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Why do we mythologize? Some experts would say, we do it to satisfy our natural, healthy craving to live in a world which is understandable but entertaining. Yet, others would still argue that that is not enough. View the choices for why we mythologize below, then chose one of the reasons listed and give your opinion to why your choice satisfies the question… Why do we mythologize?
** Please remember to end your post in a question, so your fellow peers can respond.***
**Myths grant continuity and stability to a culture.They foster a shared set of perspectives, values, history. Through these communal tales, we are connected to one another, to our ancestors, to the natural world surrounding us, and to society; and, through the myths which have universal (i.e., archetypal) themes, we are connected to other cultures.
++Myths present guidelines for living.When myths tell about the activities and attitudes of deities, the moral tone implies society’s expectations for our own behaviors and standards. In myths, we see archetypal situations and some of the options which can be selected in those situations; we also perceive the rewards and other consequences which resulted from those selections.
++ Myths justify a culture’s activities. Through their authoritativeness and the respected characters within them, myths establish a culture’s customs, rituals, religious tenets, laws, social structures, power hierarchies, territorial claims, arts and crafts, holidays and other recurring events, and technical tips for hunting, warfare, and other endeavors.
++Myths give meaning to life. We transcend our common life into a world in which deities interact with humans, and we can believe that our daily actions are part of the deities’ grand schemes. In our difficulties, the pain is more bearable because we believe that the trials have meaning; we are suffering for a bigger cause rather than being battered randomly. And when we read that a particular deity experienced something which we are now enduring — perhaps a struggle against “evil forces” — we can feel that our own struggle might have a similar cosmic or archetypal significance, though on a smaller scale.
++ Myths explain the unexplained. They reveal our fate after death, and the reasons for crises or miracles, and other puzzles — and yet they retain and even encourage an aura of mystery. Myths also satisfy our need to understand the natural world; for example, they might state that a drought is caused by an angry deity. This purpose of mythology was especially important before the advent of modern science, which offered the Big Bang theory to replace creation myths, and it gave us the theory of evolution to supplant myths regarding the genesis of humanity. And yet, science creates its own mythology.
++ Myths offer role models. In particular, children pattern themselves after heroes; comic books and Saturday-morning cartoons depict many archetypal characters, such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Adults, too, can find role models, in the stories of deities’ strength, persistence, and courage.
Citation: mythome.org
I believe that we as humans mythologize because myths explain the unexplained. Without a purpose in our life, then our existence would be entirely pointless. Therefore, we receive satisfaction when we are able to at least try and explain what causes daily natural events. For example, every myth contains some kind of relation to the natural world. Through these myths, we learn why there is winter, why mulberries are red, why there are natural disasters, etc;. In addition, when mythology was still considered a belief, people were drawn to it because there was so little explanations of the creation of the world that didn\’t involve God. People like to be able to understand every perspective of life, and that is what made Mythology such a desirable belief.
Why do humans always feel the need to explain everything? Why aren\’t humans satisfied living in a world that has unexplained scenarios?
I think we mythologize to give meaning to life. Humans have always lived with the desire to have a meaning, a purpose. We were placed here for a reason, but what is that reason? To believe that what occurs in our life is not just random allows us to then believe that there is a higher power in control. We go day by day knowing that there is something to strive toward and that we are not just marking off the days until we die and are gone forever. This also leads to my next point: the belief that there is something past death. Not only does the belief of a higher power give meaning to life, it can also give meaning to the afterlife. If there is no higher power making this or that happen, then it is perhaps safe to assume that once we are dead, we are just, well, dead. There would be nothing to look forward to, no afterlife or paradise or anything. And living to fulfill what the “higher power” desires also gives incentive for working toward an afterlife that is peaceful and beautiful and better than our earthly home.
Would giving a meaning to life mean anything if it did not lead to a sort of beautiful afterlife?
RE: emilyolhoeft
“Why do humans always feel the need to explain everything? Why aren’t humans satisfied living in a world that has unexplained scenarios?”I believe that humans have a sense of curiosity that can never truly be satisfied. When we work to answer one thing, it always leads to more questions, then to more discovering. The more we find out about our world, the more amazing and complex it appears to be. Not all questions can be answered right away, but because of that innate curiosity, we demand explanations for what we cannot yet comprehend. While past attempts at explaining structures and processes that we now understand well may seem silly, back then, it was accepted because it provided an explanation for something beyond what people in that time were capable of figuring out.
I think we mythologize to give role models. Role models don\’t have to have a great past or life, but they can tell just one simple story. If that story can convey some sort of reasoning or understanding of the moral then it will have served it\’s purpose of a myth to the reader. We can pick out traits of the good and evil characters and learn from the story to benefit our lives by becoming an understanding person to others experiencing and apply it to ourselves and the people around us.
