Theories of Myth

University of Phoenix

Theories of Myth

Myths could have dissimilar meaning to society. A myth can portray a fairy-tale that is not true which could be precisely meant for entertainment to a narrator and whoever is listening to the story. A myth could portray a fairy-tale that maybe true. The stores told many years ago could have some false and true meaning. In order to comprehend the history of mythology, brilliant intellects capture dissimilar methods to understand the fairy-tales being read and determining to view if the stories were true, to view if the stories were false, to view if the stories of the imagination or if the stories were actually real thousands of years ago.

An example of brilliant intellect is Sir William Jones who found legitimacy in the myths by investigating the dialect the stories were printed in. Sir William Jones was valued and respected as a young adult who spoke five languages and was considered a youthful genius in the 18th century. Sir William Jones assumed he could confirm the authenticity of the fairy-tales by using the dialect utilized many years ago. Sir William Jones traced the languages to one resource that all languages were developed from; this was called proto-indo-European that was a dialect presented as an idea. Sir Jones found a way to give legitimacy to his process, which others used and found that myths were vital and crucial windows into cultures and values from the past. Myth is a way for people to share their past in some ways and in some even gives insight to some cultures religions and beliefs. Myths are made up of an already distant past that has transpired and is hard to prove as to if it is true or not true or a simple story of a good deed and message that has been glorified to Godly grandeur. Some believe that myths are not even true or exist they think that myths are reconstructions of folk lore and legend assembled for people to be entertaining.

They would take from stories or whatever their source would be at that time and use a creative niche and arrange the stories to carry a meaning or message. Robert Ellwood is one person who took this approach and believed the literary product was handed down many generations and may have or not have been changed from time to time. The stories have come from so long ago that they are almost believable. Myth represents some human truth and values from the beginning to the end of time as long as they are plausible. Is for the individual to decide about what he or she accepts as real or just an imaginative story.

Now for example, the Viking creation myth there is said to be only a handful of sources and that it has thirty-four stories written by different authors at different times. This tale I interpret to be largely a tale of how the Viking people see themselves to come to existence it has giant snow monsters and giants that eventually create man or demi gods such as Oden, Villi, and Ve they slay the evil giant and use his flesh to fill the void of ginnungagap and create the earth. Then use his bones to make the mountains, and the broken bones make rocks and boulder, and his brains are the clouds and his blood the sea. The Viking myth is a great myth the way the story is told is “however” not something that would be taken too seriously in today’s world but way back in 780 CE people would have believed in the tale and prayed to Oden or any of the dozen of gods for many of thing. I think both philosophies can be applied to the myth the first science of language, lets you know that it is a Nordic myth that dates to the begging of the Viking people and does not have a large source of written forms but enough to be sure of where and when it came from. The second philosophy lets you take from the creation myth what you want that this is a well thought out stories but just not grounded enough to have any real validity it’s a story that was told around the camp fire or at the table to the young.

The next story or myth of my choosing is the genesis: creation account this story even I know from my own upbringing I remember when my mother first read the story to me and the awe in which I thought how mighty God is and that he just spoke the word and it was. The tale told can be applied with both theories. Because the languages that it was written in and the rest of the stories that goes with the genesis tale. The myth of creation is valid to some individuals and not to others. It is up to the individual to take it in and choose if it is real for them. Any of the myths from any culture can have a valued message weaved in its great story it is up to the reader to decipher its meaning and intent.