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Introduction to Mythology
English III
What is a myth?
• A myth is a usually traditional story of
ostensibly historical events that serves
to unfold part of the world view of a
people or explain a practice, belief or
natural phenomenon.
• A myth is a dramatic shorthand record
of such matters as invasions,
migrations, dynastic changes,
admissions of foreign cults, and social
reform.
What is a myth?
• Myths, being basically stories, arise
from the oral storytelling tradition.
• Mythology has come to denote both
the body of myths and the study of
myths.
• Classical mythology is a term often
used to designate the myths
belonging to the Greek and Roman
tradition.
Functions of myths
Myths have two main functions:
1. To answer the sort of awkward
questions children ask.
2. To justify an existing social
system and account for
traditional rites and customs.
Types of Myths
Most myths can be divided into two
groups:
1. Creation myths try to explain the
origin of the world, the creation of
human beings, and the births of gods
and goddesses.
2. Explanation myths try to explain
natural processes or events.
Types of Myths
• Some myths,
through the actions
of particular gods
and heroes, stress
proper behavior.
• Myths about national
heroes also
emphasize basic
moral values.
Mythical Beings
• Most myths concern divinities.
• Divinities have supernatural powers,
have human characteristics, are guided
by a variety of emotions, and
experience life and death. In many
cases the human qualities of the
divinities reflect a society’s ideals.
• Some are anthropomorphic and some
are theriomorphic.
• Stories about heroes are called epics.
How did myths begin?
Theories…
1. All myths are based on historical
facts.
2. All gods and mythical heroes were
representations of nature, especially
the sun.
3. Myths began through people’s efforts
to account for unexplainable
occurrences in dreams.
How did myths begin?
Theories…
4. Myths began in the great cycle of
nature--birth, growth, decay, death,
and rebirth.
5. Myths derive from rituals or
ceremonies.
6. All people recognize that a frontier
exists between what people can and
cannot explain logically; people create
myths when they reach this frontier
How did myths begin?
Theories…
7. People use myths to express--for the
most part unconsciously--their deeply
held ideas about themselves and their
relationship with to the world around
them.
What mythology tells us
about a society
• Most of a society’s gods, heroes,
and myths are really collective
representations of the institutions
and values of that society or of
important parts within it.
What mythology tells us
about a society
• Swiss psychologists Carl
Jung developed a
controversial theory about
how myths reflect the
attitudes and behaviors of
individuals.
• Jung suggested that
everyone has a personal
and a collective
unconscious.
What mythology tells us
about a society
• An individual’s personal
unconscious is formed by
the person’s experiences
in the world.
• An individual’s collective
unconscious is inherited
and shared by all
humankind.
What mythology tells us
about a society
• Jung believed that the
collective unconscious is
organized into basic patterns
and symbols.
• These basic patterns and
symbols are called
archetypes.
• Myths represent one kind of
archetype--others include
fairytales, folktales, and works
of art.
What mythology tells us
about a society
• Jung believed that all
mythologies have certain
features in common, such
as gods and heroes, and
themes, such as love and
revenge.
• Other features include
places, such as the home
of the gods or the
underworld, and plots,
such as a battle between
generations for control of
a throne.
Basic Features of Myths
• Myths touch upon any field of human
life and experience, and although
consisting of many stories, are
perceived as a single, all embracing
tale, which is assumed to have been
delivered to men by the gods, being in
virtue of that circumstance true and
sacred.
Basic Features of Myths
• Myths are not concerned with belief
and disbelief.
• Myths are not a system, a doctrine, a
religious dogma, or instructions for
performing rituals or magic, but a tale.
Divisions of Myths
• Divine Myths consist of the tales
referring to the gods, such as creation
of the world, the origin of the gods,
and other tales related mainly to them.
• The scene of these tales includes
several places of imaginary nature, but
also refers to visible places such as
Mount Olympus.
Division of Myths
• Heroic myths are formed by tales
related to kingdoms on earth, and
heroes and heroines.
• The events in these tales are normally
located in real geographical places.
Division of Myths
• Heroic myths are linked to divine
myths through three devices:
1. Divine intervention in human affairs
2. References to the gods or to
someone related to the gods
3. Genealogy establishing descendance
from the gods.
Greek Divinities-the Olympians
Greek Divinities-the Olympians
• The most powerful group of the Greek
divinities was the Olympians.
• Six gods: Zeus, Apollo, Ares,
Hephaestus, Hermes, Poseidon
• Six goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite,
Artemis, Demeter, Hera, Hestia
• 3 other associates: Hades, Dionysus,
Pan
Zeus
Ruler of
the gods
Apollo--god of light,
medicine and
poetry
Ares--god of war
Hephaestus-blacksmith for the gods and
god of fire and metalworking
Hermes--messenger for the
gods; god of commerce and
science, protector of travelers
Poseidon--god of the sea
Athena--goddess of crafts,
war, wisdom
Aphrodite-goddess of love
Artemis--goddess of
hunting and childbirth
Demeter--goddess of
growing things
Hera-- protector of marriage
and women;
sister and wife of Zeus
Hestia-goddess of the hearth
Other gods associated with
the Olympians--Hades,
Pan, Dionysus
Dionysus
Minor divinities--nymphs
Minor divinities--the Fates
Minor divinities-the Muses
Demigods-Heracles (Hercules)
Heroes-Jason and
the
Argonauts
Ancient Greece
Mythical Places-Mount Olympus
Mythical Places-the Underworld
Mythical Places-the Underworld
Mythical Places-the Underworld--the
Elysian Fields
Champs Elysee
Creatures-Centaur, Pegasus, Medusa