My question is, \”Would reading myths, or any other fantasy books, be a complete waste of time if we read simply for entertainment purposes without learning even one life lesson?\”
RE: emilyolhoeft
\”Why do humans always feel the need to explain everything? Why aren\\\’t humans satisfied living in a world that has unexplained scenarios?\”It\’s human nature that people are curious and that they want knowledge. It self-satisfactory if people say they know the answer to something, and that drives us to want to know more. People can\’t wrapped their minds around something without a known reason. It is frustrating by asking a question and there is no known answer. Even if it is a made up lie, we will be content with any given answer so that it will appease our curiosity and it goes back to the fact that we desire more knowledge.
I believe that myths are created to try to explain the unexplainable. They tend to end in explaining a phenomenon, as simple as rain or as serious as death. For years, life after death has been a hot topic among skeptics of all beliefs and cultures. Of course, no one knows for sure what happens after death, but the Greeks sought to explain this by creating the Underworld. Perhaps by creating the god Hades, the Greeks had comfort in knowing that someone else would assign a final destination for their souls. As for evolution, so far it is only a speculation of what happened to form the natural world as it is today using evidence that has been interpreted in a biased manner. Just as mythology has no solid direct evidence to be called fact, neither does evolution. They are just based on observations of today’s circumstances and give a guess as to how these things came to be. Because we are unable to explain some subjects, such as death, humans go to a less understandable point of view and just say it was the gods’ doing. Also, just as the stories in mythology can be interpreted differently depending on the individual, so can the gods themselves. This gives people the option to believe in the creation of the world without God; they get to interpret the gods of mythology in a way that benefits them.
Answering Emily’s question:
I believe that humans are not satisfied with living in a world with unexplained questions because that creates uncertainty and insecurity. As humans, we like to know what will happen in the future, what happened in the past that we should not replicate, and why things are the way there are today.My question is:
Which theory is more believable: evolution or mythology? Why? Don’t they work with the same facts to start with?RE: minty
\”Would giving a meaning to life mean anything if it did not lead to a sort of beautiful afterlife?\”Without a good afterlife, your present life will be meaningless. A person\’s afterlife goes on for eternity while a life on earth is like a blink of an eye. Giving meaning to a life on earth should be affecting us in the afterlife as well. By our choices on earth, it should favor ourselves in the afterlife by having good consequences to reflect our actions during our time on earth. Anything other than success in the afterlife proves that your life would be meaningless, no matter the accomplishments, made on earth.
As airay said, I believe that mythology was created to give people role models. Everybody has a person that they look up to, be it a teacher, friend, or parent, and the list goes on and on. I think that the gods were created in the Greek\’s minds so that they had somebody ultimately higher and immortal to look up to. The gods have faults almost as if the people who made the gods wanted to think that whether you drank ambrosia or not, everyone makes mistakes and is capable of doing the wrong thing sometimes. The Greeks wanted to follow the positive examples set by the gods, fighting for justice, committing acts of bravery, simply setting aside times for rejoicing over peace, etc. Also, the Greeks saw the many flaws in the gods, and had to make a choice that the role models set. They could either choose to follow in the not-so-wise choices made by the gods (eg. Zeus\’s many affairs) or choose a different path instead.
Question Time:
Have the gods of Olympus set any positive examples for the people who read Greek mythology today that could make them possible candidates for role models?Myths are just a way human beings try to explain things that cannot typically be explained. For instance, how did everything become created? Or the question of what life’s purpose is. Mythology is just a way to try and satisfy human’s need to know who we are and where we came from. Mythology is also another way to try to explain everything without putting Jesus in it. Like, no one wants to bring up Jesus so people will make up bizarre, unreasonable explanations of life and try to answer questions that man cannot. Without knowing what our life purpose is, life would be pointless and no one would strive to achieve. Thus, mythology is born and tries to answer all these questions.
Question: Why do people believe in mythology, even though it makes no sense?
RE: minty \\\”Would giving a meaning to life mean anything if it did not lead to a sort of beautiful afterlife?\\\”
I think that this can be taken either as, no the meaning of life would not matter because there is no purpose OR that because life has no purpose to make the most of the life someone is already given. So, some people would think that because there is only one life and after a person dies, then that is it, then perhaps they would make the most out of it and believe in the motto of YOLO. On the other hand, because life has no meaning there is no reason to try and make the most out of life.
McKenzie Oviatt here from Jupiter.
++ Myths offer role models.
We Mythologize because Mythology can present examples to follow. We can follow Pyramus and Thisbe\’s example of true love. They love each other enough to die for one another. They set principles for people to follow. This Mythology story is loved enough for the recreation of it in the form of Romeo and Juliet. Also, the story Perseus encourages other to exemplify his same courage. Perseus beheaded Medusa and brought back her head to Greece. He shows extreme courage and valor throughout his quest. The Trojan War is also used as a reference for persistence because the rulers would not give up unless they were victorious. All of the stories in Mythology have a lesson to be gleaned from.
