We exist by stages in life. When we are born all our surroundings are new experiences. You can see this in children that stare at things and they are awed by the senses. We see, we smell, we hear, we taste, we touch. This is our way of learning about our world. The first taste of food a baby tries makes a facial impression of the new experience the baby is having. We as adults take this for granted. Then we grow to become children, then we become teenagers, young adults, and then adulthood hits us. But as we grow and comprehend more we start questioning why things happen. This is an essential element that mythology helps us understand in the world around us. Science was non-existent or sophisticated enough to understand the world around us scientifically. Mythology was the only way of explaining what was observed by people. Mythology helps us understand the mystical by giving us a purpose in the world we coexist in and gives a purpose of life to the individual. This gives the answer of why we exist. We can find many mythological stories that are about creation and help us learn from that culture and civilization. Helps us understand what they believed and why they believed it. Furthermore, mythology helps us understand the cosmological which gave an understanding to people about the purpose and place of everything in the universe. For example, the ocean and land are separated, the sky and the earth, the sun and the moon, as day and night. Mythology also gives us a place in
Mythology reveals details about the social, religious, and philosophical beliefs of early civilizations. Myths also expose flaws of human nature. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold reveals that it is easier to accept a distorted sense of self and reality rather than face the truth. Orual insists that her struggles are caused by the gods, but in the last section of the novel, the main character, also the narrator, reveals the role she plays in her own painful journey. The protagonist finally “faces” some difficult truths, and holds herself accountable for the hardships she causes or endures.
Zeus the leader of the greek god. He has a wife that is also a goddess. and he has half blood kid. So I am going write about that There are twelve gods in Greek mythology.
Joseph answers this debate beautifully with his four functions of Myths. Starting with mystical function, cosmological dimension, sociological and the last pedagogical means to teach humans how to live under any circumstance. Through mythological stories from ancient time through recognition of events of current cult classes like Star Wars, Matrix or stories of living people in current history told as a hero’s journey. Wondering if Mr. Campbell would see if the self-help industry adapting mythology with psychology, philosophy, and religion.
On the other hand, in The Odyssey, written by Homer, there are many amazing stories about the sea god, Poseidon, shaking the earth in wrath of something that Odysseus has done, ashe tries to stop him from returning home to Ithaca. Not only where these stories fun to listen to, and used to have a good time, but they were also what most of the Greeks believe was happening in their world. Because back then the Greeks did not have the scientific advancements that we now take advantage of in today's day of age.
Myths are a cultural expression of a social value. We value private property, stealing is wrong, therefore you will be punished. Retelling the myths makes people more belong to a group of society or religion. After hearing the stories over and over it makes people think that there is truth to it. I see it as science answers questions religion/myth cannot and myth answers questions that science cannot.
Myths have also been used by every ancient culture to establish answers to the fundamentals of the universe
Myths have three main purposes: they provide an explanation for the unknown, they give humans a sense of ambition, and they serve as a human guide for behavior. Myths provide an explanation for the unknown. For instance, Armstrong notes in her book "But the Neanderthal graves show that when these early people became conscious of their mortality, they created some sort of counter narrative that enabled them to come to terms with it," suggesting that in order to cope with mortality or death the Neanderthals invented a myth that allowed them to deal with the concept of death. Another function of a myth is to give humans a sense of ambition in life. To illustrate, "But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to
Tianhao Li ENG 100 Professor Light 4/7/2015 Creation Story Introduction Creation stories are defined as supernatural explanations that describe the beginnings of the universe, life, earth, and humanity. According to biblical definition it was God’s acts that lead to the creation of the universe and everything that exists within it. Stories about creation are very important to a culture because they tell people more about whom they are by telling them how they came into existence. Creation stories often give members of a community a sense of faith, how the world came into existence and offer religious information that can be relied on by the entire community.
Mythology is the collection of myths that denotes commonly cultural and religious beliefs of ancient human beings. The elements of it were usually the involvement of god, goddess and heroes. In addition, it was based on a man’s desire, beliefs and ideas. It also told the natural occurrence and its main purpose was to teach people moral lessons. One of the example of Greek mythology is the divine hero of ancient Greece his name was Heracles, but people knew him as Hercules.
Greek Mythology and its Influences on Modern Society By Jenna Marie A. Macalawa, Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite Campus 2014 Myths are not dissimilar to fairy tales, legends, and sagas, but its period is distinctly different from usual existential time. It is considered as an expression of childhood experiences, and it also explains the origin and meaning of the world. According to Long (1994), “The term mythology may describe a certain body of myths, for example, Greek, African, or Scandinavian, or it may refer to the study of myths” (p.694). These collections of narratives are superior when it comes to influencing different areas of knowledge. There are numerous types of mythology, but Ancient Greece is the one that has given an immense influence on modern society.
These steps are all part of a literary guideline known as the hero’s journey. In the hero’s journey the heroes grow from abnormal infants to strong idols, and sometimes fail in the process. These stories show up in all mythologies including Greco-Roman, European, and Asian mythology. A reoccurring step in most mythologies is birth.
As Armstrong explains, “mythology was therefore designed to help us to cope with the problematic human predicament. It helped people to find their place in the world and their true orientation” (6). The idea of myths was created to teach humans proper behavior that fit with their ideal society, as well as help people live in peace with one another. They also taught valuable lessons on how not to live since people didn 't know where they come from and where they belong. We invented stories by using gods, humans and magical creatures to explain something that happens in nature.
The people portrayed in myths are not typically specific people, rather they represent a group or race. The fourth commonality is all myths deal with “impossibles and preternaturals”. The experience a myth provides may be sad or joyful, but it is always grave, and never comedic. Lewis explains that myths are awe-inspiring and make one feel important. If an allegorical explanation of a myth is given, it does not truly satisfy
Greek mythology can be viewed as a mirror to the ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Greek myths and legends often reflected how the Greeks saw themselves. Myths were used by Greeks to make justifications of every existing aspect of earth as well as their own society. In myths, Greek gods & heroes often represented key aspects of the human civilization. From Greek mythology, we can learn about the favorable characteristics of humans, such as their behavior and valuable skills that were approved of by the ancient Greek society.
It includes hate between brothers, jealousy of the throne, ressurection, and cleverness. It has a useful moral that if you get what you want by doing the incorrect thing you will have it taken away once again. The Egyptian myth of creation is quite an intriguing one. This myth focuses on Osiris, the God, and King of the dead; Isis, the goddess and protector of women and children; And Seth, the god of chaos.