Define mythlogy and determine its purpose in ancient cultures.?

Question

Define mythlogy and determine its purpose in ancient cultures.
need some help. thanks.

Answer 1

I'm not sure I can give a truly informed definition of Mythology, but its purpose was manifold:

In ancient civilizations before the written word (then literacy, the printing press, etc.), storytelling held an incredibly important role in society as the means by which to pass knowledge. Dry facts are more difficult to remember than interesting stories, and thus mythology became the world's oldest mnemonic device to ensure that knowledge was passed from generation to generation.

Mythology served to answer the question "why" for ancient civilizations. Before established forms of religion, philosophy and science, mythology had to fill the gap of all those functions. It was the answer to why we are here, where are we going, what is our purpose, who are we, etc.

Mythology, like modern day fairy tales or your copy of the Bible or the Torah, served as lessons in morality.

But most of all, Mythology was the answer to early humanity's innate need for storytelling. It is a natural urge to tell stories, to hear them, to live them. It is the intersection of time and action and heroism, delicious and inspirational. From the moment that man learned to talk, the first words out of his mouth were almost certainly, "let me tell you a story..."

Answer 2

Mythology was bascially ideas or stories that was used to address natural occurences, like lightning.

It made things more explainable, especially towards children who are curious towards a multitude of things.
These started out as stories, passed down through the ages verbally.
But as the more and more people subscribe to the same belief, religion is born.

Similarly, heroic stories like Heracles are likely to be glorified tales of past heroes. Like King Arthur, they are based on a real person, but as the memory dims and the legends grow, these stories attained mythical status.

The purpose of myths also grow like the stories.
Initially for explanation of the then unexplainable phenomenon, they grew to include tales of inspiration and of ideals, like the ideal hero who never quits in the face of adversity.

Like Aesop's Fables, some myths also serve as an cautionary tales or even, frighten wayward children, like the Boogie Man. Myths like Baba Yaga would deter children from entering the forest unsupervised, and while the tale of Narcissus would warn people not to take too much pride in one's look

Answer 3

Mythology serves 2 purposes. One one hand it is meant as an explanation for why things are the way they are...that is foundation myths. This can be taken literally or symbolically/allegorically (or both at the same time) usually depending on the sophistication of the individual. The other use is as tales that direct a culture as to their place in the universe and they way they should behave in it. This is very important for teaching a societies ethics and behavioral codes as well as re-inforcing cultural identity...

Answer 4

American Heritage Dictionary-

my·thol·o·gy (m-thl-j) KEY

NOUN:
pl. my·thol·o·gies

A body or collection of myths belonging to a people and addressing their origin, history, deities, ancestors, and heroes.
A body of myths associated with an event, individual, or institution: "A new mythology, essential to the . . . American funeral rite, has grown up" (Jessica Mitford).
The field of scholarship dealing with the systematic collection and study of myths.

That's the dictionary version....now for mine. Mythology is the stories of a people and their culture. As for how it affected ancient cultures, it was used to explain the unexplainable. The ancients did not have science, so they created stories to explain events in nature that they could not understand, by attributing them to gods or deamons or other such characters. A great example is the story of Narcissus, which explained several events in nature, such as how the echo, reflections in mirrors, and the narcissus flower were all created. Think of a myth like if it were a bible story.....to the ancient people, these stories were the basis for their gods, goddesses, and religions. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

In ancient times what we call mythology was reality. In future times All of today's Organized religions will probably be the stuff of Mythology. Mythology is today's spin on ancient Times realities of life and religion.

Example: the lives and religions the Greek and Roman nations were the truths of those countries in the time of Jesus.

Answer 6

Yes, should you difference your title you'll be able to difference your long run. Both the ancients believed this and so can we at present. Even via replacing the spelling or abbreviation of the title that alters the numerological importance of the title.

Answer 7

Myth's and legend was and still is how the ancient and modern people govern their live around myth and legend's......................................................................