MYTHOLOGY of cultural conventions or rituals, and what lies
outside a given society’s boundaries of explanation.
 Since at least 15th century, the term “mythology”,
which means “the study of myths”, has been in
use.
Definitions of Myth from Scholars
 The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) published
the definition of “body of myths” for the first
time in 1781. Defines myth as “a traditional
story, typically involving supernatural beings or
forces or creatures, which embodies and provides
an explanation, etiology or justification for
something such as the early history of a society, a
religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon.”
 The term “mythology” came from the Greek word
(mythos), meaning “a narrative”, and logos,
meaning a “speech argument”. It refers to the
body of stories that attempt to explain the
origins and fundamental values of a given culture
and the nature of the universe and humanity.
 A myth is a traditional story that may answer
life’s overarching questions, such as the origins
of the world or of a people.
 A myth can also be an attempt to explain
mysteries, supernatural events, and cultural
traditions.
 Sometimes sacred in nature, a myth can involve
gods or other creatures and a myth represents
reality in dramatic ways.
Myths as depiction of historical events
 For most folklorist, traditional stories can be
arranged into three groups:
o Myths – sacred stories concerning the
distant past, particularly the creation of the
world; generally focused on the gods
o Legends – stories about the more recent
past, which generally include, or are based on,
some historical events and are generally
focused on human heroes
o Folktales/fairytales – stories which lack any
definite historical setting: often include
animal characters.
 In modern usage, the term can also mean stories that a
particular culture believes to be true and that use the
supernatural to interpret natural events.
 Ancient myths are generally founded by imagination
and intuition rather than objective evidence.
 Myths identify and help explain human propensities
and natural phenomena with the actions and
attributes of gods in a primordial past.
 Like imaginative literature, myths present abstract,
often archetypical insights into human experience.
 Myths may tap into dimensions of human experience,
often religious, that science cannot access. Religious
studies scholars limit the term "myth" to stories whose
main characters "must be gods or near-gods."
 Myths are often intended to explain the universal
and local beginnings, natural phenomena, the origin
1. J.R.R. Tolkien (Writer, philologist, and religious
thinker)
o believe that legends and myths are largely
made of truth, and bop indeed present
aspects of truth that can only be received in
this mode.
2. G. S. Kirk (Classicist)
o Thinks that the distinction of myths and
folktale maybe useful but categorizing of
tales as folktales, legends, and proper myths
can be seriously confusing. He rejects the
idea that all myths are associated.
3. Damiana L. Eugenio (the mother of Philippine Folklore)
o Myths the account for origin of the world, of
mankind, of death, or for characteristics of
birds, animals, geographical features and the
phenomena of nature
4. Maximo Ramos & Felipe Landa Jocano (famous
anthropologist and folklorists)
o Stated that this plethora of knowledge had a
significant impact on Filipino’s daily lives,
both now and in the future.
 Some myths are based on historical events. These
myths can become imbued with symbolic meaning,
transformed, shifted in time or place, or even
reversed.
 "myths" make the transition from "legendary
occurrence" to "mythical status"
 By the time it reaches the status of myth, the story
has taken on a life of its own and the facts of the
original event have become almost to irrelevant. A
classical example of this process is the Trojan War, a
historical event that is now a part of Greek mythology.
 Roland Barthes – affirms myth as a word chosen by
history. It could not came from the nature of things.
 Some Greek myths originated in Classical times to
provide explanations for inexplicable features of local
cult practices.
 Mache - argues that euhemerist exegesis “was applied
to capture and seize by force of reason qualities of
thought, which eluded it on every side.” he argues,
often leads to interpretation of myths as "disguised
propaganda in the service of powerful individuals," and
that the purpose of myths in this view is to allow the
'social order to establish "its permanence on the
illusion of a natural order."
 “Contra Barthes, Môche argues that, "myth
therefore seems to choose history, rather than be
chosen by it, "beyond words and stories, myth seems
more like a psychic content from which words,
 gestures, and music radiate. History only chooses for it
more or less becoming clothes.
 Immanuel Velikovsky (catastrophists)
o believe that myths are derived from the
Mythology and Folklore
oral histories of ancient cultures that
witnessed "cosmic catastrophes." The
catastrophic interpretation of myth forms
only a small minority within the field of