Does Mythology still influence society?
While all of the reasons given above are wholly valid, I think that mythologizing has a \”fun\” aspect as well. Just as we today enjoy creating stories that include fictional characters and that take place in places we\’ve never been, the ancient greeks found this as an expressive art form, as well as a media to express their interpretations of phenomena in the world. They wrote myths for the same reason we write fiction– it is enjoyable and entertaining, as well as gives them room to speculate and put their own twist on events. Of course, myths were written to teach people lessons as well as entertain.They are a means to transmit cultural standings from one generation to the next. The writers of mythology were driven to write by the same motive that gives modern authors the desire to write– to explain life, to tell a story, and to experience adventures that one cannot physically experience within the bounds of the physical world.
Why is writing such an attractive form of art for people seeking to express themselves to an audience?
RE: emilyolhoeft
Why do humans always feel the need to explain everything? Why aren\’t humans satisfied living in a world that has unexplained scenarios?
Mankind has an unsatisfiable natural curiosity about the world around them. This comes from our desire to know that we have control over the situations in our lives. If we don\’t know the why or how behind the situation, it is out of our control, and for many, the lack of control over their life situations is something that is very frightening. Even if the explanations provided are blatantly false, at least it is an explanation, and people find comfort in the explanations provided in mythology.
It is Abby Scott here.
Myths explain the unexplainable.
By mythologizing, us readers will discover and encounter many exciting journeys. By providing such information, we have a clearer understanding and better picture of what seems unexplainable in each of our own individual views. This helps us to come to the final conclusion, analyze the end results,and use our comprehension to expand on our information. We can see how essential it is for us to mythologize because without it, science, history, and other studies would be limited. By studying these myths, a greater vision for expanding our knowledge, even when ideas appear impossible to be true, is presented. I believe this theme is relatable to the many reasons why we study mythology.
My question: Why do some people seem to feel uncomfortable or unnappreciative of the Greek Mythology?RE: grace tran
\”Why do people believe in mythology even if it makes no sense?\”I believe that the Greeks were using their creativity, experiences, and advice in their lifetime; therefor using it to illustrate the power of these stories. The concept of mythology made perfect sense to them, but we are all different, so we have different understandings. I also believe that the answer to your question is a matter of each persons\’ perspective. Some people enjoy learning and fascinating over these stories, whereas many people are not able to fully comprehend it\’s meaning and purpose, which makes it difficult to understand. Some people believe in things that make no sense simply because they \”feel\” it is right and acceptable.
Jess Duran from family of Bronte speaking:
*Myths grant continuity and stability to cultures.
In mythology the immortal gods knew that they were gods and could decipher who was a god with authority or mere mortal who had no authority. The order was not lost as time went on it was simple you either were worthy of worship because of supernatural powers or you were common and would live for a span of time and shortly after die and go to the underworld. The gods were supreme to man and therefore deserved respect and temples if they were that popular with mankind. Each mythological god had a sole purpose whether it was petty or crucial. Their power they possessed explained why the things of the world such as crops or love were the way that they were. The gods set down the rules of the culture for humanity. Mythology is of the past present and future so it is timeless making it easy to adapt to within any culture. People feel comfortable adjusting to it because it is contradictory in the sense that it is based off how each god felt or reacted in that moment. It is not necessarily about right or wrong true or false, but about cause and affect of choices made or actions committed. The circumstances given in the stories\’ situations determine what lesson can be learned.My question is \”If the stories of mythology are not morally correct in a person\’s beliefs why do they still choose to believe it just because it seems \”stable\” or factually accurate according to other cultures or even their own culture?\”
RE:babbagem
I think both can be believable because it is all in what one chooses to be open minded to.One could say well evolution is more plausable than mythology and another could object and the two could argue back and forth, but neither is wrong or right. Evolution starts with an explosion and mythology began with utter chaos. The two begin with a destroying factor that produced spontaneous life forms that had offspring that evolved or grew into another specimen that was advanced and more intricate than the first.RE:abbyscott1998
Most people do not comprehend the idea of chaos creating such order in the universe and maybe are not believing that so many gods are the reason why our culture or society is the way that it is. Some refuse to accept the idea because they have already predetermined in their own minds what they believe to be true.Tis Hannah Shipway from Creon.
I think the above listed choices all apply to mythology. I especially think the myths were created to explain the unexplained. For example,there were several creation stories to explain our existence, considering they did not believe in Creationism… Some characters in mythology also related to seasons or unexplainable emotions such as love.
What are some myths in our society today that may or may not be believed by the public?
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