THE M YTH AND I TS
F UNCTION
W HAT
IS I NCLUDED …

What is a Myth?

The Sacred Myth

Establishing Order

The Ideal

Entertaining the Masses
H OW
WERE THESE STORIES
CREATED ?
W HAT
IS A
M YTH ?
M YTH

Def. – a fictitious story or half-truth

Many culture have their own myths.
These stories may be widely different,
but the characteristics are similar
W HAT M AKES
A
M YTH ?

No single author

Story evolves through the telling and
retelling of it by many people
A M YTH
IS …
Essential Elements of a Myth

A religious story;

Offers explanation for the unknown;

Attempts to answer broad and
fundamental questions; and

Part of a larger mythology
L EGENDS & F OLKTALES
“Myth,” “legend” & “folktale” used
interchangeably because they share
similar similarities
BUT
Myths must have ALL of the Essential
Elements. If not, then it is a “legend” or a
“folktale.”
L EGENDS

DEF. a story handed down through
generations with no hard evidence
backing it up
All myths are legends, but not
all legends are myths.
F OLKTALES

DEF. – a story that is pure fiction and
are not founded on a particular
person, place or event.
All myths are folktales, but not all
folktales are myths.
T HE S ACRED M YTH
P ROTECT Y OURSELF – PRAY!

Greeks and Romans were very
religious people.

Myths defined who people should
turn to in times of need.
R EAD Y OUR R ITES

Myths give religious rights meaning or
sometimes even spawned new rites.

Most common rite explored = ritual of
sacrifice (Prometheus)
E STABLISHING O RDER
N ATURAL & S OCIAL

ORDER
Another important role of the myth is
that of creating both natural and social
order.
Creation begins with Chaos
Myth works to give specific order to the
universe
Order created in cosmos
Myth brings order to lesser beings
(humankind & society)
N ATURAL O RDER

Most myths confirm that Zeus, ruler of
gods, was responsible for creating
order in the natural world.

Zeus presided over the affairs of the
natural world

Placed the starts & planets in their places

Gave rain, snow, thunder & lightening
S OCIAL O RDER

Now that they universe has been
created and under control, the lesser
beings needed to understand their
roles and rules (so they didn’t upset
the natural order)

Ancients had their own set of rules

Established through myths

Zeus established these, too
T HE I DEAL
Myths served to paint the portrait of the
ideal human behavior and human being
E NTERTAINING
THE
M ASSES
Ancients enjoyed entertainment just like
we do today only they used the oral
tradition
O RAL T RADITION

Told to people by bards (storytellers
well-versed in heroic tales)

Because they were under pressure to
please audience’s wishes, the same
story would vary a bit from myth to
myth or each time it was told
A ND F INALLY …

Mythology is a source of great
entertainment and academic study

Don’t accept myths as literal truths
(we don’t study them to gather
answers)

Even so, that doesn’t mean we can’t
find our own truths within the
mythological tales.