Thoughts on mythology?

[gwenmead]

Hi there all, I have a project I'm working on and would love some feedback or input from anyone who's willing.

I'm writing my senior thesis right now, on the subject of art and myth. My thesis statement is Art as a form of storytelling demonstrates that we are as reliant on myths of the past as we always have been. I'm writing the section now on myth and storytelling; specifically, I'm working on a section about modern attitudes towards myth and mythology.

What I'd love is to hear people's ideas and opinions about myth. What do you think myth is? What do you think mythology is? Do you think there's a difference? Do you think myth/mythology are around today? Do you think they play an active role in your culture, or not? Do you think there is a connection between mythology and religion? And any other thoughts that might come up.

If you choose to respond, please let me know if I can quote you (with appropriate citations) in my paper. I'm still new to posting here, so if this is totally in the wrong place or isn't an OK kind of thing to ask, my apologies, and I'll happily fix it if I can.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any replies.

 

[vipertaja]

I think mythology was the equalent of todays movies and comic books.
I think that due to man not having to fear predators anymore he needed
other forms of exitement...in this case in form of epic entertainment.
Due to superstition such was also believed in as man could not explain things
like thunder etc..

 

[Hydra009]

^ True. Also, myths play roles in conveying moral/philosophical lessons as well as conceptualizing natural phenomena. (The Oddysey conveying the lesson of respecting the Gods, Sisyphus and the boulder conveying the human condition, celestial bodies anthromorphized as Gods and Godesses)

 

[morningstar2651]

Ahh...mythology. Have you ever read any of Joseph Campbells works? I buy into his concept of the monomyth. The original Starwars trilogy fits into this archetype, as does the Matrix and Lord of the Rings.

Much can be learned from reading mythology. This may offend a couple people, and I appologize in advance, but this is the reason I'm interested in attending a bible study at the College I'm transferring to -- not for the religious aspect of the Bible, but the lessons of the stories contained within.

 

[Arthra]

"What I'd love is to hear people's ideas and opinions about myth."

As above, mythology is a kind of conveying of truths through stories to illustrate maybe cultural or philosophic or possibly theologic points... It uses allegory and symbolic languages and should be appreciated for that.

Think of the term we use today "legendary" .... Legends develope and myths are way of conveying that.

My grandfather arrived in my hometown over a hundred years ago and myth was told that he was chased by Indians on arriving... this as a total myth but some people believed it as fact and still do.

Problems occur when people want to take mythology and employ it as literal truth.

In religion this is particularly important in my view that the "myths" do not overshadow truth....

 

[Eudaimonist]

What I'd love is to hear people's ideas and opinions about myth. What do you think myth is?

Myths are stories that are false on the outside, and true on the inside.

I think Carl Jung said something like that.

Myths tell us something about what it is to be human. They give us a context in which to see our relation to ourselves, to others, and to our destinies. They contain wisdom in story form and help us to navigate life.

What do you think mythology is? Do you think there's a difference?

Mythology is the study of myths, although the word is also used to refer to a body of myths, e.g. "Greek mythology".

Do you think myth/mythology are around today?

Sure... the Bible, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Atlas Shrugged... there are many examples, really. Not all stories are myths, but those that tap into the most profound issues of life are.

Do you think they play an active role in your culture, or not?

Yes, no question. People's lives are shaped in part by myths.

Do you think there is a connection between mythology and religion?

Is there a difference? Perhaps religion is more extensive than mythology, but it seems that all religions have a mythology. They may differ, however, in to what extent they believe their mythologies are "true on the outside".

You may quote me. PM me for my name.

 

[Green Man]

Myths are stories that are false on the outside, and true on the inside.

I think Carl Jung said something like that.

Myths tell us something about what it is to be human. They give us a context in which to see our relation to ourselves, to others, and to our destinies. They contain wisdom in story form and help us to navigate life.



Mythology is the study of myths, although the word is also used to refer to a body of myths, e.g. "Greek mythology".



Sure... the Bible, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Atlas Shrugged... there are many examples, really. Not all stories are myths, but those that tap into the most profound issues of life are.



Yes, no question. People's lives are shaped in part by myths.



Is there a difference? Perhaps religion is more extensive than mythology, but it seems that all religions have a mythology. They may differ, however, in to what extent they believe their mythologies are "true on the outside".

You may quote me. PM me for my name.

What he said.

 

[TreeHugger]

I think that mythology are stories made up by the people living at the time, creative thoughts on what the world was like/what happened and how do things work? they are merely stories and were passed down throught generations until most people knew them and were made into history

 

[benmaarof]

Mythological stories were created by the Ancients because they have nothing else to do at night. There were no TV nor radio nor the internet. They told stories around the fireplaces which keeps getting more and more elaborate to keep their audiences interested. Seriously, what else was there to do?

 

[TrueQ]

Nobody seems to have noted the possibilty that the present's myths were the stories of yesterday's religion. Perhaps because it implies that today's religions will become tomorrow's myths. Come on, is it so hard to imagine a world where the Kor'an, Torah, and Bible are read with interest (But incredulity) in science fiction-y literature classes just like the Odyssey, Hercules, and Herodotus' Histories are now? The only real question is, who gets to be the gods of the future's religions? As much as I hate to admit it, I think Hitler secured a measure of immortality as the Hades of thousands of years from now, but the other deities are up for grabs.

 

[urnotme]

Hi there all, I have a project I'm working on and would love some feedback or input from anyone who's willing.

I'm writing my senior thesis right now, on the subject of art and myth. My thesis statement is Art as a form of storytelling demonstrates that we are as reliant on myths of the past as we always have been. I'm writing the section now on myth and storytelling; specifically, I'm working on a section about modern attitudes towards myth and mythology.

What I'd love is to hear people's ideas and opinions about myth. What do you think myth is? What do you think mythology is? Do you think there's a difference? Do you think myth/mythology are around today? Do you think they play an active role in your culture, or not? Do you think there is a connection between mythology and religion? And any other thoughts that might come up.

If you choose to respond, please let me know if I can quote you (with appropriate citations) in my paper. I'm still new to posting here, so if this is totally in the wrong place or isn't an OK kind of thing to ask, my apologies, and I'll happily fix it if I can.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any replies.

I think there is a some truth in every religion. myth, fable or any peice of literature. It seems like there would have to be. Since the word of god is the truth and man was created by god there would logically be some truth in all of the literature created by man.

 

[gwenmead]

Wow, thanks for the replies so far, lots of good stuff!

I appreciate what's been posted so far and will appreciate more input too, if anybody else wants to add stuff. Remember to let me know if I can quote you in my paper, either using your actual name (which is more academically correct) or with your forum handle (if you wish to preserve your personal privacy).

In response to a couple of questions/comments - yeah, I've read Joseph Campbell like nobody's business. I've also read some Jung but it's been awhile so I need to head to the library again... I took several years of Latin and a year of classical Greek so my focus is on Greek and related Near Eastern mythologies, at least as far as what I'm best acquainted with. For this paper I'm trying to branch out too.

I like the comment about how what we call a mythology today was once somebody's religion. I agree. It always amazes me to see how stories get passed from one mythos to another though - the basic stories don't really seem to change that much, only the details.

Anyhoo. Thanks again, bigtime!