mythology and often qualifies as
pseudohistory.
 Giorgio De Santillana & Hertha Von Dechend
o Suggest that myth is a “technical language”
describing “cosmic events”.
 Mythology becomes the basis for understanding and
interpreting even contemporary historical events.
 Descriptions of recent events are re-emphasized to
make them seem to be analogous with the commonly
known story. This technique is used by some adherents
to Judaism and Christianity, who read books of
prophecy in the Bible, as “historical” accounts of
future events.
 It was also used in Russian Communist-era propaganda
to interpret the direction of history and guide
decisions about political decisions.
Evolution of the Term
 Myth in general use is often interchangeable with
legend or allegory (a story play or picture). Often the
term refers specifically to ancient tales of historical
cultures, such as Greek Mythology or Roman
Mythology. Some myths descended originally as part of
an oral tradition and were only later written down, and
many of them exist in multiple versions.
 Individual myths or “mythemes” may be classified in
various categories:
1. Ritual Myth - explain the performance of certain
religious practices or patterns and associated with
temples or centers of worship.
2. Origin Myths – describe the beginnings of a
custom, name or object.
3. Creation Myths – describes how the world or
universe came into being
4. Cult Myths – often seen as explanations for
elaborate festivals that magnify the power of
deity
5. Prestige Myths – usually associated with a
divinely chosen king, hero, city, or people.
6. Eschatological Myths – stories which catastrophic
Modern Mythology
ends to the present world order of the writers.
Ex.: New Testament book of revelation
7. Social Myths – reinforce or defend current social
values or practices.
8. Trickster Myths – concern itself with the pranks
or tricks played by gods or heroes. Heroes do not
have to be in a story to be considered or elamyth.
 during the nineteenth century period of Romanticism,
folktales and fairy tales were perceived as eroded
fragments of earlier mythology (famously by the
Brothers Grimm and Elias Lönnrot).
 Mythological themes are also very often consciously
employed in literature, beginning with Homer. The
resulting work may expressly refer to a mythological
background without itself being part of a body of
myths (Cupid and Psyche).
 The medieval romance in particular plays with this
process of turning myth into literature.
 Euhemerism refers to the process of rationalization
of myths, putting themes formerly imbued with
mythological qualities into pragmatic contexts, for
example following a cultural or religious paradigm shift.
 "Conscious generation" of mythology has been termed
mythopoeia by J. R. R. Tolkien[l, and was notoriously
also suggested, very separately, by Nazi ideologist
Alfred Rosenberg.
 Numerous approaches to the study of myth exist.
Robert Graves said of Greek myth: "True myth may be
defined as the reduction to narrative shorthand of
ritual mime performed on public festivals, and in many
cases recorded pictorially."
 Myths authorize the cultural institutions of a tribe, a
city, or a nation by connecting them with universal
truths.
 Myths justify the current occupation of a territory by
a people, for instance.
 All cultures have developed over time their own myths,
consisting of narratives of their history, their
religions, and their heroes.
 Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero with a
Thousand Faces (1948) outlined the concept of the
"Monomyth," the archetypal pattern of the hero that
is held in common throughout the world in all cultures.
 In the structuralist approach of Claude' Lévi-
Strauss, the content of the myth is irrelevant, as their
primary function is structuring the nature of the
universe.
 myth is a structured system of signifiers, whose
internal networks of relationships are used to 'map'
the structure of other sets of relationships.
 In the 1950s Roland Barthes published a series of
essays examining modern myths and the process of
their creation in his book Mythologies.
 Carl Jung 1873-1961 (Swiss psychologist) - argued
that the gods of mythology are not material beings, but
 archetypes mental ideas charged with emotional
potency that all humans can feel, share, and
experience. Believe archetypes (a very typical example)
directly affect our subconscious perceptions and way
of understanding.
 Mythopoeia is term coined'by J. R. R. Tolkien for
the conscious attempt to create myths; his Silmarillion
was to be an example of this, although he did not
succeed in the bringing it to publication during his
lifetime.
Folklore
 invented by an English scholar by the name of William
John Thomas in 1846.
 Folklore is a science that embraces observances and
customs, notions, beliefs, traditions, superstitions and
prejudices of the common people.
 folklore is a collection of fictional tales about people
or animals.
 Superstitions and unfounded beliefs are important
elements in the folklore tradition.
 The study of folklore is called folkloristics.
 Folktales describe how main character copes with
