Myths

Myth (from Greek: mythos) is the idea that people try to make about imaginary objects
or abstract passions and fantasies. For example, in India, some Hindu tribes believe that
after death, they would come back to life (resurrected) in different forms of humans or even
animal species such as cows, monkeys ….etc. This is only a mythical or legendary view of
life and death to comfort people before facing the hereafter. Myths have never existed as a
reality. Many other nations, especially in extinct civilizations, had their specific myths to
explain the origin of the universe, life, death and natural events. In fact, some civilizations
such as Ancient Egypt set up their governing systems and religious beliefs on the basis of
their myths for thousands of years. The (sun-god) myth was preserved by the royal dynasties
of the pharaohs, their priests and the community (public). In other words, myths and legends
were used as a form of faith or religion to represent god and the ways to worship that god for
blessing and reward. The Mesopotamian, the Greek, the Egyptian and the Roman
Civilizations were built on various myths of polytheism and borrowed from each other
during the transition from one to the other, over time. For example, the Romans copied
many of the Greek gods, but they changed their names to suit their culture. This lecture looks
into the concept of myth and its changing meaning in the course of time.
Concepts and terms

The study of myths is called mythology, but the task of gathering or compiling myths
in the form of a historical record is called mythography. The interest of scholars –or social
scientists- to study myths led to the rise of many experts in the field. For example, in the
Greek Age, the poet Ovid (43BC-18AD) was recognized as a famous mythologist for his
mastery of the subject. In the late fifth to the sixth centuries AD, a Latin writer, called Fabius
Fulgentius, became prominent in the field with a massive publication of ten books titled
Mitologiarum libri III . There was also Snorri Sturluson, (from Iceland) who wrote about
Norse mythology (Scadinavia) in the Middle Ages. Modern mythologists include experts
such as: Sigmund Freud (psychologist), Levi-Strauss (philosopher), Roland Barthes
(Linguist) and many other field specialists. This evolution of academic research in the topic
of myths shows that with the passage of time, people began to separate myth from religion.
Myths were explained scientifically. This understanding of the subject was also due to the
coming of successive religions from Judaism to Islam to clarify the issue of faith about the
truth of One God and the related questions of the human creation, life, death and resurrection
….etc. Actually, even prophets’ divine scriptures such as the Torah and the Bible were
eventually corrupted with the insertion of some human myths and legends (Koran source).

Meanings: Past and Present

The definition of myth varies from scholar to scholar and from society to society. It is
held that the term mythology appeared first in the works of Homer (8thc BC) particularly in
the Iliad and the Odyssey. In those works, the term had several meanings. It includes
conversation, speech, story, tale, and word (noun). Thus, in the context of Ancient Greece
theatre, the term myth referred to the story, the plot of a play. Also, myths were part of a
family culture as a principle. So, children in Ancient Greece were familiar with traditional
myths naturally from an early age. It was a kind of home education in the society as a whole.
 According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC), the spirit of a theatrical
play was its mythos. Myths were the substance of Greek tragedy and they were passed on to
the Romans and following civilizations. The tragedies or comedies of that pre-Roman era
made Greek mythology, as “a body of traditional storylines which concerned gods and
heroes”. The myths were simply adapted for the stage with new versions created over time.
Later on, new techniques for art perfection were added for better performance. For example,
Euripides (480–406 BC) relied on suspense to excite his audiences. In one of his plays, a
female character called Merope attempts to kill her son's murderer on stage. The man to be
killed was actually her son, but she did not recognize him due to confusion. According to
historical accounts, “the audience members were lost as to whether she would commit
filicide or stop in time”. So, they stood up in terror and suspense in reaction to that tragic
scene. Seen otherwise, myths reflected real life events and feelings.

For the modern mythologist, as in the case of the British David Wiles, the Greek term
mythos covers a range of “different meanings, from common falsehoods to stories with
religious and symbolic significance”. He points out that the traditional mythos of Ancient
Greece was primarily a part of its “oral tradition”. Another mythologist called Lauri Honko
(a specialist of folklore culture from Finland) proposes this description:
“Myth, (is) a story of the gods, a religious account of the beginning of the world, the
creation, …….., the exemplary deeds of the gods as a result of which the world, nature and
culture were created together with all parts thereof and given their order, which still obtains.
A myth expresses and confirms society's religious values and norms. It provides a pattern of
behavior to be imitated. It also testifies to the efficacy of ritual (worship) with its practical
ends and establishes the sanctity of cult.

Another writer called Eliade stated that myths aim to shape society and its social behaviour.
This mythologist asserted that: “… one of the functions of myth is to establish models for behavior and
provide …… a religious experience. By telling or reenacting myths, members of traditional societies detach
themselves from the present, returning to the mythical age, thereby coming closer to the divine”.

In the end, from this brief examination of the topic of myths, we can see that various
studies indicate that myths were a mixed bag of legends and superstitions that were taken as
a form of religion by traditional societies and old civilizations. They were used by early
societies –pre-Islamic times- as an educational tool to keep their populations safe and
dedicated to a common goal in the face of mysterious natural phenomena and foreign threats.
Myths differed from one civilization to another, but they shared the common feature of
polytheism and the rejection of divine revelations, especially the belief in One god. Myths
were inherited by successive civilizations and kept developing to perpetuate the pagan
beliefs of the past. It is only with the coming of the last religion of monotheistic Islam that
the culture of myths began to weaken. Later, modern science and academic research
explained many of the mysteries of the universe, and thereby they made the recourse to
mythical beliefs a useless practice. To conclude, it should be remembered that the rise of the
Byzantine Empire as a continuation of Roman Civilization coincided with coming of the
Islamic Age and opened an era of religious confrontation from the 630’s onwards.
Course activity: How do you understand myths? Discuss this question with reference to
specific myths or superstitions. Add it to your portfolio of homework assignments.