what is a myth?

Question

everyone in the world knows a basic word.myth.everyone knows what it means,but its hard to explain.but there's one question.where do myths get started?how do they get started?how to they get out?

Answer 1

Some myths are created to explain what occurs in the world. Thor has a hammer, he throws it, thunder and lighting occur. Zeus has lightning bolts he throws at sinners, he throws them, thunder and lighting occur. Men discover fire, then learn to make it. What sounds better, granddad got it from the gods, or he accidently learnt how to make it?

Other myths start from the retelling things that really happened, but have been retold so many times that the chinese whisper affect changes the story.

Other myths start as learning tools, and are thought up by teachers, giving lessons and morals to youngsters, Asops fables being one.

Other myths are lies fabricated to keep people in the dark and under control. There is a dragon over there, and only the knights and king can keep it under control.

Take your pick.

Answer 2

Before defining the term "mythology" one needs to define the meaning of the word "myth". The word itself comes from the Greek "mythos" which originally meant "speech" or "discourse" but which later came to mean "fable" or "legend".

The word "myth" was defined as a story of forgotten or vague origin, basically religious or supernatural in nature, which seeks to explain or rationalize one or more aspects of the world or a society. all myths are, at some stage, actually believed to be true by the peoples of the societies that used or originated the myth.

A myth is also distinctly different from an allegory or parable which is a story deliberately made up to illustrate some moral point but which has never been assumed to be true by anyone.

Some myths describe some actual historical event, but have been embellished and refashioned by various story tellers over time so that it is impossible to tell what really happened. In this last aspect myths have a legendary and historical nature.

Broadly speaking myths and mythologies seek to rationalize and explain the universe and all that is in it. Thus, they have a similar function to science, theology, religion and history in modern societies. Systems of myths have provided a cosmological and historical framework for societies that have lacked the more sophisticated knowledge provided by modern science and historical investigation.

Creation myths provide an explanation of the origin of the universe in all its complexity. They are an important part of most mythological systems. Creation myths often invoke primal gods and animals, titanic struggles between opposing forces or the death and/or dismemberment of these gods or animals as the means whereby the universe and its components were created.

Apart from an explanation of the creation of the universe, mythologies also seek to explain everyday natural phenomena. The Egyptian scarab god Khepri, who rolled the ball of the sun across the sky each day thus provided an explanation of the rising of the sun each day, its progress across the sky and its setting in the evening. Similarly, the Maori of New Zealand attributed the morning dew to the tears of the god Rangi (Heaven) for the goddess Papa (Earth) from whom he was separated. This class of myth is sometimes called a nature myth.


A myth is an image in terms of which we try to make sense of the world -
Alan Watts.

What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way - Bertrand Russell.

Myth is an attempt to narrate a whole human experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description - D. H. Lawrence.

The shaping of deeply felt values into meaningful, apposite form, is present in all communities, and will find some means of expressions among all - Dell Hymes.

History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth - E. L. Doctorow.

It is a myth, not a mandate, a fable not a logic, and symbol rather than a reason by which men are moved -
Irwin Edman.

Each time, storytellers clothed the naked body of the myth in their own traditions, so that listeners could relate more easily to its deeper meaning - Joan D. Vinge.

Answer 3

Among academia (scholars in Anthropology, for instance), a myth is a sacred narrative about the origins of the world. A myth is believed to be true by the people (culture) from which it came because religious or spiritual significance is attached to it. When used in academia, the term is not meant to imply that the sacred narrative is either true or false. I'll never forget what one Anthropology professor said in a lecture: "One man's myth is another man's religion." The professor went on to explain that the use of the term outside of academica had taken on the implication that the religious narratives of a culture other than your own is considered mythology; therefore untrue; but that your own culture's sacred narratives would not be considered mythology, and therefore, true. Because of this usage (outside of academia) many people take offense when the religious narratives they believe to be true are called myths. But strictly speaking, a myth is simply the academic term used to describe the sacred narratives of a given culture. In academic circles, a myth is not to be confused with a legend or folktale.

