Hum 105 - World Mythology - Foundations of Mythology

FOUNDATIONS OF MYTHOLOGY

HUM/105 - WORLD MYTHOLOGY

PROFESSOR DEAN HARRIS

BY

KEITH W. PORTER

In our text, Myth & Knowing, the authors talk about myths as stories that try to answer questions about mankind.  They state that “Myths are ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions:” (Leonard & McClure, 2004)

The video, Modern myths, states that in today’s world, myths are “A construct of the mind, an illusion, a mirage.”  (Modern myths, 1999)  The video also goes on to say that, “These unanswerable questions [where did we come from, where are we going, and why we are here] continue to gnaw at us, so we make up stories to soothe our fears.”  (Modern myths, 1999)

Due to my belief in the Bible, along with my belief that a lot of the stories within the Bible are myths, it is hard for me to put the definition of myths into my own words without plagiarizing somewhat, because I believe just that; myths started out as stories over the centuries to help mankind answer the questions of time; who are we and why are we here.

The Bible is compilation of numerous books that have been sanctioned for the prospective religion.  The religion dictates which books are included in their Bible.  The myths within the Bible try to help the reader understand those questions, along with providing morals for mankind to live by.

In today’s society, the Bible is still one of the most translated and widely read books (I remember reading that somewhere, but am unable to recall where, so am unable to cite any quotes or passages, or even to place a citation here).  Yet, it is still a book that was written by man from stories that have been told.  Some of these stories (I have no idea what that number may be) have been handed down from generation to generation verbally before they were committed to paper.

As we know, each time a story is told, the author tells the story as he understands it, in a way to make his listeners believe it.  The stories may have started out as truths, but by the time they are finally committed to paper, they have been embellished, whether intentionally or not.  When the story teller is sharing his tales, he will use the words that he knows, experiences that he has dealt with, educational expertise that he may have on the subject (whether self taught, or otherwise) along with any morals, beliefs that may or may not be an essential part of the story teller or the society that he lives in.

Santa Claus, known worldwide, yet each culture has their different views on this individual.  Each culture uses their experiences and knowledge when telling stories down through the generations, and with each passing, the story has parts added or deleted depending upon the storytellers experience and how much emphasis he places upon certain aspects of the story.

The word myth seems to be synonymous with lie, false.  If you look in any dictionary, you will see those two words reference at least once, and when I asked my wife and her 13-year-old son what myth meant to them, they both stated the same thing.  When someone is telling a myth, they are telling a fictional story, a lie, and a falsehood.  Until this class, I myself am guilty of this way of thinking also.  Yet when I try to apply that word to the Bible, I am met with negativity because of individual beliefs within the Bible.