What is myth? (tradition, evolve, creation, genesis, myths)

[Willamena]

Define myth, in your own words, please. I've seen the word used in many ways, and I'm looking to get a grasp of the variety of concepts at these forums.

(And please, nobody be telling other people they are wrong.)

[Sunstone]

I won't attempt a definition of myth here, but I'd like to note that there are profound similarities between myths and dreams which have been noted by Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, among others.

[Buttercup]

Originally Posted by Willamena

Define myth, in your own words, please.

To me a myth is a traditional story or person that has no basis in truth yet may be just believable enough to pass as truth. A myth has very little or no evidence to support it as truth.

[Random]

I think myth is a language used by peoples and cultures to describe the hidden truths of their existence which cannot be otherwise spoken.

[Halcyon]

To me, a myth is a human device used to explain what they don't understand. This is how i see Genesis, Thor's Hammer etc.

Or a literary tool to explain concepts that would otherwise be difficult to articulate. This is Gnostic myth.

[gnostic]

I would describe myth as the explanation of what they don't understand. It is not even necessarily a story, though often it is.

For example, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. These two works are definitely done in storytelling way. Hesiod (in Works and Days and Theogony), on the other hand, is mostly genealogy, with a splash of creation. Some myths don't always involve in storytelling. In Hesiod's Works and Days, there is a number of farming tips, such as when to sow and harvest crops; the mythological aspects in this part, come from Hesiod describing the various constellations in a particular season. Hymns to gods, were often use to describe their gods in some fashion as well lauding them, are not done in storytelling style.

Mythology can be divided into a number of different genres.

1. It can be about the deities. What were supposed to be religion of the civilation, are not considered to be myth.
2. Creation myths, about the origin of gods and men; cosmogony and cosmology.
3. Heroic myths.
4. Founding myths, ie foundation of a city or civilisation.
5. Genealogy.

Myth can be comprise of any one of these category, but usually is a combination of 2 or more of the above genre.

It may have some truths or facts, but often they do not.

As Halcyon said, the Genesis can be considered a myth. It has deity part (eg the relationship between God and the various people); a creation part (eg chapters 1-11, but particularly the 1st 4 chapters); and the founding (eg, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and the genealogy myth (chapters 5, 9-11).

My point is that the myth is not necessarily a traditional story. In many story, it is told with a beginning and an ending. Myth, on the other hand, is sometimes difficult to finding beginning and ending, because it has the ability to grow and evolve over a period of time. One poet may take a small part of myth, and expanded it, unleashing new life to the story. Therefore mythology is far more dynamic than just a traditional story.

[doppelgänger]

Myths are metaphors to communicate human experiences that cannot be adequately shared using descriptive language.

It includes the stories that became the foundations for religions (though the two are distinct), as well as music, painting, sculpture, poetry, and any other creative art form.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Willamena

Define myth, in your own words, please. I've seen the word used in many ways, and I'm looking to get a grasp of the variety of concepts at these forums.

A myth is a story that has deeper and more universal meaning than the particulars of that story.

[koan]

A girl with a hair lip