Answer 4

a myth a true myth has the eliment of truth
some words ring truer than others 'most popular' is usually the most identifiyed with sensation in general we know when something is right or wrong - this is the role of upbringing
myths in general are warnings or wishes arnt they really
a myth teaches a lesson or gives us reason to think...reflect

reflect this humain laugauage the development of it in terms of slang and all that but
in eveolutional terms
language - communication raises the stage of play
books upon books, theorys upon theorys, words upon words
loads and loads of oafs waffeling thier thoughts on this and on that all boiled down to a fraze or saying
in the nick of time so to speak...
where am i going?
in the late 1700's
a rolling stone gathereds no moss - meaning
people always pay a price for being on the move lack of putting down roots
only! 300 years later....now its
not faceing up to responsiblites acting like a young buck...
However just over 300 years later and we see that this kind of laugage is computing at a excellirated speed - yada yada yada in the 1980's is the Blah Blah Blah of today
signifiying that again there is an aful lot of knowledge that everyone already knows as the truth - whats the point
but in the 80's computers toys everything was coming out for children
yada yada signifyed the old yabbering of nosey old ladies
blah blah blah is cold
not the point however
the moon butterfly something to do with New Zealand has just performed the most remarkable revolution evolutionary history
and the big boys argue over there oil while a kiwi has already designed an engine that works on water back in the was it 1960's but as my husband says cant change people

Answer 5

Objectvely, a myth is a tale about any religion. One religion may say its myths are true, but the myths of other religions are not true. In the dictionary, there are several meanings. You can look at that as well as I can. A meaning more specific than the dictionary definitions is used by Joseph Campbell and Robert Graves in their profound writings about the subject. To such specialists, a myth is a tale involving gods or demi-gods that explains the origin of something and has religious rituals associated with it. Priests invent them, obviously. They use them to gain power and to take money from gullible people. A persuasive priest can spread his tales over a wide territory. It is that simple!

Answer 6

Pick your favorite definition:
A popular belief that is false or unsupported by facts.

Legendary narrative, usually of gods and heroes, or a theme that expresses the ideology of a culture.

An improvable story, almost always including incredible or miraculous events, that has no specific reference point or time in history.

A lesson in story form which has deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for preliterate cultures, who preserve and cherish the wisdom of their elders through oral traditions.

Something not true, fiction, or falsehood. A truth disguised and distorted.

Stories that are passed on from generation to generation and normally involve religion.

A legend, usually made up in part of historical events, that helps define the beliefs of a people and that often has evolved as an explanation for rituals and natural phenomena.

An ill-founded belief, usually based on limited experience, given uncritical acceptance by members of a group, especially in support of existing or traditional practices and institutions.

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How do they get started?
Well, to answer that you'd have to go back to a time when language (spoken communication) was first developed by humans. The human mind, being aware of oneself and ones surroundings, being both curious and imaginative probably initially created stories to help explain natural phenomenon that had no obvious explanation. Hence the invention of gods and supernatural deities. These stories got passed down via word-of-mouth for hundreds of years before the development of written language. You can imagine the variety of stories between different cultures - and the variations on the same story even within a culture. Some very ancient mythological stories still exist today - what's more amazing (and tragic) is that billions of people still buy into these made up stories with characters and events contrived by the human imagination. People believe the stories of their own culture and not those of another's. People even devote their live to glorifying these myths. People even justify killing other people in the name of their myths.

Why?

Answer 7

A myth is a narrative presentation of a particular truth of existence that utilizes metaphor and personification to express meaning. Myths originate from the observation of natural phenomana and from reflection on experience. They are expressed and shared in multiple ways, and serve to provide a system of convictions about the meaning of human existence that is at the same time individual and communal.

Answer 8

The word Myth is often used when people do not understand certain beliefs...Ignorance is also a reason why people use this expression.

Answer 9

A real myth is something that really happen in our past history but the writing about that incident no longer exist or have been lost in time and space ... And word of mouth is how that story have been passed on................ And no one can verify to truth of that story in any way............................. But the real situation is that incident really took place.....................

Answer 10

I thought a "myth" was a female "moth"