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For other uses, see Mythology (disambiguation).

The word mythology (from Greek([μυθολογία] (help·info))[1]) refers to a body of folklore/myths/legends that a particular culture believes to be true and that often use the supernatural to interpret natural events and to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological See also Mythology Myth is derived from the Greek word μύθος mythos, which simply means 'story' A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events Mythology also refers to the branch of knowledge dealing with the collection, study and interpretation of myths, also known as mythography. A mythographer, or a mythologist, according to a strict dictionary definition is a compiler of myths Mythography (from Greek μυθογραφία

The term mythology has been in use since at least the 15th century, and means "the study or exposition of myths". [2] The additional meaning of "body of myths" itself dates to 1781. [3] (In extended use, the word can also refer to collective or personal ideological or socially constructed received wisdom, as in "At least since Tocqueville compared American society to 'a vast lottery', our mythology of business has celebrated risk-taking. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics Social constructionism and social constructivism are sociological and psychological theories of Knowledge that consider how social phenomena develop in "[4]) The adjective mythical dates to 1678. [5]

Myth, in general use, is often interchangeable with legend or allegory, but some scholars strictly distinguish the terms. A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to An allegory (from αλλος allos "other" and el αγορευειν agoreuein "to speak in public" is a figurative mode of representation [6] The term has been used in English since the 19th century. The newest edition of the OED distinguishes the meanings

1a. "A traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces or creatures, which embodies and provides an explanation, aetiology, or justification for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon", citing the Westminster Review of 1830 as the first English attestation. Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions The Westminster Review was founded in 1823 by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill as a quarterly journal for philosophical radicals, and was published from 1824 [7]
1b. "As a mass noun: such stories collectively or as a genre. " (1840)
2a. "A widespread but untrue or erroneous story or belief". (1849)
2b. "A person or thing held in awe or generally referred to with near reverential admiration on the basis of popularly repeated stories (whether real or fictitious). " (1853)
2c. "A popular conception of a person or thing which exaggerates or idealizes the truth. " (1928)

In contrast to the OED's definition of a myth as a "traditional story", most folklorists apply the term to only one group of traditional stories. By this system, traditional stories can be arranged into three groups:[8][9][10]

Religious-studies scholars often limit the term "myth" to stories whose main characters "must be gods or near-gods". [9]

Some scholars disagree with such attempts to restrict the definition of the word "myth". The classicist G. S. Kirk thinks the distinction between myths and folktales may be useful,[11] but he argues that "the categorizing of tales as folktales, legends, and proper myths, simple and appealing as it seems, can be seriously confusing". [12] In particular, he rejects the idea "that all myths are associated with religious beliefs, feelings or practices". [13] The religious scholar Robert A. Segal goes even farther, defining myths simply as stories whose main characters are "personalities — divine, human, or even animal". [9]

By the Christian era, the Greco-Roman world had started to use the term "myth" (Greek μῦθος, muthos) to mean "fable, fiction, lie"; as a result, early Christian writers used "myth" with this meaning. [14] This use of the term "myth" passed into popular usage. [15]

In this article, the term "myth" is used in a scholarly sense, detached from popular associations with falsehood.

Myths were told to explain the creation and organization of the universe, fashion of man, and establishment of civilization. It teaches people lessons and it had to do with history & culture, the characters and the temper which produced them.

