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Mythology [Greek=the telling of stories], the entire body of myths in a given tradition, and the study of myths. Students of anthropology, folklore, and religion study myths in different ways, distinguishing them from various other forms of popular, often orally transmitted, literature. Much of that literature is classified according to its presumed function: fables, which instruct; etiological tales, which explain; and folktales, which entertain. Myths may perform any one or all three of these functions, but in addition play a critical role in how a culture constructs its sense of time. In this sense myths are contrasted to history, which concerns recent, well-documented events, and to poetic epics and narrative legends, which concern an historical person, place, or incident from the distant past; an example is the story of Lady Godiva\'s naked ride through Coventry. (The legends of Norwegian and Icelandic kings, recorded from the 12th to the 15th cent., are called sagas.) A myth, however, is generally a story that takes place in an imagined, remote, timeless past and tells of the origins of humans, animals, and the supernatural. While ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish mythologies are the best known, other important mythologies are the Norse, which is less anthropomorphic than the Greek; the Indian, or Vedic, which tends to be more abstract and otherworldly than the Greek; the Egyptian, which is closely related to religious ritual; and the Mesopotamian, which shares with the Greek mythology a strong concern for the relationship between life and death. Myth has been employed for the enrichment of literature since the time of Aeschylus and has been used by some of the major English poets (e.g., Milton, Shelley, Keats). Some great literary figures, notably William Blake, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens have consciously constructed personal myths using the old materials and newly constructed symbols. Older Interpretations of Myths There have been many theories as to the reasons for similarities among myths. Many have viewed myths merely as poor versions of history, and have attempted to analyze and explicate them in nonsacred ways to account for their apparent absurdity. Some ancient Greeks explained myths as allegories, and looked for a reality concealed in poetic images. Theagenes of Rhegium was an early proponent (6th cent. b.c. ) of this method of interpretation; it was most fully developed by the Stoics, who reduced the Greek gods to moral principles and natural elements. Euhemerus considered the gods to have been renowned historical figures who became deified through the passage of time. Another interpretation sees myths as developing from an improper separation between the human and nonhuman; animals, rocks, and stars are considered to be on a level of intelligence with people, and the dead are thought to inhabit the world of the living in spiritual form. A later allegorical interpretation states that at one time myths were invented by wise men to point out a truth, but that after a time myths were taken literally. For example, Kronos, who devoured his children, is identified with the Greek word for time, which may be said to destroy whatever it brings into existence. This approach was refined in philological studies of myth by Max Mller, who saw myths evolving out of corruptions of language: what seems absurd in myth, he suggested, is the result of people forgetting or distorting the meanings of words, e.g., the phrase sunrise follows the dawn, spoken in Greek could be interpreted as meaning Apollo pursues Daphne, the maiden of the Dawn. A similar theory is that myths, including Scripture, are corruptions of history; thus Deucalion is another name for Noah. The diffusionist theory postulates a very early, Paleolithic origin of mythology, and then diffusion of various motifs through travel, migration, and other forms of transcontinental communication. Through comparison with other mythologies, many Greek myths are now interpreted as products of literary codification and in terms of their formal reorganization as epic poems. Homer\'s epics are, thus, an elaborate combination of mythical elements with legend and folktale. Modern Theories The great modern advances in the study of mythology began in the 19th century, when scholars like Sir James Frazer and Sir Edward Burnett Tylor argued for the study of mythology not as bad history but as a social institution, and called attention to the myths of contemporary simple societies. The evolutionary theories of Tylor and Andrew Lang, since discredited as simplistic and ethnocentric, postulate a certain stage of savage mentality that tends to produce similar myths. Some current theories instead posit a common psychological or emotional basis and relate myth to universal religious impulses. Frazer, whose epoch-making book The Golden Bough (1890) is a standard work on mythology, believed that all myths were originally connected with the idea of fertility in nature, with the birth, death, and resurrection of vegetation as a constantly recurring motif. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung believed that there is an inherent tendency in all people to form certain of the same mythic symbols. Religious scholar Mircea Eliade contended that myths are recited for the purpose of ritually recreating the beginning of time when all things were initiated so one can return to the original, successful creative act. Those who characterize the ordinary as profane and secular view myths as a form of sacred speech and thus as particular manifestations of a universal religious sensibility. Friedrich Schleiermacher thus characterized myth as a historical representation of the supra-historical divine. Most contemporary students of mythology, however, have turned away from attempts to explain similarities in content in all myths by calling attention to the different contexts in which myths occur. They believe that myths function in a variety of ways within a single culture as well as differing in function from culture to culture. Sigmund Freud believed that the seeming irrationality of myth arises from the same source as the disconnectedness of dream; they are both symbolic reflections of unconscious and repressed fears and anxieties. Such fears and anxieties may be universal aspects of the human condition, or particular to distinct societies. The anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski considered all myths to be validations of established practices and institutions. Similarly, A. R. Radcliffe-Brown examined how myths emphasize and reiterate the beliefs, behaviors, and feelings of people about their society. Claude Lvi-Strauss returned to the study of all myths, not by examining common motifs and elements of the stories, but rather by focusing on their formal properties. He has called attention to the recurrence of certain kinds of structures in widely different traditions of folk literature and has reduced them to particular binary oppositions such as nature/culture and self/other. He contended that the human brain organizes all perceptions in terms of contrasts and concluded that certain oppositions are universal. He advocates the interpretation of myths as culturally specific transformations of these universal structures. Recurrent Themes Studies of the myths of North and South American natives, Australian aborigines, the peoples of S Africa, and others have revealed how widespread are many mythological elements and motifs. Although there is no specific universal myth, there are many themes and motifs that recur in the myths of various cultures and ages. Some cultures have myths of the creation of the world; these range from a god fashioning the earth from abstract chaos to a specific animal creating it from a handful of mud. Other myths of cyclical destruction and creation are paralleled by myths of seasonal death and rebirth. In Greece the concern with renewed fertility was seasonal. Certain other cultures (e.g., Mesopotamia) were concerned with longer periods of vegetative death through prolonged drought. The idea of a golden age in which humanity is viewed as having degenerated from an earlier perfection is another common theme (e.g., Hesiod\'s Golden Age and the Garden of Eden in Jewish and Christian thought). The flood motif is extremely widespread and is one element of a group of myths that concern the destruction and re-creation of the world or a particular society. Myths treating the origin of fire, or its retrieval from some being who has stolen it or refuses to share it; the millennium to come; and the dead or the relation between the living and the dead, are common. See L. H. Gray and G. F. Moore, ed., The Mythology of All Races (13 vol., 1916-33); Bronislaw Malinowski, Magic, Science, and Religion (1948); Joseph Campbell, The Masks of God (4 vol., 1959-68); Mircea Eliade, Myth and Reality (1963); A. Dundes, ed., The Study of Folklore (1965) and Sacred Narrative (1984); Claude Lvi-Strauss, Mythology (4 vol., 1969-81); P. Maranda, Mythology (1972); S. Thompson, The Folktale (1977); M. S. Day, The Many Meanings of Myth (1984).
What are myths, and why do we have them?
Dictionary definitions refer to myths as:
...traditional stories of historical events that serve to unfold part of the
worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural
phenomenon...
4 key parts of this definition:
A myth is a story.
Myths go by many names: legends, folklore, epics, stories, fables, fairy
tales, legends, parables, etc.
These are just different ways of saying that they are a story--they tell of
events that happened to someone or something at some point in time.
A myth tells of historical events.
Often myths were created as ways of keeping track of historical events.
Prior to historical times, many cultures used storytelling as the primary
method of recording their history.
A myth can reveal a people\'s worldview.
A culture\'s worldview is just that--how it views the rest of the world in
relation to itself. Are the people separated from everyone and everything
else in the world? or Do they see themselves as intricately linked to their
environment or other peoples around them?
