Celtic Mythology Research Paper

Myth – Is a cultural featured folklore story of some early history regarding a supernatural phenomenon or wild belief. Myths are often told by people in order to explain a particular history or the origin of a custom. This can include contexts to a story that is over exaggerated or truthful in some perspectives. For example, the folklore history of “Bloody Mary” and saying her name three times will make her appear.

Myths that are passed on from generation to generation have been around for thousands of years. These stories that have been constantly retold are used as a mode of explanation and comprehension of the time period. They are a massive powerhouse in shaping a civilization’s culture (Sayre, 22). Some of the more specific roles that a myth withholds includes to further frame and show the beliefs of those existing in the prehistoric era and to explain popular rituals.

As I mentioned above, everything began with Christopher Columbus discovering America in 1492. History is non-fiction, and perhaps the most concrete example of this non-fiction is the story of the beginning of the Indians. Native American mythology contains may different types of character including heroes, tricksters, and more. These characters can have both good and bad qualities, and fall into many categories. For example, creator gods usually restore order, but in some stories can be destructive. Tricksters can even be considered the hero in some stories. (Myths Encyclopedia, 2007). Indian stories are born from experiences and beliefs. Ross also states that “Native American societies are based on the concept of interdependence. Interdependence

They brought their music and cuisine with them. Some of the food staples included potatoes, oatmeal and barley. The barley was used in the making of whiskey; oatmeal was their breakfast and potatoes (they would starve without their potatoes). They also enjoy soups, beef, and short-bread. The music of the Scotch-Irish can be found primarily in the Appalachian Mountains. The region is ripe with folk songs of the culture. The Scotch-Irish are a clannish lot meaning they would travel with their clans and settle in the same area. (Everyculture) This also allowed the Scotch-Irish to keep their culture intact.

Beliefs about the Celtic Gods are not well known. However, what is known is that diverse gods had diverse functions. Some evidences show that in the Celtic society, some members had a closer connection to one god than other members. For instance, shoemakers would tend to worship the god Lugos because one of his iconographies was shoes.

Knowledge of the Celts and the Celtic world has been acquired and accumulated through a variety of mediums such as archaeological evidence, geographical markings and most importantly, the testimonies left by Greek and Roman writers. Without these writings, developing an image of the nature of the Celts would be extremely difficult. Comparing two authors, Roman emperor, Julius Caesar to Greek writer, Athenaeus, it may reveal some of the prejudices and biased views held against the Celts, but more importantly by contrasting the views of these particular authors, it also offers a well-rounded account of the history and culture of these Celtic-speaking people.

Now you must be wondering what exactly is a myth? By definition “myths are ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions” (Leonard & McClure, 2004). We often hear people say “that’s a myth” when referring to information they don’t deem completely true. To me myths can have various meanings for example

Greek Mythology, used to explain the unknown. The Greeks never had the technology to discover why things happened the way they did. For that reason, they would believe in stories about Gods and Goddesses that determined their everyday lives. They would worship and sacrifice living beings to show their respect for the Gods. Over time, they developed the story of how the world was created, their main Gods and Goddesses, and traditions and rituals.

When it comes to celtic literature, the ‘Otherworld’ is a common theme found throughout various genres of literature which represents a sort of ‘heaven-like’ place. In Celtic mythology the Otherworld is depicted as a supernatural world that provides abundance, joy, and everlasting youth and beauty. We typically see the Otherworld as being very elusive, but in Celtic literature some mythical heroes get the opportunity to visit the Otherworld, sometimes by invite from one of it’s inhabitants or just by a lucky chance.

Myths are traditional stories, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

Before this course, I had this belief that the term myth was about unrealistic tales that somehow caused everything to be. The term myth, from me personally, has simply been misunderstood for being a tale or a legend. I understood it as being false and made-up. I assumed the word was about the Greek Gods and Goddesses, but really these myths are just stories being told about someone else’s truth whether if it was real or not. Of course, my definition of myth being about them being tales or legends shifted after reading The Power of Myth.

*A number of Mormon rituals can be performed in the Church’s chapel, so both church members and guest may attend to watch. These typically occur during, before, or after church services on Sundays.

As the Celtic Religion had laities, Celts, who revered the power of the word over the written document, little could be deciphered about their religious beliefs. However, after assessing the classical literature of Julius Caesar, Poseidonios and others, and certain archaeological and iconographic artefacts, it is made evident that the Celtics was an imminent, polytheistic religion which ran on animalistic beliefs. These beliefs which were filtered through Romans, Greeks and Christians suggested that the Celts believed in many deities, both gods and goddesses, some of which were worshipped only in a small, regional vicinity, but others whose veneration had a broader geographic dispersal. Today, the names over two hundred of these deities have

Greek mythology is a different and unearthly world full of gods, heroes, villains, creatures and women and men fighting for the overall good. Greek mythology is the centre of all ancient Greeks, it influenced a lot of their religious believes, cult practises and spiritual believes. Greek mythology provides an insight into the life in Ancient Greek and some of the habits, ritual and customs practised. Greek mythology is show in many different ways such as stories, paintings, pottery and dramas. Greeks believed that there were extensive gods; there were 12 famous gods of mount Olympus and numerous deities and semi gods that played supporting roles to the original gods.

Celtic mythology is the mythological literature from approximately the fourth century B.C. extending to approximately the early third century as Christianity was spreading and more of Celts were converting to Christianity. After converting, the Celts dropped all traces of their former religion to be found by subsequent inhabitants of their lands. First the stories and tales were told by oral tradition and later written down by bards, poets, and monks. This literature could be found across Ireland, Wales, Scotland, bits of England, and smatterings of Europe [insert citation from godchecker.com]. Generally speaking the ancient Celtic religion like many other societies and civilizations at that time was polythestic as well as animistic with various gods and deities dedicated to the various parts of the natural world. Over the colossally