Contents

Characteristics

In Shinto, the Japanese Kappa are a type of water imp and are considered to be one of many suijin (literally "water-deity").
In Shinto, the Japanese Kappa are a type of water imp and are considered to be one of many suijin (literally "water-deity"). is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion. alternately called or, are Legendary creatures a type of water sprite found in Japanese folklore. is the Shinto god of water in Japan.The term Suijin (literally water kami or water deity refers to the heavenly and earthly manifestations of the benevolent Shinto divinity

Historically, the important approaches to the study of mythological thinking have been those of Vico, Schelling, Schiller, Jung, Freud, Lévy-Bruhl, Levi-Strauss, Frye, the Soviet school, and the Myth and Ritual School. Giambattista Vico, Giambattista Vigo or Giovanni Battista Vico ( June 23, 1668 – January 23, 1744) was an Italian Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling ( January 27, 1775 – August 20, 1854) later von Schelling, was a German Philosopher Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller krɪstɔf friːtʁɪç fɔn ʃɪləʁ/ʃɪlɐ (10 November 1759 9 May 1805 was a German Poet, Philosopher Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded Lucien Lévy-Brühl (1857-1939 was a French scholar trained in Philosophy, but who made contributions to the budding fields of Sociology, and Ethnology Claude Lévi-Strauss (klod levi stʁos born 28 November 1908 is a French Anthropologist. Herman Northrop Frye, CC, MA (Oxon, DD, DLitt, FRSC ( July 14, 1912 &ndash January 23, 1991 In traditional societies myth and ritual are two central components of religious practice [16]

Myths are narratives about divine or heroic beings, arranged in a coherent system, passed down traditionally, and linked to the spiritual or religious life of a community, endorsed by rulers or priests. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem acc of traditio which means "a giving up delivering up surrendering" and is used in a number of Once this link to the spiritual leadership of society is broken, they lose their mythological qualities and become folktales or fairy tales. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving [17] In folkloristics, which is concerned with the study of both secular and sacred narratives, a myth also derives some of its power from being more than a simple "tale", by comprising an archetypical quality of "truth". Folkloristics is the formal academic study of Folklore. What actually constitutes folklore is disputed even within the discipline but generally folklore focuses on the Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from Religion or religious beliefs SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer The meaning of the word truth extends from Honesty, Good faith, and Sincerity in general to agreement with Fact or Reality Writer, philologist, and religious thinker J.R.R. Tolkien expressed a similar opinion: "I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of truth that can only be received in this mode. "[18]

Myths are often intended to explain the universal and local beginnings ("creation myths" and "founding myths"), natural phenomena, otherwise inexplicable cultural conventions or rituals, and anything else for which no simple explanation presents itself. Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. A creation myth is a supernatural mytho-[[religion religious]] story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, Earth, life, and A founding myth (Greek aition) is the etiological myth that explains the origins of a Ritual or the founding of a city group belief philosophy discipline A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions This broader truth runs deeper than the advent of critical history, and it may or may not exist as in an authoritative written form which becomes "the story" (preliterate oral traditions may vanish as the written word becomes "the story" and the literate class becomes "the authority"). However, as Lucien Lévy-Bruhl puts it, "The primitive mentality is a condition of the human mind, and not a stage in its historical development. Lucien Lévy-Brühl (1857-1939 was a French scholar trained in Philosophy, but who made contributions to the budding fields of Sociology, and Ethnology "[19]

Most often the term refers specifically to ancient tales of historical cultures, such as Greek mythology or Roman mythology. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Roman mythology, or more appropriately Latin mythology, refers to the mythological beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its Some myths descended originally as part of an oral tradition and were only later written down, and many of them exist in multiple versions. According to F. W. J. Schelling in the eighth chapter of Introduction to Philosophy and Mythology, "Mythological representations have been neither invented nor freely accepted. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling ( January 27, 1775 – August 20, 1854) later von Schelling, was a German Philosopher The products of a process independent of thought and will, they were, for the consciousness which underwent them, of an irrefutable and incontestable reality. Reality, in everyday usage means "the state of things as they actually exist" Peoples and individuals are only the instruments of this process, which goes beyond their horizon and which they serve without understanding. " Individual myths or mythemes may be classified in various categories:

Middleton argues that, "For Lévi-Strauss, myth is a structured system of signifiers, whose internal networks of relationships are used to 'map' the structure of other sets of relationships; the 'content' is infinitely variable and relatively unimportant. Claude Lévi-Strauss (klod levi stʁos born 28 November 1908 is a French Anthropologist. "[20]

