The Literary, Religious, Social
and Scientific Cases for Archetype
A Michael Thier
production
Photo credit:
Kathryn Thier
during a 13hour flight from
Los Angeles to
Sydney,
Australia
Now that you are analytical scholars of
archetype, many of you have begun to
wonder why so many culture that seem
so different have so many similarities in
their foundational stories.
Some thoughts on the power of myth
• There are only two or three human stories, and they go on
repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never
happened before.
-Willa Cather
• The study of mythology might be compared to the
investigation of a sealed box. We do not know which is top or
bottom, who sent it or why.
-Mary Barnard
• Essentially, mythologies are enormous poems that are
renditions of insights, giving some sense of the marvel, the
miracle and wonder of life.
-Joseph Campbell
Are myths truer than history?
Myths and folktales remain vital to
modern readers because they reveal
common truths, patterns, and themes
that are familiar to all ages and cultures.
They explain the origins of various rituals
that people follow. They are passed down
from generation to generation by word of
mouth. Most important of all, however,
they explain the human experience. They
tell us, in poetic, imaginative terms, the
most important things that we can communicate to one another: who we are,
where we came from, and what we
believe in. As mythologist Joseph
Campbell once pointed out, myths and
folktales are in some ways even "truer"
than history.
Photo credit: Amazon.com
What is a myth and why does it exist?
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I photographed this 5,000-year-old
Aborigine cave drawing in Kakadu National
Park in Jabiru, Australia in Summer 2006.
A myth is an anonymous, traditional story
that explains a belief, custom, or mysterious
natural phenomenon. Myths were the first
human stories, created out of a need to
make sense of the universe and explain
how the world and its human inhabitants
came to be. Along with rituals, cave and
rock paintings, songs, and prayers, myths
were the means through which human
beings tried to find order and pattern in
life. They were science, religion, history,
and literature all in one. They created a
sense of harmony with a world that could
be both beautiful and dangerous. The word
myth comes from the Greek word muthos,
which means "story.“
to explain the creation of the world and the universe
to explain the human condition: how and why people were created, why they are flawed. why there
is suffering in the world. why people must eventually die, and what happens to people after death
to explain natural phenomena, such as the setting of the sun and the phases of the moon
to explain the nature of gods and goddesses and how they interact with human beings
to explain the meanings behind religious rituals, customs, and beliefs
to explain historical events
to teach moral lessons
The Staying Power of Mythic Patterns
The more myths you read, the more you’ll notice that certain
themes, characters, and images keep recurring. These recurring
patterns are called archetypes. They serve as basic models to
which specific cultural details are added. Archetypes are so
powerful that they simply change a bit over time and reappear in
different forms in other types of literature. Thus, the archetype of
the lost Golden Age might appear today in a novel about a woman
who remembers a happy childhood in her old hometown but
returns to it in middle age only to find that everything has changed
and that the joy and innocence of that earlier time cannot be
recaptured. The myth of a great flood might appear today in the
form of a science-fiction novel about the end of the world in which
a war, disease, or alien invasion destroys almost everything, but
leaves possibilities open for the world’s rebirth.
Folktale: a descendent of the myth
Myth: anonymous, traditional story that
explains a belief, custom, or mysterious
natural phenomenon
Folktales: stories created by common
people, including legends, fables, tall
tales, fairy tales, ghost stories
Photo
credit:
myfreewall
papers.net
Superman is a mythic hero because he is
not an ordinary person. He is a
phenomenon from another world with
godlike powers.
Photo credit: comicbookmovie.com
Meanwhile, Batman is a folk hero
because he is really the alter ego of
Bruce Wayne, an ordinary human being
that happens to be very resourceful. Yet,
both are heroes. Either way: DC Comics
are not as cool as Marvel Comics.
Start your Venn diagram
Traits of both myths and
folktales
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passed by word of mouth and changed
over time (oral tradition)
tell about beginnings of things
include marvelous events, but usually a
result of the supernatural in myths
deeds of heroes, heroines, gods,
goddesses
explain origins of various rituals
explain human experience
use poetic, imaginative terms
Hero follows this recipe:
faces a series of challenges / contests
suffers greatly for refusal of challenges
is forced to accept challenge by circumstances
eventually overcomes them
Traits unique to either myth or
folktale
– Folk tales are secular, not
religious like myths.
– Folk tales are as much about
entertainment as teaching
moral or social values.
– Folk tales may have gods and
goddesses, but they are not
central figures.
– Heroes are common everyday
people who lack special
powers or superhuman
parents.
The Hero’s Quest
(which we’ll discuss later on in Hamilton’s Mythology)
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I took this photo inside a cloud as I
climbed the top of Mount Whistler, site
of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. This is
what parts of the Hero’s Quest often feel
like.
