What is a myth?

Question

I'm teaching a 10 week class in greek mythology for 7th -12th grade and I would like a good definition of what makes a myth a myth. thanks!

Answer 1

The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μυθος mythos, a story or legend, and λογος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. In modern usage, mythology is either the body of myths from a particular culture or religion (as in Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology or Norse mythology) or the branch of knowledge dealing with the collection, study and interpretation of myths.

In common usage, myth means a falsehood — a story which many believe to be based on fact, but proves to be fictional. The field of mythology does not use this definition.

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Definition
Myths are narratives about divine or heroic beings, arranged in a coherent system, passed down traditionally, and linked to the spiritual or religious life of a community, endorsed by rulers or priests. Once this link to the spiritual leadership of society is broken, they lose their mythological qualities and degenerate into folktales or fairy tales.[1] Not every religious narrative is a myth however; unless it is deeply rooted in tradition, it may also be trivial pious anecdote or legend.

Myths are often intended to explain the universal and local beginnings ("creation myths" and "founding myths"), natural phenomena, inexplicable cultural conventions, and anything else for which no simple explanation presents itself.

In folkloristics, which is concerned with the study of both secular and sacred narratives, a myth also derives some of its power from being believed and deeply held as true. In the study of folklore, all sacred traditions have myths, and there is nothing pejorative or dismissive intended in the use of the term, as there often is in common usage.

This broader truth runs deeper than the advent of critical history which may, or may not, exist as in an authoritative written form which becomes "the story" (Preliterate oral traditions may vanish as the written word becomes "the story" and the literate become "the authority"). However, as Lucien Lévy-Bruhl puts it, "The primitive mentality is a condition of the human mind, and not a stage in its historical development."[2] Most often the term refers specifically to ancient tales from very old 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.

According to F. W. J. Schelling in the eighth chapter of Introduction to Philosophy and Mythology, "Mythological representations have been neither invented nor freely accepted. The products of a process independent of thought and will, they were, for the consciousness which underwent them, of an irrefutable and incontestable reality. Peoples and individuals are only the instruments of this process, which goes beyond their horizon and which they serve without understanding."

Answer 2

A myth is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to have their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it.

Answer 3

A myth is something that could have been an event that really happen But the cause of that event has been lost in time. It may have been a natural event such as lightening hitting a tree and the results of of what people saw or their actions after the lightening has hit that tree. But 90% of all myth are suppose to be grounded in Truth. Believe it or Not..........................................

Answer 4

Clearly, you have no understanding of what is involved with teaching. If you cannot find this answer in any other way than this website, you have no business being a teacher. Obviously you are very misinformed and ignorant of what it means to be a teacher. If you can't answer this simple question, perhaps because you have no formal education, then I can only wonder how your students will turn out. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Ever heard of that?

Answer 5

A myth is something that people think existed in ancient times. A myth is more like a legend it´s just somethingfalse, unreal. people in ancient Greek and Rome used to believe i monsters and gods, they also belived in people who had powers and things like that. That´s why we know about Zeus, Hercules, Venus, and so on. I hope you like this answer.

Answer 6

A myth is a story that has lost its veracity over time. That is, it occurred over such a long span of time that it is no longer verifiable and is now considered untrue, or a tale.

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Answer 7

Adam & Eve is a myth unless religious people want to make the same mistake they made with Galileo again.

Answer 8

A myth is believable but proven untrue

Answer 9

A fantasy which is used to explain everyday events. Especially popular before the rise of science and scientific explanations.

Answer 10

A myth is a tale about the gods and is often associated with a ritual that has been performed a long time. legends, folk tales, fairy tales, etc. are less ambitious tales.