3 REALIZATIONS That Change My Perceptions About Myths
Takeaways from my Mythology Course
“Speaking of mythical stories, do you always think of Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards Hades? Or the famous forbidden love story of Orpheus and Eurydice? Perhaps, the obsession of Apollo to Daphne, when both had been played out by Cupid?”
Lame — but these were the major thoughts I had, before taking any courses on mythology and folklore; yet after four months of learning, I found out that myths go beyond just Cerberus, tragic and forbidden love stories, and the magical depiction of powers and fictions — such as tackling where Sheol was located.
Here’s Why!
“ They seemed to regard fiction not as something decorative but as a vital moral-ethical tool. They changed you when you read them, made the world seem to be telling a different, more interesting story, a story in which you might play a meaningful part, and in which you had responsibilities.”
— George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
SHORT EXORDIUM ABOUT MYTHOLOGIES
“Myth more often than legend involves archetypal characters. The idea of the journey of a hero to an underworld, in an attempt to attain powers that he can bring back to save his world from an evil, that the paradigm has appeared again and again in all forms of literature for thousand years.” — Joseph Campbell
Myths share numerous of common characteristics with legends in that they usually depicts events of long ago. However, myths have two distinguishable features: myths usually incorporate forces beyond the physical world, such as deities and supernatural powers; they can be etiological — explaining the origins of such things as the world and humankind. The label of myths implies a fictitious story but that is because historically, myth has been used to describe any figurative story that does not pertain to the dominant beliefs of the time, and therefore, does not carry the same status as those dominant belief. Another distinguishing feature of myths is the non-human creatures that are incorporated into the narratives. The dragon is perhaps the most popular — a large, serpentine beast that has wings and breathes fire. Others include: the centaur, chimera, elf, fairy, gnome, griffin, leprechaun, pegasus, pixie, sphinx, unicorn and troll. Example mythical stories which these are found are: Cupid & Psyche, Medusa, and Hercules — to name a few.
Author’s Note
To the readers who actually love reading mythologies at a young age than I were and whom were reared discovering and learning the lives of many gods and goddesses like Poseidon and Athena; to name just a few from my current vocabulary— don’t judge me just too quick yet! I grow up bearing a flourishing love for non-fictions, such as: memoirs and biographies; therefore, it took me a decade to grasp the idea that fiction reads like mythologies and folklores really mean something other than just being fictitious and imaginary. I was late to realize the beauty of mythologies, but I guess, I am never too behind to discover and appreciate it, right? Not until I reached college and specifically had a course in mythology and folklore, that I thought of writing this blog. Here’s the reasons why I’ve perceived that myths speak of a myriad and unimaginable things, I personally haven’t realized before.
“Myth is the symbolic form which is generated, shaped, and transmitted by the creative imagination of pre- and extra-logical people, as they respond to and encapsulate the wealth of experiences.”
— R.J. Schork, Classical Mythology, The Classical Journal
1. COMPELLING NARRATIVES
“Myth is a cognitive structure, analogous to language through which primitive people organize their experiences.” — J.Peradotto, Classsical Mythology
A study about mythical structure reveals that mythologies normally is a story that has narratives containing plots: it has beginning, middle and end; it contains characters having certain mental imprints; and it describes conflicts and resolutions within a setting. I would admit that, it is one of my misconceptions before about mythologies, “that is never too inducing like what ‘A Brief History of Time’ by Stephen Hawking and ‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote did to me. Simply because I became too close-minded, only having in mind the idea that it is fictitious.”
Now, this is my biggest chance to emend my prior thought about myths. It actually has a compelling narratives, in the first place and even before I knew it did! I would take the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in consideration, as it is one of my all-time favorite love story. Aside with the storyline that seems to be already so perfect in the beginning, the opportunity of the conflict tries to enter in the middle part; where Eurydice died and Orpheus needs to ask the god and goddess in-charge of the underworld to retain her life back and continue what was once a love they had. Later, things get complicated making their love story to be branded as forbidden. The narratives resume to go through more ups and downs, until the story concluded that there are neither death nor any immortal entities can defeat and put out a raging love. (I suggest you go, check the story yourself.) My bottom-line point is only that, although mythology is considered as a different genre (well, it really is) and it’s branded to be a type of folklore — it is of no different compared to our contemporary lit type of stories; it’s worth our attentions and learning.
2. DEPICTION OF REALITIES
“We shouldn’t have censored the reality; don’t deny it! The story is everything.” — Melba Maggay, Founder of Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture
In one of the webinar I attended by the OMF Literature, Melba Maggay expounded about how myths can actually be an instrument in embodying a certain fact from our realities and showcase it to our children’s children — the generations to come. Onerous. because storytellers are highly challenged about fighting against misconceptions by the reviews and audiences, that these mythical narratives are nothing but only works of fiction, devised and revised to tell imaginative origins and histories. This is where I honestly had gone wrong before, as well.
The challenge is actually how to incarnate these mythologies and embody a certain fact it depicts — to embody the reality.
By now, I begin to understand little by little, why children actually like fairytales; if not all, then majority did. These fairytales tell a myriad of “out-of-this-world” stories. Things we admittedly never saw occurring in real life! I mean, are there any real talking horses or dogs out there? How about a flying phoenix which delivers the protagonist a message one needed to fight against evils characters? There is none! Yet, through these out-of-this-world elements which truthfully show real-life depictions of decision-makings, emotional reactions, and humanly failures — we are able to feel what exactly these myths are conveying its audiences and readers. Myths depict human realities.
Take for example, in Greek mythologies. Even if the characters mainly entails of gods and goddesses, whom have powers and possess immortality; their depiction of emotions and desires never introvert the human readers of the stories. These gods and goddesses feel anger, pity, fear, love and hatred; shame, envy, and other sentiments. They importantly display depictions of obsessions, greed and impulsions — which in real life are never denied by humans like us.
3. REPOSITORIES OF HISTORIES
“A story that is usually of unknown origin and at least partially traditional that ostensibly relates historical events to explain some particular event, institution or natural phenomenon.” — Merriam Webster Dictionary
Mythologies are collection of anonymous traditional stories that attempt to explain belief and customs; the wonders of nature and historical events. These are popular tales that embody a collective knowledge which belongs to a primitive or pre-scientific people as their cultural heritage. The Greek mythologies are widely-known since before, yet parallel versions can be observed that depict the same essences from the Nordic myths (Norse Mythology) and Hindu mythologies, to name a few.
Mythologies are considered to be etiological. Origins of things can be figured-out through understanding mythologies; its narratives and structures. Even, these unveil cultural knowledges in a micro-scale and explains macro-perspectives such as cosmological prospects — might include how things like time, space and biology work and are organized. Right on, inside these scripts are hidden repositories of histories that can be useful in interpreting ancient events; especially with the gathered facts that mythologies go beyond just imaginations, but it has a living narratives and realistic depictions.
CONCLUSION
“MYTHS PRESENT GUIDELINES FOR ONE’S LIVING.”
There are a lot more to discover and learnings to claim from reading and understanding stories like mythologies. I would say that my three realizations are only a framework of its true essence and the knowledge one can actually obtain from loving the beauty of myths. To end, I willingly include the truth that by reading mythologies in my former course, it shares to me guidelines that partake the reality of living — and living life meaningfully.