Religion and mythology

Main article: Religion and mythology

Significantly, none of the scholarly definitions of "myth" (see above) imply that myths are necessarily false. Religion and mythology differ but have overlapping aspects Both terms refer to systems of concepts that are of high importance to a certain community making statements concerning the The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" In a scholarly context, the word "myth" may mean "sacred story", "traditional story", or "story about gods", but it does not mean "false story". Therefore, scholars may speak of "religious mythology" without meaning to insult religion. (For instance, a scholar may call Christian and Muslim scriptures "myths" without meaning to insult Christianity and Islam. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Christian apologist C. S. Lewis made a clear distinction between myth and falsehood when he referred to the life of Christ as a myth "which is also a fact". Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963 )[21] However, this scholarly use of the word "myth" may cause confusion and offense, because of the popular use of "myth" to mean "falsehood".

Many myths, such as ritual myths, are clearly part of religion. However, unless we simply define myths as "sacred stories" (instead defining them as "traditional stories", for instance), not all myths are necessarily religious. As the classicist G. S. Kirk notes, "many myths embody a belief in the supernatural [. . . ] but many other myths, or what seem like myths, do not". [13] As an example, Kirk cites the myth of Oedipus, which is "only superficially associated [. Oedipus (pronounced /ˈɛdəpəs/ in American English or /ˈiːdəpəs/ in British English; Greek: Oidípous meaning "swollen-footed" . . ] with religion or the supernatural", and is therefore not a sacred story. [13] (Note that folklorists would not classify the Oedipus story as a myth, precisely because it is not a sacred story. )[22]

Examples of religious myths include:

Related concepts

Myths are not the same as fables, legends, folktales, fairy tales, anecdotes or fiction, but the concepts may overlap. A fable is a succinct story in prose or verse that features Animals Plants inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving For other uses see Anecdota. For a comparison of anecdote with other kinds of stories see Myth legend fairy tale and fable. Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. Notably, during Romanticism, folktales and fairy tales were perceived as eroded fragments of earlier mythology (famously by the Brothers Grimm and Elias Lönnrot). Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the The Brothers Grimm ( German: Die Gebrüder Grimm) Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Elias Lönnrot ( ( April 9, 1802 – March 19, 1884) was a Finnish Philologist and collector of traditional Finnish Mythological themes are also very often consciously employed in literature, beginning with Homer. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The resulting work may expressly refer to a mythological background without itself being part of a body of myths (Cupid and Psyche). The Tale of Cupid and Psyche (or The Tale of Amor and Psyche) first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius ' Novel, The medieval romance in particular plays with this process of turning myth into literature. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative Euhemerism refers to the process of rationalization of myths, putting themes formerly imbued with mythological qualities into pragmatic contexts, for example following a cultural or religious paradigm shift (notably the re-interpretation of pagan mythology following Christianization). Euhemerus (Εὐήμερος (working late fourth century BC was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Paradigm shift, sometimes known as extraordinary science or revolutionary science, is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his influential The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity Conversely, historical and literary material may acquire mythological qualities over time, for example the Matter of Britain and the Matter of France, based on historical events of the 5th and 8th centuries, respectively, were first made into epic poetry and became partly mythological over the following centuries. The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the Legends that concern the Celtic and legendary History of Great Britain, especially those The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of Legendary history that springs from the Old French Medieval literature An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation "Conscious generation" of mythology has been termed mythopoeia by J. R. R. Tolkien,[25] and was notoriously also suggested, very separately, by Nazi ideologist Alfred Rosenberg. Mythopoeia (also mythopoesis, after Hellenistic Greek grc μυθοποιία μυθοποίησις "myth-making" is a narrative Genre in modern (12 January 1893 16 October 1946 was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party.

