Life is a narrow vale between the cold

And barren peaks of two eternities.

We strive in vain to look beyond the heights,

We cry aloud; the only answer

Is the echo of our wailing cry.

From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead

There comes no word; but in the night of death

Hope sees a star, and listening love can hear

The rustle of a wing.

These myths were born of hopes, and fears and tears,

And smiles; and they were touched and colored

By all there is of joy and grief between

The rosy dawn of birth and death’s sad night;

They clothed even the stars with passion,

And gave to gods the faults and frailties

Of the sons of men. In them, the winds

And waves were music, and all the lakes and streams,

Springs, mountains, woods, and perfumed dells,

Were haunted by a thousand fairy forms.

What is the difference

Between gods and humans?

That many waves before each

from an eternal stream

The waves lift us up;

the waves overcome us,

and we are swept away.

--Goethe

1. A story that may be "false" on the "outside" but true on the "inside."

• The "outside" of a story points to matters of literal fact and history.
• The "inside" of a story evokes feelings and meanings.
• Instead of asking "is this true?" ask "what does it mean?".

1. A story which is regarded as sacred (very important or crucial; requiring respect) by those who tell or hear it.
2. A story about gods, goddesses, and other supernatural beings who do not share human limitations (such as death) and who have magical powers.
3. A story which maps the interplay between this visible world (the known) and the invisible worlds which sustain and inform it (heaven, underworld, virtual worlds, future worlds).
4. A story which depicts events that bend or break natural laws, such as resurrecting the dead or miraculously curing someone.
5. A story to live by which …

• maps out the relationships between yourself and others, humanity and nature, humans and gods, us and them.
• tells us what we need to know for living.
• constructs a model of the world woven around a central metaphor.

1. A story which conveys the most basic assumptions, values, and core meanings of individuals, families, and communities. Usually these assumptions are unspoken and subtle.
2. A story that answers or claims to answer some of life’s most fundamental questions, like:

• Who am I?
• Where do I belong?
• Why am I here?
• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Who belongs in my community? Who are my enemies?
• What is the ultimate authority for my decisions?
• What whole am I a part of?
• Why is the world organized this way?

1. A story that evokes the presence of Mystery, the Unknown, that which hovers around the edge of what we know. Mystery is felt as awe, wonder, amazement as the unknown is revealed and terror at the insufficiency of human knowledge, wisdom, or goodness.

"Myths reflect human nature, with its needs and desires, hopes and fears. Myths reveal the human condition. Creation myths satisfy the need to have roots. Fertility myths respond to the need for economic stability in an unpredictable world. Hero myths provide models for human behavior" (Rosenberg, preface).

"A myth is often something that only begins where our own five senses end" (Bierlein, 1994, p. 5).

Myths usually originated in an ancient, oral tradition. "Myth is a telling of events that happened before written history…. Myth is the thread that holds past, present, and future together" (Bierlein, 1994, p. 5).

Myths relate to Carl Jung’s idea of the "collective unconscious." "The patterns, stories, even details contained in myth are found everywhere and among everyone. This is because myth is a shared heritage of ancestral memories, related consciously from generation to generation." (Bierlein, 1994, p. 5).

Purposes of myths:

• earliest form of science, trying to explain the nature of the universe (creation myths)

• origins (e.g. creation of world)
• natural phenomenon (e.g. why we have seasons)
• how humans acquired certain foods and tools

• earliest form of religion and philosophy, trying to explain why things happen
• earliest form of literature

• describe deities
• provide models for behavior (hero myths)
• impart feelings of awe for all that is mysterious and marvelous

Common themes across world mythology:

• belief that one or more deities created life and control the universe
• first parents = gods of sky and earth
• creator god fashions people from parts of the earth (i.e. clay, rocks, trees, etc.)
• gods destroy a world of mortals by flood
• humans are not perfect although they are created by god
• birth, maturity, and death followed by rebirth
• heroes are children of gods with an unusual birth and an unusual death
• divinities are anthropomorphic (they think, speak, and act like humans)

Matriarchal vs. Patriarchal Societies:

• Matriarchal societies worshipped a Great Goddess or a Mother Goddess, a personified source of all life. The society had an agricultural, cyclical view. It was ruled by a queen, who represented Mother Earth and who had great political, economic, and religious power. All women in matriarchal societies were highly valued; women were heads of families, and inheritance was given through daughters. The queen took a new husband each year (later every eight years), and this "sacred king" was sacrificed each spring and the fields and animals were sprinkled with his blood so they would be fertile. Although it seems strange to us today, men in a matriarchal society fought for the privilege of being the sacred king. They would have contests involving physical strength and the use of a bow.

• By 2400 B.C.E., aggressive tribes worshipping a supreme male god began invading the matriarchal tribes. This male god was a father-figure or a warrior figure. This male-dominated society gradually took over in most places.

Myths in Modern Culture:

• chaos (Greek idea describing the primordial state of things before creation)
• Venus razors (from the name of the Roman goddess of beauty)
• Nike shoes (named for the Greek goddess of victory)
• Mars bar (named for Roman god of war)
• vulcanized rubber tires (from Vulcan, the Roman god of metalworking)
• museum (named in honor of the Muses)
• Saturday (named for Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture)
• Europe (named for Europa, a mortal woman who had an affair with Zeus)
• Olympics (from Olympus, the home of the Greek gods)
• Paris (named for Paris, Helen of Troy’s lover in Homer’s epic The Illiad)
• Achilles’ heel (from Achilles, who fought in the Trojan War)

Bierlein, J.F. (1994). Parallel myths. New York: Ballantine Books.

Rosenberg, D. (1994). World mythology: An anthology of great myths and epics. Chicago: NTC Publishing.