What is myth?
We use the term
myth frequently -- not only on this site, but in life.
Myths are stories shared by a group, and are a part of that group's cultural identity, but so are family traditions. Most families would be offended to hear their stories described as myths. We say that such and such is a
myth when the term "urban legend" or outright lie might be better. Sometimes we dismiss someone else's religious beliefs with the term
myth. Those uses of the term myth have a negative connotation. More positively, many of us love to learn more about the stories of the gods and goddesses, and to do so, we scour the Internet and bookstores for reference material on keyword
myths.
These descriptions of myth are not definitions and don't even explain very much. Unfortunately for those who want a simple answer to the question, "What is myth?", there is no completely satisfactory answer. Many people have tried, with limited success. A look at an array of definitions from leading philosophers and other thinkers shows the complexity behind the seemingly simple term myth:
- Myths are often stories of origins, how the world and everything in it came to be in illo tempore.
Eliade.
- Sometimes myths are public dreams which, like private dreams, emerge from the unconscious mind.
Freud.
- Indeed, myths often reveal the archetypes of the collective unconscious.
Jung.
- Myths orient people to the metaphysical dimension, explain the origins and nature of the cosmos, validate social issues, and, on the psychological plane, address themselves to the innermost depths of the psyche.
Campbell.
- Some myths are explanatory, being pre-scientific attempts to interpret the
natural world.
Frazer.
- Religious myths are sacred
histories.
Eliade.
- Myths are both individual and social in scope, but they are first and foremost stories.
Kirk.
To help define
myth, people often compare
myth with
science and
religion. Usually
myth is relegated to the area of lies.
Myth vs. Science
Questions closely related to the nature of
myth are "what is truth?" and "how do we know anything?" It seems fair to say that
myth is not the same as
scientific fact, but what exactly does even that mean? If we look at one of the ancient Greek creation stories, the world was originally
Chaos. From Chaos, Order suddenly appeared, and from the conflict between the two of them, all else in the world came into existence. Did the Greeks think of this creation story as literal truth? How would they know for sure when they weren't around when it happened? Perhaps they extrapolated from their observations and powers of reasoning to construct an allegorical world view. Paul Veyne in
Did the Greeks Believe Their Myths? writes:
"Myth is truthful, but figuratively so. It is not historical truth mixed with lies; it is a high philosophical teaching that is entirely true, on the condition that, instead of taking it literally, one sees in it an allegory."
How different is this allegory from the Big Bang Theory with its inexplicable components? To me, the answer is, "not much." Instead of an explosive force originating out of nowhere, but coming from within the cosmic soup, the Greeks had a kind of primeval, disorganized and chaotic soup, with the principle of Order suddenly asserting itself.
Maybe we should say that myth is like scientific -- not knowledge, but -- theory. That would work for some myth, like the creation of the world out of Chaos. However, it won't work when we examine the supernatural stories, which appear to defy scientific knowledge. The story of Hercules grappling with Antaeus, a chthonic creature, is a case in point. Every time Hercules hurled Antaeus to the ground, he became stronger. Clearly this is what we might politely call a tall story. But maybe there is a scientific logic behind it. What if Antaeus had some sort of magnet (you can invent the scenario) that made him stronger each time he hit the earth and weaker when held away from his power source? Or how about Cerberus, the three-headed hound guarding the Underworld? There are two-headed people. We call them Siamese or Conjoined Twins. Why not three-headed beasts? And, as far as the Underworld goes, some of the stories of the Underworld mention a cave at the western edge of the world that was thought to lead downwards. While there could be some scientific basis for this, even if there isn't, is this story any more a "lie" to be scoffed at than "Journey to the Center of the Earth"? Yet people dismiss such myths as lies created by primitive people who lack scientific knowledge -- or as lies created by people who haven't found the true religion.
NEXT PAGE > Myth vs. Religion
Introduction to Myth
Myth in Daily Life |
What Is Myth? | Myths vs. Legends | Gods in the Heroic Age - Bible vs. Biblos | Creation Stories | Uranos' Revenge | Titanomachy | Olympian Gods and Goddesses | Five Ages of Man | Philemon and Baucis | Prometheus | Trojan War | Bulfinch Mythology | Myths and Legends | Kingsley Tales from Mythology | Golden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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