Such stories have ancient origins; therefore, they did not have the scientific explanations that we do today for such phenomena a… They are explanations that have meaning for us as human beings. For example, you could explain the Greek religious ritual of the Eleusinian Mysteries by saying that they originated when the Greek goddess, Demeter, came down to the city of Eleusis and taught the people how to worship her. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. But we don’t want to ignore the theoretical study of myth entirely, so we will limit ourselves to discussing only three types of myth. There are four main blood types (A, B, O, and AB), and they are determined by theRead more Accretion or conjunction creation myths Accretion or conjunction myths involve inanimate matter coming together to form the world. Myth is a traditional story of our historical past that presents a world view.It is believed to be true and sacred.It is a narrative form describing the processes of origin and … Furthermore, the myths themselves are much more interesting than the theories. In some cases, as heroic myths are concerned with mortals and their burgeoning civilisation, they have a tendency towards historical recollections of actual or potentially true events; without dispensing fully with what we may describe in modern literature as the paranormal. Whilst retaining ‘call-backs’ to etiological and divine myth, heroic myths appear less concerned with unexplained physical phenomena, as they are with social commentary and psychological exploration. There are Myths that also allude to either the early days of a utopian human existence, preceding the afflictions of disease, death and suffering, or the existence of an afterlife, that also capture an essence of the divine. Historical myths are told about a historical event, and they help keep the memory of that event alive. In many ways, it was easier for ancient civilizations to believe that the world was created by unseen gods or creatures, than face a series of unknown questions. ————————————————————————————————————————————, Tagged as Allegory, Collective Unconscious, Cosmology, Creation, Etiological Myth, Fable, Folktales, Heroic Myth, Natural Phenomena, Psychology, Ritual, Society. Finally, there are myths of CREATION. Nature myths attempt to explain natural occurrences, such as weather and cosmology. ( Log Out /  They are explanations that have meaning for us as human beings. Here are a few common features that myths typically share: 1. There are, therefore, almost as many cosmogonic myths as there are human cultures. It is common for the protagonist of a Folk tale to demonstrate great wit and cunning in order to survive perilous situations or encounters with terrible creatures that represent some kind of social anxiety or concern. I've put in bold the key words that I find usesful: nature, deities & humans, religions, and science. 1. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. 2. Okay so Eliot categorized these myths into four types. There are many myths that recur around the world, such as creation myths, myths about the origin of fire, and flood myths. These two categories are not exclusive, and many religions overlap both categories, but I think it is a useful conceptual divide. This is of course contestable, as the Myth that fits neatly within the contours of any academic designation is very rare. As a general rule, Myths that attempted to rationalise natural or psychological phenomena in the absence of scientific exploration seem best represented by this category. This is not to suggest that they do not involve mythical creatures, magic, powerful artefacts and the like, as these elements can make for some of the most entertaining stories there are. Blood type is a genetic trait that is determined by your parents, just like eye color or ear shape. Types of Myths Banshee Other Irish mythology stories relating to the Banshee say that she is the ghost of a young girl that suffered a brutal death and her spirit remains to warn family members that a violent death is imminent. An etymological aetiological myth explains the origin of ( Log Out /  For example, you could explain lightning and thunder by saying that Zeus is angry. List of creation myths; List of legendary creatures by type; List of mythology books and sources; List of mythological objects; List of culture heroes; List of world folk-epics; Lists of deities; Lists of legendary creatures; National myth; Mythopoeia Numerous myths, whether people consider them sacred or historical, involve explanations of weather and the universe. Change ). Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, was also the god of thunder, lightning, clouds and rain. probably did not exist. Their divine lineage marks out these characters as heroes in their time, representing the best of humanity in terms of skill and ability, especially when concerned with fighting and combat. These are the different types or rituals performed by various groups. In many cases it is a historical character whose exploits were exaggerated and magnified with the passage of the years. Creation myth - Creation myth - Types of cosmogonic myths: The world as a structure of meaning and value has not appeared in the same manner to all human civilizations. Creation myths didn't necessarily emerge so civilizations could provide detailed accounts of their history. It may be argued the the more grounded in realism a tale may be, the more apt it is to consider it Legend rather than Myth. Myths cross the lines of science, nature, religion, and explanations of the powers of the universe. Rather, all of these explanations had meaning for the ancient Greeks, who told them in order to help them understand their world. Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology by Jessica Mellenthin and Susan O. Shapiro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. In this type of legends, the most outstanding element is a hero or a heroine. ———————————————————————————————————————————— Where did this all begin? 3. In fact, there are many different types of religion, but for purposes of simplicity I would like to divide the religions of the world into two types: revealed religion and philosophical religion. There are actually many different types of myth, not just three. Oral and written literature are the two major forms of literature. As we all know, almost all type of literature is available in written form. From providing explanations of the world in etiological myth, exploring relationships between mankind and the divine, or preserving history through heroic myth, to demonstrating a social imperative through Folktales; Myths clearly serve a variety of recognisable and discrete purposes.Yet as myths may contain combinations and elements of all three categories discussed here, it may be frustrating or seem counterproductive to become too focused on setting out boundaries and distinctions. Audio Course: Peter Meineck, ‘Classical Mythology: The Greeks’. In Greek mythology, some of the most powerful gods and goddesses were associated with the weather. Psychological myths try to explain why we feel and act the way we do. A natural aetiological myth explains an aspect of nature. Because of their religious nature, these myths are considered __3__. They often interpret how mankind came to inherit the earth as it was (known as Cosmogony), or how humans first came into being. Myths include gods and/or goddesses, and these figures often have supernatural powers. A psychological myth is different from an aetiological myth because a psychological myth does not try to explain one thing by way of something else (such as lightning and thunder can be explained by Zeus’ anger). Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Approaching myths with a knowledge of these categories in mind however, may help deconstruct their intentions, therefore communicating both an understanding of the circumstances and times in which they were formed and an exposition of some longstanding issues that people continue to grapple with today. In a psychological myth, the emotion itself is seen as a divine force, coming from the outside, that can directly influence a person’s emotions. What I'll be doing next is incorporating these four categories into my personal mythology, which will be a permanent page on this blog that can be accessed from the home page. There are three subtypes of aetiological myths: natural, etymological, and religious. Here are some examples: 1. From a very early period, Greek myths seem to have been open to criticism and alteration on grounds of morality or of misrepresentation of known facts. I had no idea there were so many different types of creation myths. Etiological Myths are concerned with the divine, specifically, themes of creation and the actions of divine beings. The first is that the world starts from chaos or nothingness. For example, you could explain lightning and thunder by saying that Zeus is angry. In fact, there are several entire theories of myth. They function rather to entertain, communicate instructional information and teach a moralistic lesson through allegory, in the manor of fables. What’s your blood type? For example, you could explain the name of the goddess, Aphrodite, by saying that she was born in sea-foam, since aphros is the Greek word for sea-foam. Types of legends according to the main element 1- Hero, heroine or historical character . For example, the goddess, Aphrodite, is sometimes seen as the power of erotic love. Myth is a fictional story, tends to have a hero or event to justify a social preamble. I think I'd feel a bit weird to know I came from someone's sweat. Ironically, in historical myths, the accuracy is lost but meaning is gained. I suppose it shows just how diverse the people on each continent are. Myths Directions: Choose two examples for each type of myth and identify the pieces of literature, such as a Shakespeare play, in which the examples are found. Reading comprehension - ensure that you draw the most important information from the related literature lesson The problem with theories of myth, however, is that they are not very good; they don’t do a great job of explaining the myths or in helping us understand them. The seventh category of cosmogonic myths, in which two Gods create the world through cooperation or competition occurs frequently in African and Native American mythic tradition Deus Faber The eighth category of creation myths presents the creator as a deus faber, the Maker God--the quintessential architects, artisan, or craftsperson The theoretical study of myth is very complex; many books have been written about theories of myth, and we could have an entire class just on theories of myth (without studying any of the myths themselves). The Pueblo believed they began life underground and were guided by a spirit to climb up through a hole int… A star whose fame turns him or her into a myth. There are many types of myths, which are classified according to the story they tell. They were used as a means of understanding their current condition. http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/odyssey1/ss/062508POdyssey_6.htm. Aetiological myths (sometimes spelled etiological) explain the reason why something is the way it is today. This is however, often very apparent in the second type of myth explored here. Similarly, a person may be elevated beyond mortal ability when imbued or influenced by divine power. If you’re like most Americans, you probably don’t know off the top of your head. A natural aetiological myth explains an aspect of nature. Creation Myths; Myths of Gods and Goddesses; Trickster Myths; Myths of Death, the Underworld and Resurrection The myths about the Trojan War, including the Iliad and the Odyssey, could be classified as historical myths. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. This type of myth avoids any purposeful action of a god or intelligent being. All three of these explanations are not true: Zeus’ anger is not the correct explanation for lightning and thunder; Aphrodite’s name was not actually derived from the Greek word aphros; and Demeter did not establish her own religious rituals in the town of Eleusis. These categories however, tend to be informed by what many scholars have attempted to identify as the functional purpose of Myth. I see these as broad categories. We will now look into fiction and non-fiction literature as two major types of literature, and also consider the … A creation myth. There are many related categories in … Furthermore, the myths themselves are much more interesting than the theories. Parallel to this ‘tangible’ interpretation of divine intervention, is the concept of human behaviour, action and emotion presided over by a custodial, divine being. References, Blackwell C W, Hackney Blackwell A, 2002, ‘Mythology For Dummies’, Wiley, Indiana, Meineck P, 2004, ‘Classical Mythology: The Greeks’, The Modern Scholar, purchased from http://www.audible.co.uk, http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/greek-mythology/images/11941596/title/charon-wallpaper, http://www.cgfeedback.com/cgfeedback/showthread.php?t=2963, http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/odyssey1/ss/062508POdyssey_6.htm Trojan War, including the Iliad and the Odyssey, could be classified as historical myths rituals.. Initiation into., the audience believed these stories to be informed by what many scholars have to... Been made available in written form that magnify the power of erotic love explanations of the Greek gods was! A genetic trait that is determined by your parents, just like eye color or ear shape was also god... Odyssey, could be classified as historical myths are told about a historical character whose exploits were exaggerated and with... 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