What is Mythology?

WHAT IS MYTH? A traditional, typically ancient, story dealing with supernatural, ancestors or heroes in the worldview of a people by explaining the natural world, customs or ideals of that society (i.e. creation stories, Prometheus)

Myth: Symbolizes human experiences Embodies the spiritual values of a culture The beliefs and world views of the people are found with their myths and are crucial to the survival of the culture.

Myth as Literary Theory Mythological criticism is used to identify the recurrent universal patterns underlying most literary works Uses archetypes to create meaning (which most of the time is shared experience) Carl Jung (Swiss psychologist): we all share a "'collective unconscious (primal memories common to the human race based on basic primordial experiences -such as the sun, moon, fire, night, and blood, archetypes "trigger the collective unconscious."

Myth as Literary Theory Joseph Campbell (American author) – His ideas reveal psychological truths across many areas of study and cultures monomythic structure - the commonality of archetypes appearing in myth, legends, folklore of all cultures (I.e. the hero of a 1000 faces) The Hero Journey – a hero must go on a journey (can be internal or external) that includes a departure, journey and return

Most myths Attempt to answer the following questions: Who am I? What is the nature of the universe? How do I relate to the universe? What do I need to survive in the world? How much control do I have over my life? How do I balance my needs with the needs of my family or community? How do I deal with the inevitability of death?

The answers to these questions have created “archetypes”… Archetypes are: the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype

Common Myth Themes OR “Archetypes” First parents or creators The creation of man Destruction of the world by flood Rebirth of world or mankind Heroes: the children of gods…*usually very strong and of unusual birth

Heroes Embody a culture’s ideals Earned lasting fame Often are forced to make a choice placing one set of values against another Often have a weakness or imperfection Risk death to receive honor and lasting fame

What do most ancient myths do? They explain: -the origins or creation -natural phenomenon and nature -the function of deities They provide models for virtuous behavior. -Examples: In hero tales the heroes exemplify the “good” and the arrogant humans the “bad”.

Myth and Religion: There are two main types of myth cultures-- The “Mother” Goddess/Mother Earth centered Agricultural society The “Father” God/Warrior/Father centered Patriarchal, warrior, conquering society.

Ancient Examples of Myth

Modern Examples of Myth

Myth vs. Fairytale and/or Folklore What’s the difference? “Myth” = the religion of a people Myths are: traditional sacred stories revolving around the activities of gods and heroes Explanations of natural phenomena or cultural practices Fairy tales are deliberately far fetched stories. They typically illustrate moral principles. They are mostly told to young children for this reason (although this is not exclusively so). They take place "once upon a time" rather than in any actual identifiable time period.