Mythology is the study of myths and it plays an important part in many cultures. Myths were often used to explain an unknown phenomenon or to help cope with an unexplainable situation. Myths are stories that can contain men, women, gods, goddesses and animals. Myths also can pertain to the Earth and in that of the water, wind, rain and even volcanoes. There are two main divisions of mythology, Greek and Roman. Though they are somewhat related, they are also different.
Mythology is being defined as a genre that the old greek gods such as zeus, Possiden and hades are beeing part of the story. It is included of myth heroes and how they life begin as a low status are elevated to high status through a good deed. Mythology is a traditional or legendary story, Usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or natural explonation, which is concerned with demigods explains some practice or phenomenon nature. Legend or traditional narrative, often vased in part of historical events, that
"A myth is a collective term denoting a symbolic narrative in religion, as distinguished from symbolic behavior (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons)". (The New Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 24)Mythology is a collection of myths meant to explain the universe. Mythological stories were told in many different cultures and civilizations. The existence of myths is known in every society. Many different myths were conceived to explain occurrences that happened in nature.
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to, and study, the myths, in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece, its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself.
Mythology is a way that the ancient societies explained why things are the way they are and how they came to being. Two ancient societies are infamous for their mythology. These societies are Greece and Rome. Great authors were made be the mythological works they wrote. Homer was a famous author who is best known for his epics. It is from these epics that most of the gods and actual myths well known. I am writing of two of these gods in particular, Saturn and Dionsysus.
The culture of mythology is originated as the means of documenting what the culture thinks to be real and have many facts about the beginning of the universe around them. For example, over time and documentation the word of religion took up other meaning for different cultures. When a brand new religion dominates over the previous religion the old book or documents become myths and legends so then beings regarded past recordings as false or fantasy but with no real historical value. That’s when the word myth comes in to play.
Seekers, researchers, philosophers and simple average individuals share an excellent trait, and that is to seek the divine truth. Humans were born with an insatiable hunger to discover where we come from, who we are, what makes us unique and most importantly what is our sole purpose of existence on this earth. Greek mythology can best tame the hunger. Therefore, mythology is alive in the present day because within ourselves we find that the inspiration is reborn, of an imaginary yet real world. In which we see ourselves as the protagonists and antagonists of the Greek mythology stories. As a matter of fact, Greek myth's are one of the most fascinating of all time literature ever created by humankind. Consequently,
Mythology can be considered real, in the sense that the events that inspired their conception have actually occurred and affected the individuals who would go on to tell them to future generations. Whether the reason for retelling these stories was to entertain or to inform, they had to be both meaningful in their message, yet entertaining enough to be remembered by the listeners. The dissection of the metaphors contained throughout mythological stories provides a cultural awareness about the issues and joys that befell our ancestors. Myth is the collective artistic expression of the human subconscious' fears and aspirations.
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
This course introduces students to many of the key mythical narratives of the ancient Greeks and Romans through a close reading of primary texts in English translation. Together we will explore the mythical worlds of the ancient Greeks and
Mythos, the Greek word for myth means story, appertain to colorful tales that enlightens about the origins of humans and the universe. Myths, as amazing as it sounds, is also a cause for birth of new religions, where and how they originated. Many cultures have myths about how the gods and goddesses came to be, even elucidating the origin of humanity and its traditions. Even ideas about how this world of ours came to existence have many myths, creation myths behind it, disparate in every culture and society, which demonstrates a view on its role in the world. Mythology is simply the study of the myth. There are many psychological theories and meanings that explicate mythology. The most recurrent belief about the psychological value of myth is that myths emblematize contrasting elements of our own psyches or souls. The psychoanalytical frames of reference on myths have indisputably been ineluctable. Myths were and still are progressively seen as expressions of desideratum in the human psyche. But the big question is, what is the beneficence of mythology towards the amelioration of society? If there are myths to decipher or exhibit certain things, character or situations, there also are science and technology, which accommodate every explanation needed to understand each of those things. Many go to science for such interpretation, which conveys the impression of taking care of the signification behind all those natural phenomena,
When this word “myth” is used, the term is usually related to a fable, invention or a fiction story. Over the years, many scholars started approaching the study of myth differently. These scholars have approach myths in a way their meaning was traditionally regarded. In many traditions these myth are true stories and never refer to as false stories. ( http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/whatismyth.htm )
Mythology serves to create an explanation for why the world is the way it is. All religions have mythology in them and myths help people understand history. Myth can mean so many different things to different people. Some myths are total fiction, while others may have a hint of truth in them. But most myths are more of a symbolic and metaphoric truth, rather than a literal truth, because most of the time myths cannot be proven and people are not trying to prove that they are true. Myths become true to the people who believe in them and they use them as a sort of lens through which they see the world. They use myths to create explanations for themselves as to why the world is the way it is and they use them to help cope with the difficulties of life. Myths are a natural outgrowth of our imagination and our passions.
“Mythos”- a Greek word meaning “tale” and the origin of the word mythology; according to the dictionary mythology means, a traditional story aiming to explain the meaning of things concerning deities and demigods.