Formation of myths

Robert Graves said of Greek myth: "True myth may be defined as the reduction to narrative shorthand of ritual mime performed on public festivals, and in many cases recorded pictorially. Robert Graves (24 July 1895 &ndash 7 December 1985 was an English Poet, Translator and Novelist. " (The Greek Myths, Introduction). The Greek Myths (1955 is a Mythography, a Compendium of Greek mythology, by the Poet and Writer Robert Graves Graves was deeply influenced by Sir James George Frazer's mythography The Golden Bough, and he would have agreed that myths are generated by many cultural needs. A mythographer, or a mythologist, according to a strict dictionary definition is a compiler of myths Mythography (from Greek μυθογραφία The Golden Bough A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging comparative study of Mythology and Religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir Myths authorize the cultural institutions of a tribe, a city, or a nation by connecting them with universal truths. Myths justify the current occupation of a territory by a people, for instance. All cultures have developed over time their own myths, consisting of narratives of their history, their religions, and their heroes. The great power of the symbolic meaning of these stories for the culture is a major reason why they survive as long as they do, sometimes for thousands of years. Mâche distinguishes between "myth, in the sense of this primary psychic image, with some kind of mytho-logy, or a system of words trying with varying success to ensure a certain coherence between these images. [26] Joseph Campbell was one of the more famous modern authors on myths and the history of spirituality. Joseph John Campbell ( March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American Mythology Professor, Writer Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality His book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1948) outlined the basic ideas he would continue to elaborate on until his death in 1987. The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published in 1949 is a non-fiction book and seminal work of Comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell

Myths as depictions of historical events

Relief of the "Descent of the Ganga" in Mahabalipuram (also Mamallapuram), India; detail of the central part, the complete relief is 9 m high and 27 m wide.
Relief of the "Descent of the Ganga" in Mahabalipuram (also Mamallapuram), India; detail of the central part, the complete relief is 9 m high and 27 m wide. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Mahabalipuram (மகாபலிபுரம் also known as Mamallapuram (மாமல்லபுரம் India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

As discussed above, the status of a story as myth is unrelated to whether it is based on historical events. Myths that are based on a historical events over time become imbued with symbolic meaning, transformed, shifted in time or place, or even reversed. One way of conceptualizing this process is to view 'myths' as lying at the far end of a continuum ranging from a 'dispassionate account' to 'legendary occurrence' to 'mythical status'. As an event progresses towards the mythical end of this continuum, what people think, feel and say about the event takes on progressively greater historical significance while the facts become less important. By the time one reaches the mythical end of the spectrum the story has taken on a life of its own and the facts of the original event have become almost irrelevant. A classical example of this process is the Trojan War, a topic firmly within the scope of Greek mythology; the extent of a historical basis in the Trojan cycle is regularly disputed (see historicity of the Iliad). In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance The extent of the historical basis of the Iliad has been debated for some time

This method or technique of interpreting myths as accounts of actual events, euhemerist exegesis, dates from antiquity and can be traced back (from Spencer) to Evhémère's Histoire sacrée (300 BCE) which describes the inhabitants of the island of Panchaia, Everything-Good, in the Indian Ocean as normal people deified by popular naivety. Euhemerus (Εὐήμερος (working late fourth century BC was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Exegesis (from the Greek 'to lead out' involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a Holy Euhemerus (Εὐήμερος (working late fourth century BC was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. As Roland Barthes affirms, "Myth is a word chosen by history. It could not come from the nature of things". [27]