A myth explains.
This is one of the most important aspects of cultural myths. These stories
have been used through time to explain why things are happening. They give
reason to events, most often natural phenomena such as the sun rising, stars
in the sky, the changing of the seasons, and weather events. Myths also are
used to explain how people should act--they serve as examples of what is
right and what is wrong. In this way, myths can serve to preserve a moral
code for a people.
So what purposes to myths serve for cultures?
1.They provide a mechanism for recording history in the form of stories
that can be passed down from one generation to the next. Often times,
through time historical facts were changed, events and circumstances got
embellished, and the end results were stories with often supernatural heroes
in extraordinary circumstances.
2. They explain the unknown. Throughout time people have sought to explain
what they see in their environment. Oftentimes gods or other deities were
given the credit for natural events.
3.They provide instruction. Myths (fables, parables) have been used to set
examples of how life should be lived. They often taught right from wrong,
and showed the consequences of not behaving correctly.
4.They provide entertainment. Finally, stories, myths, fables, etc. have
always had the purpose of entertainment. Even today children go to bed with
their parents reading them stories, and adults bury their noses in books.
Stories have always intrigued and entertained humans.
ResourcesAphrodite- http://library.thinkquest.org/18650/data/gods/olympians/aphro.html Aphrodite was the very beautiful goddess of love. She was the only Olympian who had no parents. She had been born from the foam of the sea and had been carried across the waves by the West Wind. She washed up onto the coast of Cyprus (or Cythera in some stories) where the three Graces were waiting for her and welcomed her arrival.
Bulfinch\'s Mythology- http://www.bulfinch.org/ Includes: Volume I, THE AGE OF FABLE OR STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES; Volume II,THE AGE OF CHIVALRY OR LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR; and Volume III, LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE OR ROMANCE OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
Classical Mythology by Geography- http://www.princeton.edu/~markwoon/Myth/old-index.html The purpose of these pages is to give those with an interest in classical mythology a way to associate the stories with the land. Click on the map or a name to see what\'s available on the area.
Creation Stories and Traditional Wisdom- http://members.ozemail.com.au/~reed/global/mythstor.html All societies have passed down stories through the generations explaining creation and the relationship between humans, the environment, and the spirit world. This tradition of storytelling provides us with an insight into the beliefs and customs of indigenous peoples around the world. We would like to hear the versions which this generation of school children has come to know.
Egyptian Gods- http://osiris.colorado.edu/LAB/GODS/index.html Brief descriptions of Egyptian gods.
Encyclopedia Mythica- http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/ An online encyclopedia of mythology, folklore, and legend. The browse section is arranged according to world cultures. Includes a search engine for keyword searching.
Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology- http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/index.html This site is devoted to the heroes, gods and monsters of Greek mythology. The encyclopedia section is arranged alphabetically.
Golden Fleece- http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/g/golden_fleece.html The Golden Fleece was the treasure sought by Jason and the Argonauts. It originated in the following fashion. Phrixus and Helle were the children of Athamus and the goddess Nephele. When Athamas remarried, the children\'s stepmother, Ino, became jealous of them and plotted to get rid of them. She arranged to have seed-corn roasted so that it would not sprout.
Greek Mythology- http://edweb.sdsu.edu/edweb_folder/people/bdodge/scaffold/GG/greek_myth.html An introduction to Ancient Greek Mythology including stories, creatures, heroes, and family trees.
Hercules : Greece\'s Greatest Hero- http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Hercules/ The most popular of Greek heroes, Hercules (sometimes called "Herakles") was celebrated in stories, sculptures, paintings, and even in the geography of the ancient world. Find out all about this legend.
Jason and the Golden Fleece- http://library.thinkquest.org/23057/goldenfleece.html The massive ship that was built for Jason was called the Argo, because it was built by Argus. The crew, which were called the Argonauts consisted of many heroes such as Heracles, Theseus, Castor, Pullux, Orpheus, Argus, Nestor and many others. When Jason reached Collchis and took the message to the King, the King consented to give Jason the Golden Fleece if he could: 1.) yoke to the plough two fire-breathing bulls with [brazen] feet, and 2.) sow the teeth of a slain dragon, but it was known that armed men would spring up and attack.