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is a journey in search of something of
value, such as a princess, truth, meaning
of life, treasure, magical charm.
is often helped by loyal friends and gods /
goddesses or animals and magical beings
features a hero tempted to leave “true
path” by a woman, lure of easier lifestyle,
or a character flaw.
features a descent into underworld or
dark, frightening place
shows a hero boldly going where no one
has gone before
may involve surrendering hero’s life
If the hero survives, he returns with
something to share, such as new
knowledge, renewed commitment,
greater passion / wisdom.
symbolizes: individual v. societal justice
OR facing unpleasant realities
OR answering tough questions
Get that Venn diagram back
TRAITS OF THE MYTHIC HERO
TRAITS OF THE FOLK HERO
Photo
credit:
myfreewall
papers.net
•remarkable birth / childhood (born
under unusual circumstances)
•offspring of god + human being with
qualities of immortals and mortals
•often unaware of origins and usually
raised by foster parents
•early signs of supernatural powers
•E.g.: Luke Skywalker, Theseus
•Ordinary person
•stepchild or neglected youngest child
scoffed at by parents/older siblings
•may not have superhuman abilities, but
is out of the ordinary with kindness,
cleverness, or resourcefulness
•E.g.: Cinderella, Paul Revere
If you think about it . . .
As young children, most of us created our own myths to explain our world
with similar archetypes. Do these sound familiar?
Did any of us ever ask:
• Daddy, why is the sky blue
. . . and then create a nonscientific reason for why?
OR
• Mommy, where do people go
when they die?
. . . and then create a nonreligious location for where?
Excerpt of “Help Pour Out the Rain” (Lacey’s Song)
By Buddy Jewel
I was ridin' with my daughter
on our way back from Monroe.
An' like children do,
she started playin' 20 questions,
But I never would've guessed
one would touch me to my soul.
She said: "Daddy, when we get to Heaven,
can I taste the Milky Way?
"Are we goin' there to visit,
or are we goin' there to stay?
"Am I gonna see my Grandpa?
Can I have a pair of wings?
"An' do you think that God
could use another Angel,
"To help pour out the rain?“
Collie
Midre:
the greatest
baseball player
that you’ve
never heard of
Photo credit: eyefetch.com
But why are the stories all so similar?
Linguists Say: Proto-Indo-European
English: father, mother, sister, brother
French: père, mère, sœur, frère
Sanskrit: pitar, matar, svasar, bhratar
English: one, two, three
Latin: unus, duo, tres
Hindi: ek, do, tin
Hebrew: Shalom
Sanskrit: Shanthi
Arabic: Salam
English: Sabbath
Hebrew: Shabbat
Babylonian: Shappatum
But why are the
stories all so
similar?
Mythologists
Say: Pantheons
Visit Godchecker.com and look
up how many cultures have
the same gods with slightly
different names and
descriptions. Check out how
many cultures have gods of
chocolate or lettuce or vomit.
But why are the stories all so similar?
1And
Monotheists Say: Tower of Babel
Read Genesis 11.1-9 from the King James Version of the
Old Testament.
the whole earth was of one language,
and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as
they journeyed from the east, that they
found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they
dwelt there. 3And they said one to another,
Go to, let us make brick, and burn them
thoroughly. And they had brick for stone,
and slime had they for mortar. 4And they
said, Go to, let us build us a city and a
tower, whose top may reach unto heaven;
and let us make us a name, lest we be
scattered abroad upon the face of the
whole earth. 5And the LORD came down to
see the city and the tower, which the
children of men builded. 6And the LORD
said, Behold, the people is one, and they
have all one language; and this they begin
to do: and now nothing will be restrained
from them, which they have imagined to
do. 7Go to, let us go down, and there
confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech.
8So the LORD scattered them abroad from
thence upon the face of all the earth: and
they left off to build the city. 9Therefore is
the name of it called Babel; because the
LORD did there confound the language of
all the earth: and from thence did the LORD
scatter them abroad upon the face of all
the earth.
But why are the stories all so similar?
Scientists Say: Pangaea
•
the supercontinent that existed during the
Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250
million years ago, before the component
continents were separated into their current
configuration
• Name coined in the scientific discussion of
Alfred Wegener's theory of the Continental
drift. In his book The Origin of Continents and
Oceans, he postulated that all the continents
had at one time formed a single
supercontinent which he called the
"Urkontinent", before later breaking up and
drifting to their present locations.
• The term Pangaea appeared in 1928.
• Fossil and magnetic rock samples that are
1,000s of miles apart provide evidence
Source: Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution
Pangaea and the fossil evidence
therapsid Lystrosaurus
Mesosaurus
Photo credit: wikiimages
250-million-year-old dinosaur with
fossils found alongside rare flowers in
South Africa, India and Australia
Freshwater reptiles whose remains have
been found on eastern coast of South
America and western coast of Africa
And there’s proof around the corner
The Appalachian Mountains, which run through North Carolina, extend to ranges
in Ireland, Britain, Greenland and Scandanvia.
Source: Visualizing Earth Science
So, it’s all a big game of telephone?
Historians
Say: Oral
Tradition
Power was best
consolidated when few
people controlled stories
on which cultures were
founded. In a time before
large-scale literacy,
passing stories down
from generation to
generation meant those
who could read or recite
the stories would have
power in that society.
Photo credit: poguepress.com