the events of everyday life, and the tale may involve
crisis or conflict. Both were originally circulated orally.
Folklore and Folktale
a) Legend
o a story that's purported to be historical in
nature but that is without substantiation.
o Prominent examples include King Arthur,
Blackbeard, and Robin Hood.
o also refers to anything that inspires a body
of stories, or anything of lasting importance
or fame.
o The story is handed down orally from earlier
times but will continue to evolve with time.
o legend told and retold in epic poems that
were passed down orally, then at some point
written down.
b) Fairy tale
o may involve fairies, giants, dragons, elves,
goblins, dwarves, and other fanciful and
fantastic forces.
o While traditionally intended for children,
fairy tales have also moved into the field of
literary theory. These stories have taken on
lives of their own.
Difference between Mythology and Folklore
 Mythology usually refers to something extremely
grand in scale and scope, often covering a wide
geographical range and thousands of years.
 Folklore, however, is usually smaller in scale and is
often thought of as the mythology of common
people, though these stories can be just as well known.
 Both mythology and folklore share many ideas and
aspects, though these terms can be used to refer to
fairly different concepts.
 Mythology is typically considered to have a much
larger scale than folklore, and to involve titanic
events and characters.
 Emythology - A story told about the creation of the
universe or how the world was made.
 the characters in mythology are often larger and
more impossible figures than characters commonly
found in folklore.
 Both mythology and folklore involve fictional stories
and characters, but the people in myths are often
divine or immortal beings who fight fantastical
monsters and are involved in events that shape the
very nature of the world.
 folklore usually arises on a smaller scale and involves
more intimate surroundings, events, and characters.
 Folklore stories usually involve local surroundings and
events, such as an explanation for how a nearby forest
was created or the birth of a king who once lived in a
particular region.
Key Elements of Mythology
 Myths are stories that explain the world and humans'
experiences.
 Mythological stories and characters reflect a
culture's past and traditional, and most importantly
tell the story of the values and beliefs that are central
to a culture, and to the human race.
 These repeated elements include symbols, themes,
patterns, and characters. These elements help to
develop and communicate the theme of a myth.
 Common themes in myths include the struggle between
the forces of good and evil, the quest of a hero, or
the origin of some aspect of the natural world.
Common Elements & Thematic Topics in Myths
a) Tension between opposing forces in the Universe
o Myths are often structured around the
tensions between opposing forces in The
universe, like light versus dark and good
versus evil.
o the main characters in myths have
responsibility for resolving conflicts
between these opposing forces; for example,
heroes fighting to overcome evil monsters.
b) A struggle for power
o occurs between two opposing forces.
o This struggle may be between two
supernatural forces, a supernatural force and
mortal, or two members of a single family.
o This struggle may be a result of desire for
control, vanity, or jealousy.
o this struggle ends with punishment or even
death.
c) Explanation of the origins of life and the natural
world
 o Because ancient people could not rely on 2) Modern Theories:
science, they told these stories Is to provide a.
an explanation about where we came from
and how things came to be.
o Many myths come from humans' early desire
to explain the origins of life and the natural b.
world.
o many myths begin with a prophecy . This
prophecy then shapes the actions and
interactions of the various characters of the
myth.
c.
d) Fate and Prophecy
o Supernatural or Nonhuman Characters in
myths often non-human even though they
possess human qualifies and emotions. d.
o These characters might include gods,
goddesses, and supernatural beings.
o These non-human characters often possess
super-human powers and use them to interact e.
with our human world by, for example,
controlling the weather.
o Gods and goddesses may also visit the human
world by disguising themselves in different
forms.
Naturalism
- All myths are thought to arise from an
attempt to explain natural phenomenon
Ritualism
- All myths are invented to accompany and
explain religious ritual; they describe the
significant events which have resulted in a
particular ceremony.
Diffusionism
- All myths arose from a few major cultural
centers and spread throughout the world
Evolutionism
- Myth making occurs at a certain stage in the
evolution of the human mind.
Freudianism
- When Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern
psychology, interpreted the dreams of his
patients, he found great similarities between
them and the ancient myths.
- Freud believes that certain infantile are
repressed.