This process occurs in part because the events described become detached from their original context and new context is substituted, often through analogy with current or recent events. Some Greek myths originated in Classical times to provide explanations for inexplicable features of local cult practices, to account for the local epithet of one of the Olympian gods, to interpret depictions of half-remembered figures, events, or to account for the deities' attributes or entheogens, even to make sense of ancient icons, much as myths are invented to "explain" heraldic charges, the origins of which has become arcane with the passing of time. An epithet (from Greek ἐπίθετον - epitheton, neut of ἐπίθετος - epithetos, "attributed added" is a The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon ( Greek: Δωδεκάθεον An entheogen, in the strictest sense is a Psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic (or entheogenic) context Conversely, descriptions of recent events are re-emphasised to make them seem to be analogous with the commonly known story. This technique has been used by some religious conservatives in America with text from the Bible, notably referencing the many prophecies in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation especially. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Prophecy, generally describes the disclosing of Information that is not known to the Prophet by any ordinary means The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου It was also used during the Russian Communist-era in propaganda about political situations with misleading references to class struggles. Until World War II the fitness of the Emperor of Japan was linked to his mythical descent from the Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The of Japan is the country's Monarch. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion. "Sun god" redirects here For the Ramsey Lewis album see Sun Goddess (album. or is in Japanese mythology a sun goddess and perhaps the most important Shinto.

Mâche argues that euhemerist exegesis, "was applied to capture and seize by force of reason qualities of thought, which eluded it on every side. "[28] This process, he argues, often leads to interpretation of myths as "disguised propaganda in the service of powerful individuals," and that the purpose of myths in this view is to allow the "social order" to establish "its permanence on the illusion of a natural order. " He argues against this interpretation, saying that "what puts an end to this caricature of certain speeches from May 1968 is, among other things, precisely the fact that roles are not distributed once and for all in myths, as would be the case if they were a variant of the idea of an 'opium of the people. '"

Contra Barthes Mâche argues that, "myth therefore seems to choose history, rather than be chosen by it",[29] "beyond words and stories, myth seems more like a psychic content from which words, gestures, and musics radiate. History only chooses for it more or less becoming clothes. And these contents surge forth all the more vigorously from the nature of things when reason tries to repress them. Whatever the roles and commentaries with which such and such a socio-historic movement decks out the mythic image, the latter lives a largely autonomous life which continually fascinates humanity. To denounce archaism only makes sense as a function of a 'progressive' ideology, which itself begins to show a certain archaism and an obvious naivety. "[30]

Catastrophists such as Immanuel Velikovsky believe that myths are derived from the oral histories of ancient cultures that witnessed "cosmic catastrophes". Catastrophism is the idea that Earth has been affected in the distant past by sudden short-lived violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope Immanuel Velikovsky ( Иммануил Великовский) ( Vitebsk, June 10, 1895 ( NS) &ndash November 17, The catastrophic interpretation of myth, forms only a small minority within the field of mythology and often qualifies as pseudohistory. Similarly, in their book Hamlet's Mill, Giorgio De Santillana and Hertha Von Dechend suggest that myth is a "technical language" describing "cosmic events" pertaining to precession. In Astronomy, Precession refers to the movement of the rotational axis of a body such as a planet with respect to Inertial space. [31] In The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy and the War Against Time, William Sullivan applies the principles in Hamlet's Mill to an analysis of the mythology of the Incas. [32]

Modern mythology

Film and book series like Star Wars and Tarzan have strong mythological aspects that sometimes develop into deep and intricate philosophical systems. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Tarzan is a Fictional character, an archetypal Feral child raised in the African jungle by Apes who later returns to civilization only to These items are not mythology, but contain mythic themes that, for some people, meet the same psychological needs. Mythopoeia is a term coined by J. R. R. Tolkien for the conscious attempt to create myths; his Silmarillion was to be an example of this, although he did not succeed in bringing it to publication during his lifetime. Mythopoeia (also mythopoesis, after Hellenistic Greek grc μυθοποιία μυθοποίησις "myth-making" is a narrative Genre in modern The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in