Jason- http://www.mythweb.com/heroes/jason/ Jason was the son of the lawful king of Iolcus, but his uncle Pelias had usurped the throne. Pelias lived in constant fear of losing what he had taken so unjustly. He kept Jason\'s father a prisoner and would certainly have murdered Jason at birth. But Jason\'s mother deceived Pelias by mourning as if Jason had died.
Myths and Legends- http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/myth.html An Internet resource guide on myths and legends. Aside from the General section, these links are organized by region and language group, with those groups which produced written accounts of their myths and legends earlier, generally appearing closer to the beginning.
Norse Mythology- http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~cherryne/mythology.html This FAQ is intended to provide basic information on Norse mythology: lists of the gods and goddesses; creation myths; the nine worlds; Ragnarok; and other material.
The Odyssey- http://www.mythweb.com/odyssey/index.html Read a short or detailed version of Homer\'s epic poem, the Odyssey. Includes interesting cultural and historical background information, and the graphic design is good.
Of Gods and Men: The A to Z of Mythology Legends- http://www.clubi.ie/lestat/godsmen.html Hindu, Roman, Aztecs, Incas, and more.
The Olympian Gods- http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/gods.html View images as ancient Greeks viewed them, or learn more about the gods and who they are related to.
Pegasus\' Paradise- http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4553/ Our page contains Greek mythological Gods, Heroes and Heroines, Villain, Animals and a Game. Enjoy! A project developed for ThinkQuest Junior.
Pre-Contact Hawaiian Gods- http://www.uwgb.edu/galta/mrr/hawaii/gods.htm The Ancient Hawaiians worshiped four Gods, Ku, Kane, Kanaloa and Lono.
Shawn\'s Egyptology Page- http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~shawn/egypt/ The intention of this document is to answer some common questions about Egyptian mythology, and to provide capsule summaries of the more important gods of the Egyptians.
The Shrine of the Goddess Athena- http://www.goddess-athena.org/ The Shrine of the Goddess Athena houses: the Museum of the Goddess Athena were can be found information about all existing objects related with the Goddess from the Archaic Period to the present; an Encyclopedia with all major information concerning the Goddess.
Study Guide for Homer\'s Odyssey- http://www.temple.edu/classics/odysseyho.html From a professor at Temple University. There are questions and comments on each book of the Odyssey, plus a chronology of events that take place in the work. This page within CARTS\'s site gives an excellent example of how oral
histories and epics can be used as teaching tools.
http://www.carts.org/history_hamer.htm
This is an excellent web site for gathering information on cultures and
getting an idea of what your students can do with the information they find.
Thinkquest projects are completed by secondary school students on a variety
of topics. This particular website is dedicated to exploring the "genesis
myths" of 10 cultures from around the world. The students involved summarize
the myths/legends for each culture and most importantly they discovered
links between many of the cultures.
http://library.thinkquest.org/29064/main.html
This is a Library of Congress site for teachers that highlights the use of
folklore in K-12 education.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/teachers.html
This site is supported by the Champaign Public Library and has excellent web
links for world cultures, mythology, and languages. Some of these sites are
highlighted in the links that we provide as well.
http://www.champaign.org/worldcul.html
This is an excellent site by Dr. Kathleen Jenks that has a tremendous amount
of information on cultural mythology. Included is a teacher\'s reference page
for K-12 education. This site also contains comparative creation myths, and
regional and country information
http://www.mythinglinks.org
This site provides an excellent description of what myths are, their
function, and why/how they came into being.
http://www.internetix.ofw.fi/
Eliki is a homepage hosting community featuring art, history, mythology,
literature, classics, children\'s events, family history, and more. Explore
this site to find information on gods, goddesses, myths of Camelot, the
Celts, and origins of the days of the week.
