that is
Poseidon had ask Medusa for marriage and proposed, and Medusa said yes to his proposal. When they had proposed they went to Athena’s temple, once the’ve arrived they caught by Athena, and at this moment Athena had turned Medusa into a gorgon with snakes in her hair. Never look into her eye’s or will
Myths often convey the symbolic truth. Symbolic truth is often a religious hidden meaning behind stories told. Myths are usually set in pre-history, which is before the recorded history of human beings. God creating the Earth in seven days and the story of Adam and Eve are just a few of the myth stories.
The story of Medusa and Perseus is known as one of the top thriller tales in Greek Mythology. To begin, Medusa is one of three sisters, Sthenno and Euryale. However, she is the only mortal one. Originally, Medusa had golden, long, beautiful hair. She was Athena’s Priestess and swore to a celibate life. Later on, Medusa met Poseidon, fell in love with him and completely forgot about her vows to Athena. The Goddess Athena was so infuriated that she turned Medusa into a hideous looking monster. Her golden locks became venomous snakes and her face became so grotesque that any God or immortal to look into her eyes would become a statue of stone. Athena did this so Medusa would not attract any man. The same came for her sisters because Poseidon
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.
Various myths exist to explaining the terrifying aspect of Medusa. The most famous and widely know is the one related to Athena. "She had once been a maiden whose hair was her chief glory, but as she dared to vie in beauty with Minerva, the goddess deprived her of her charms and changed her ringlets into hissing serpents. She became a monster of so frightful an aspect that no living thing could behold her without being turned into stone"(Gayley 208). Jean Lang describes this transformation as follows:
Myths tell a certain story, and are meant to give meaning to places, people, and things. Many times myths can be connected to religious beliefs and rituals. A popular theme of myths are creational myths, as a way to give some kind of meaning in the universe. Two creational myths are “Greek Creation” and “The Algonquin myth of Michabo”. Both Myths tell a story of how the earth or universe came to be, but the stories told have many details that contrast and at the same time compare to each other.
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
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.
Medusa was a beautiful young priestess of Athena with immense responsibilities. However after falling in love with Poseidon, she rebelled against her vows to stay unmarried. This struck offence at the gods and she was scolded. Every lock of Medusa’s golden hair changed into venomous snakes and her once inspiring eyes turned into orbs. If anyone looked into her eyes, they would be turned into stone. This moral shows that even though Medusa used to look attractive, she was obliged
The tales of Greek heroes and the gods are older than all of us. Most of these tales are thought to be myths, but every interpretation of Greek mythology and the stories that it contains correlates with something in the real world today. The story of the creation of the world, and the stories of the heroes Hercules, Perseus and Theseus, are only but a few of the compelling stories Greek mythology has to offer.
Mythology meaning the study of Myths. Myth comes form the Greek word Mythos meaning speech or discourse later meaning fable. Myth is defined as a story of forgotten origin, it is religious or supernatural. It seeks to explain the creation of the universe, everyday phenomena and everything in it. The different regions of the world all have a different story and set of characters they use to explain this. Now that you know what exactly what mythology is we will look at the different categories of mythology.
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.