Mythological stories and definition

MYTHOLOGY

 A mythology is a collection of myths or stories about a specific person, culture, religion, or any group with shared beliefs. Most people don't consider mythology to be entirely true, but they still take it seriously. There are four basic theories of myth. Those theories are the rational myth theory, functional myth theory, structural myth theory, and psychological myth theory. 

The rational myth theory states that myths were created to explain natural events and forces. The word myth derives from the Greek mythos, which has a range of meanings from “word,” through “saying” and “story,” to “fiction”; the unquestioned validity of mythos can be contrasted with logos, the word whose validity or truth can be argued and demonstrated. Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional. But myths are more than mere stories and they serve a more profound purpose in ancient and modern cultures.

 The earliest known versions of these myths date back more than 2,700 years, appearing in written form in the works of the Greek poets Homer and Hesiod. But some of these myths are much older. Indeed, the Greeks borrowed some of their best material from other, more ancient stories. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the most well-known Mesopotamian myths and is often regarded as the oldest known piece of literature in the world. It was initially a number of individual short stories and was not combined into one cohesive epic until the 18th century BCE.

 Zeus is the god of the sky in ancient Greek mythology. As the chief Greek deity, Zeus is considered the ruler, protector, and father of all gods and humans. Zeus is often depicted as an older man with a beard and is represented by symbols such as the lightning bolt and the eagle. Elicit from them that myths—like other stories—contain the following elements: characters, setting, conflict, plot, and resolution. In addition, myths usually explained some aspect of nature or account for some human action.

 Frequently, myths also included a metamorphosis, a change in shape or form. Myths and legends began to be recorded just as soon as humans mastered the technology of writing. Often the very first texts were hymns to the gods or collections of mythological stories that became organized into cycles, explaining how the world was created, how humans came into existence, or why Death is necessary. 

It covers the eight functions of mythology: history, teaching, explanation – both natural and cultural, legality, genesis, eschatology, and entertainment; as well as the two functions of religion: civic and spiritual. Myths are stories created to teach people about something important and meaningful. They were often used to teach people about events that they could not always understand, such as illness and death, or earthquakes and floods.

Legends are like myths, but they are slightly different. Ultimately, studying mythology gives us context into our world, our literature, and our own beliefs. The significance of these myths should not be overlooked, and even a foundational level of study will prove beneficial.

Some examples of famous legends are:

• The Lost City of Atlantis (Greece)

• Robin Hood and his Merry Men (England)

• Ching Shih the Pirate Queen (China)

• The Fountain of Youth (Various)

• El Dorado - The City of Gold (Spain and South America)

Now let's see some examples of myths

Theogony: Clash of the Titans

According to Hesiod’s Theogony, in the beginning, there was only Chaos. Dense darkness covered everything until the Earth was born out of Chaos and the mountains, the sea, and then the sky (Uranus) with the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then Uranus and Earth came together and gave birth to the Titans.

 But, Uranus was afraid that one of his children would take his throne. That is why he enclosed every one of them in the depths of the Earth. But his son, Cronus, the strongest of the Titans, defeated him and became a world leader. He married Rhea, who gave birth to two gods and three goddesses: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter.

But Cronus inherited the fear of his father and believed that one of his offspring would later take his throne. So, when they were born, he swallowed them. However, Rhea was expecting a sixth child, and fearing it would share the same fate with her other children, she secretly gave birth on a mountain in Crete and hid the newborn there. 
She named the child Zeus.

 She also tricked Cronus into thinking he swallowed this child too, by giving him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which Cronus swallowed thinking it was his newborn. The Nymphs took care of Zeus and fed the baby with the milk of a goat. When he grew up, Zeus found his father and tricked him into drinking a mixture of wine and mustard, which caused him to disgorge the contents of his stomach. 

Zeus’ older brothers and sisters came out of Cronus fully grown! This is how the great Titanomachy began, the war between the Titans and the Gods, with Zeus as their leader. This titanic battle lasted for ten years. The gods defeated the Titans and threw them into Tartarus, a dark and gloomy place as far from the Earth as Earth is from the sky. Then the gods fought with the Giants for dominance of the world. The Gigantomachy lasted a long time as well. But the gods were again victorious. Thus, Zeus became the ruler of the whole world and he and the other gods settled in Olympus. 

The Abduction of Persephone by Hades

Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. As Persephone grew, so did her beauty. When Hades, the god of the Underworld, saw her, he immediately fell in love with her and decided to abduct her. According to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, one sunny day the young Persephone was gathering flowers in a field, accompanied by her close friends, the Ocean Nymphs. The carefree Persephone moved away from her companions in search of the most beautiful flower.

 When she reached out to pluck a wondrous narcissus, Earth yawned open and Hades appeared in his golden chariot and snatched her away to the Underworld while she was in tears. Demeter was looking in vain for her daughter day and night.

 The land and crops of the earth began to wither. After a while, the Sun, looking at everything from the sky, felt sorry for the goddess and told her what happened. Demeter went to Zeus and demanded that Persephone be returned, or else she would not let the earth blossom again.

Zeus sent the Messenger God, Hermes, to Hades with the command to release Persephone. Before returning her to Hermes, Hades forced Persephone to eat six pomegranate seeds. Hades knew that if someone ate food in the Underworld, they could never really escape the world of the dead. Persephone was shortly after reunited with her mother. 

However, Demeter was furious when she heard about the pomegranate seeds. Zeus then proposed a compromise: for every seed Persephone had eaten, she would spend a month with Hades. Demeter accepted Zeus’ proposal. Thus, Persephone would travel to the Underworld every six months during which time Demeter would mourn and the earth with her. But after six months, Persephone would return to her and Demeter would be happy again and the earth would blossom once again!