http://www.eliki.com/ancient/myth
This site is a multicultural calendar of holiday events put together by
students around the world. An excellent way to see how people celebrate
their cultures holidays.
http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/
This is a Library of Congress site for teachers that highlights the use of
folklore in K-12 education.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/teachers.html
Bulgaria
This is also from Dr. Kathleen Jenks collection. It also contains links to
history for the Balkan region and Bulgaria itself.
http://www.mythinglinks.org/euro~east~balkans~bulgaria.html
Latvia, and Lithuania
Once again, Dr. Kathleen Jenks provides cultural as well as mythological
information for these three countries.
http://www.mythinglinks.org/euro~east~baltics.html
Germanic and Norse mythology
This site provides a good description of what modern countries comprised the
ancient Germanic empire. Contains many Germanic myths, as well as links to
many other cultural and mythological information. Also has a good assortment
of fairytales and myths online, including Aesop\'s Fables.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/mythlinks.html
Mongolia
Includes 7 "not so well known" Mongolian myths and legends and descriptions
of 2 well-known Mongolian pieces of literature : The Secret History and The
Jangar
http://www.ezlink.com/~culturev/CulturMythology.htm
This site tell of Geser, the national epic of the Buryats.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/8226/geser.html
Norway
This site contains Norwegian folktales. This website can be tricky-it is
organized differently than most websites you may be used to. You are being
linked to Section 9 of this site (to learn about the site\'s organization,
click on the 9 in the left hand column and then click the 1 in the Archive
section). To navigate the site use the numbers at the left. Try not to get
discouraged-this site contains a lot of information!
http://home.nvg.ntnu.no/~rikardb/lg4ra2.html
Scotland
This site includes portions of the Tam-lin (Scottish epic) and discussions
of the epic, including comparisons with other epics and folktales.
**Tam-lin does have material in it that discusses rape, incest, and
out-of-wedlock marriage.
http://tam-lin.org/
Romania
This is a delightful site with beautiful illustrations of three classic
Romanian fairytales.
http://members.tripod.com/Dragonrest/fairytales.html
Turkey
This site by the Ox Institute is still somewhat under construction, but it
is a good starting point for studying ancient Turkish folklore and culture.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/8797/
This is an excellent source for original Turkish mythology (some in Turkish,
some in English). This site also contains myths from other cultures
(principally Greek) that take place in Turkey.
http://sircasaray.turkiye.org/anadolu/myth/myth.html
China
This page has three good examples of Chinese storytelling and explanation of
what myths are used for in Chinese culture.
http://www.interlog.com/~fccs/culture.htm
This page contains a brief history of Chinese mythology.
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/myth/myth.html
Here are 15 more examples of Chinese folklore.
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/story/story.html
India
This site has a lot of information on Hinduism, scriptures, gods, goddesses,
demons, etc.
http://www.hindumythology.com/
This site is dedicated to explaining the many Indian myths-complete with
terminology explanations and a picture gallery.
http://indianmythology.com/
Egypt
This is a great site for ancient Egyptian mythology. This site contains the
stories, deity profiles, information about Egypt, the land, and the symbols
as well.
http://www.EgyptianMyths.com
This site contains even more excellent information on Egyptian burial
customs, their gods, and their beliefs.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2226/Egyptian/egypt.html
Ireland
This is a great "catch-all" site for Irish history, culture, literature, and
mythology
http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/
Greece
This is another Thinkquest supported site put together by students. This
site has activities, readings, and fun fact information on Greek mythology
for pre and post 6th grade levels.
http://library.thinkquest.org/23057
Mexico
This site gives examples of folklore that exists along the Texas/Mexican
border
http://www.g-world.org/magictales/
Canada
Canadian myth and tradition
http://www.fl.ulaval.ca/celat/acef/index.htm
Folklore in the Canadian Provinces
http://www.folklore.bcca
New Foundland
http://www.wordplay.com/tourism/folklore.html |
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