f. Jungian Archetypes
- Carl Jung, did not believe that it went far in
explaining the striking similarities between
motifs found in an ancient stories and those
of his patients.

Theories Related to Folk Literature g. Structuralism

- All human behaviour, the way we eat, dress,
speak, is patterned into codes which have the
characteristics of language.
1) Ancient Theories:
a. Rationalism
h. Historical- critical theory
- States that myths were made to better
- There are multitude of factors which
understand natural events and forces that
influence the origin and development of
occurred in the everyday lives of people.
myths that no single explanation will suffice.
- Also explains that the gods and goddesses
controlled all of these happenings of nature.
- Myths represent an early form of logical
thinking

b. Etymological
- Myths derive from and can be traced back to
certain words in the language. It explains the
origin of a word

c. Allegorical
- All myths contain hidden meanings which the
narrative deliberately conceals or encodes.

d. Euhemerism
- Maintained that all myths arise from
historical events which were merely
exaggerated.
Olympian Greek God and Goddesses
Zeus (Jupiter, in Roman mythology): the king of all the
gods (and father to many) and god of weather, law and
fate. God of the sky
Hera (Juno): the queen of the gods and goddess of
women and marriage.
Aphrodite (Venus): goddess of beauty and love
Apollo (Apollo): god of prophesy, sun, music and poetry
and knowledge
Ares (Mars): god of war
Artemis (Diana): goddess of hunting, animals and
childbirth
Athena (Minerva): goddess of wisdom and defense
Demeter (Ceres): goddess of agriculture and grain
Dionysus (Bacchus): god of wine, pleasure and festivity
Hephaestus (Vulcan): god of fire, metalworking and
sculpture
Hermes (Mercury): god of travel, hospitality and trade
and Zeus’s personal messenger
Poseidon (Neptune): god of the sea
Hades (Pluto): god of the underworld
Hestia (Vesta): goddess of home and family
Eros (Cupid): god of sex and minion to Aphrodite
ZEUS
 most powerful of the Greek gods and goddesses.
 rules over all other gods and goddesses
 had the power to change his shape and he was
also married to the queen of the gods, Hera.
POSEIDON
 one of the most powerful Greek gods.
 Poseidon's temper controlled the seas, so sailors
would pray to Poseidon before voyages to ensure
safe passage.
ARES
 He was a cruel god, so Ares was disliked by his
parents
 His sacred symbols included the dog and the
vulture.
 Ares usually carried a blood-soaked spear.
APHRODITE
 Aphrodite's symbols were doves, roses, swans,
and sparrows.
 believed to be either the daughter of Zeus, or
risen from the sea upon a shell.
HERA
 known to be a vengeful god, and would take her
jealousy of other goddess out on mortals.
 Hera's sacred animal was a peacock, with a pair
of peacocks pulling her chariot.
DEMETER
 controlled the seasons and the growth of crops.
 the barrenness of winter was caused by her
sadness over her daughter Persephone having to
live in the underworld with Hades
ATHENA
 her sacred symbols being the owl and the olive
tree.
 her sacred symbols being the owl and the olive
tree.
 the patron god of the Greek city, Athens.
 Athena did not have a mother, being born
directly from Zeus' head wearing a suit of
armour
APOLLO
 son of Zeus
 The healer
 having the ability to heal people of disease, but
also spreading infection to those who angered
him using arrows.
ARTEMIS
 twin sister of Apollo
 favourite goddess.
 had a hunting dog as companion
 she would punish anyone who hurt any animals
sacred to her, including bears and stags.
HEPHAESTUS

 son of Zeus and Hera

 associated with craftsmen and blacksmiths, and
was married to the goddess, Aphrodite.
 physically flawed, being known as “the lame one”
 He is depicted with a hammer and an anvil.

HERMES

 youngest son of Zeus

 the messenger of the gods due to his speed and
trustworthiness.
 could fly and travel quickly
 protector of travellers and merchants.
 credited with the invention of boxing and
gymnastics.

DIONYSUS

 son of Zeus
 popular Greek god
 he learned to cultivate grapes, becoming the
first person to make wine.

1. Hestia – goddess of heart and home

2. Hades – god of the underworld

3. Cronus – god of time and the ages

4. Ouranos – god of the skies