What is mythology??

Question

I have to write a whole paper on mythology and i have no idea what it is..my teacher wants us to use our prior knowledge, and i have no prior knowledge on mythology..please don't provide links, i tried, and i didn't succeed, please just explain in DETAILS...

Thanks!

Answer 1

A mythology, which is a collection of anonymous tales, many contain the story o the origin of the world, the creation of mankind, the feats of gods or heroes, or the tragedies which befell ancient families. Every country and literature has its mythology; the best know to English readers are those of Greece, Rome and Norse.

Greek and Roman mythology is quite generally supposed to show us the way the human race thought and felt untold ages ago. Through it, according to this view, we can retrace the path from civilized man who lives so far from nature, to man who lived in close companionship with nature; and the real interest of the myths is that they lead us back to a time when the world was young and people had a connection with the earth, with trees and seas and flowers and hills, unlike anything we ourselves can feel. When the stories were being shaped, we are given to understand, little distinction had as yet been made between the real and the unreal.

For the primitive mentality, mythology provided explanations of natural phenomena, the meaning of existence and death, and the adventures of racial heroes. With an increase in scientific knowledge, however, the function is often supplanted and mythology survive simply as stories.

Answer 2

The word mythology literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and 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.

A myth is:
- A traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces or creatures , which embodies and provides an explanation, aetiology, or justification for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon
- A widespread but untrue or erroneous story or belief
- A person or thing held in awe or generally referred to with near reverential admiration on the basis of popularly repeated stories (whether real or fictitious)
- A popular conception of a person or thing which exaggerates or idealizes the truth

Answer 3

mythology, in my opinion, are two different kinds of stories

the first, being a story told to explain why natural things happen

the second, being a story that really did happen. but the story was passed down for generations verbally before being written down. like a giant game of telephone, the stories grew as they were told to become the stories we have now.

Answer 4

Mythology is just a collection of ancient beliefs and tales, mainly related with gods, goddesses and other "mythological" beings, such as giants, heroes, non existing animals, etc.

Answer 5

You need to do your own research for your homework. You can't write a paper soley based on what other people tell you you actually have to verify it with sources.

First start here in the dictionary:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mythology

Then go to the encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology

then go to your local library and take out a few books on mythology, and do your own homework!