Also, it is worth mentioning Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), a non-fiction book, and seminal work of comparative mythology. Joseph John Campbell ( March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American Mythology Professor, Writer The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published in 1949 is a non-fiction book and seminal work of Comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell Comparative mythology is the comparison of Myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics In this publication, Campbell discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies. In the 1950s, Roland Barthes published a series of essays examining modern myths and the process of their creation in his book Mythologies. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Roland Barthes ( November 12, 1915 &ndash March 25, 1980) (ʀɔlɑ̃ baʀt was a French Literary critic, literary Mythologies is the title of a book by Roland Barthes, published in 1957. Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1873-1961) and his followers also tried to understand the psychology behind world myths. Jung argued that the gods of mythology are not material beings, but archetypes — or mental states and moods — that all humans can feel, share, and experience. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer He and his adherents believe archetypes directly affect our subconscious perceptions and way of understanding.

Notes

  1. ^ From the Greek μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling, a legendary lore", from μυθολογείν mythologein "to relate myths", from μύθος mythos, meaning "narrative, speech, word, fact, story" + λόγος logos, meaning "speech, oration, discourse, quote, story, study, reason, argument". The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c
  2. ^ "mythology"
  3. ^ "mythology"
  4. ^ 2000 The New Republic, 29 May 2000
  5. ^ "mythical"
  6. ^ "myth"
  7. ^ Earlier editions of the OED also present this quote as the earliest attestation of myth, but consider it an example of the definition corresponding to definition 2. The New Republic ( TNR) is an American Magazine of politics and the arts
  8. ^ Donna Rosenberg, Folklore, Myth, and Legends: A World Perspective, quoted in Welker
  9. ^ a b c Segal, p. 5
  10. ^ Zong, p. xxi
  11. ^ Kirk, p. 37-41
  12. ^ Kirk, p. 22
  13. ^ a b c Kirk, p. 11
  14. ^ Eliade, Myth and Reality, 1968, p. 162.
  15. ^ Eliade, Myths, Dreams and Mysteries, 1967, p. 23.
  16. ^ Guy Lanoue, Foreword to Meletinsky, p. viii
  17. ^ Simpson & Roud (2000). Dictionary of English Folklore, 254.  
  18. ^ Letters, no. The Letters of J R R Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8 is a selection of J 147.
  19. ^ Mâche (1992). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 8.  
  20. ^ Middleton (1990). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 222.  
  21. ^ Lewis, God In The Dock, p. 66
  22. ^ Dundes, p. 45
  23. ^ Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane, p. 77
  24. ^ Reed, p. 33-36
  25. ^ Tolkien (1997). The Monsters and the Critics. HarperCollins; New Ed edition.  
  26. ^ Mâche (1992). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 20.  
  27. ^ Mâche (1992). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 20.  
  28. ^ Mâche (1992). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 10.  
  29. ^ Mâche (1992). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 21.  
  30. ^ Mâche (1992). Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion, 20.  
  31. ^ Santillana & Dechend (1990). Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge And Its Transmission Through Myth, 222.  
  32. ^ Sullivan, William (1996). The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy and the War Against Time. New York. ISBN 0517594684.

Sources and further reading

See also

General
Archetypal literary criticism, Comparative mythology, Folklore, National myth, Artificial mythology, Legendary creature, Mytheme, Monomyth, Mythical place, Creation myth
Mythological archetypes
Culture hero, Death deity, Earth Mother, First man or woman, Hero, Life-death-rebirth deity, Lunar deity, Psychopomp, Sky father, Solar deity, Trickster, Underworld
Myth and religion
Religion and mythology, Magic and mythology, Hindu mythology, Christian mythology (Jesus Christ as myth), Jewish mythology, Islamic mythology
Lists
List of mythologies, List of deities, List of mythical objects, List of species in folklore and mythology, List of species in folklore and mythology by type, List of woman warriors in legend and mythology

External links

Dictionary

mythology

-noun

  1. (countable) The collection of myths of a people, concerning the origin of the people, history, deities, ancestors and heroes.
  2. (countable) A similar body of myths concerning an event, person or institution.
  3. (uncountable) The systematic collection and study of myths.
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