Mythology

Mythology is the study of myths. A myth is a story that has significance to a

culture (or species), a story that addresses fundamental and difficult questions
that human beings ask: who and what am I, where did I come from, why am I
here, how should I live, what is the right thing to do, what is the universe, how
did it all begin? Myths are stories that are peopled by great men and women; by
forces of good and evil; by animals, large and small; by trees, the sea and the
wind; and by giants, gods and other supernatural beings. Greek and Roman
mythology comes to mind, Zeus/Jupiter the top-god, a bit of a womanizer he.
Norse mythology comes to mind, with its stories of a powerful Thunder god
named Thor and a trickster named Loki. German mythology comes to mind, with
its Twilight of the Gods, its Gotterdammerung, where the gods destroy the entire
universe, only to begin anew in a thousand years or so. Every cultures pantheon
of mythic characters was the super-family that every man and woman of that
culture was born into; these creatures were as familiar as their parents and
grandparents, their siblings, and their aunts and uncles and cousins.
The seeds of a mythic story run deep.
Myths were before art was, before language or the written word. The Cave
paintings at Lascaux and Alta Mira are some 30,000 years old. Were these
paintings just stick figures representing a bunch of men and bison and bears and
deer? Might there have been a need to paint these paintings? For luck in the
hunt, for food, for survival. Wouldn't these folk have invoked some kind of
magic to aid and protect them in the hunt? Were these artists talking to the
gods? Were they beseeching aid from the perils of living in those dark times?
Myths sprung up before religion. Every religion's stories are retellings of
universal mythic themes. The Creation of the World, the first Man and Woman,
Heaven and Earth, a great flood, stories of heroes and heroines and dragons and
serpents. A culture's mythos IS the storied foundation of the culture.
The great mythic themes were known before literature. All great works of
literature are based upon mythic themes or stories. Noah's Ark, Jonah and the
great fish, Moby Dick, and even the movie Titanic are all stories about man's
struggles with the seas {the unconscious?}). Myths and mythic symbols are the
elementary particles of imagination and creativity. The cultural historian
Jacques Barzun has said: What links myth with Literature is ... the Imagination.

Myth is before philosophy and science. The same questions that our religions
used to ask, now our philosophies and our sciences try to answer. We may be an
enlightened, technological society but we have the same needs as ever:
protection, warmth, food, sex and love and children, happiness, doing good.
Aren't we still fascinated by the truths of these mythic stories and by ancient
peoples' need for magic in their untamed world? And don't we still cry out for
magic in our (apparently) rational world? Don't we seem to crave mystery more
and more to counter our apparent understanding and mastery of the world? Are
we meant to be totally rational, are we meant to be machines?
A culture's mythology is a powerful tool for psychology, casting light on the
culture's shared unconscious. There is no better way to understand a culture
deeply than to know and appreciate its mythos, its stories, its dreams. Indeed,
many of the symbols in our dreams are universal (Jung's archetypes), or at least
culture-wide, symbols whose meaning is invested in the mythic stories that they
inhabit. And there are those who believe that these symbols and these stories are
encoded in the very cells of our species' DNA.
-------------------------------But for many, if not most, mythology is the study of old, meaningless and untrue
stories ("that's just a myth"). The problem for Americans and many in the West is
that so many have no idea that their mythos is just that, stories that inform their
culture, not necessarily historical truth. For many, the Bible, the main sourcebook of the Judaeo-Christian mythology, is the revealed word of God, and other
religions' stories are "no more than myths," just some stupid fiction believed by
ignorant people. Obviously, the same can be said of the Koran for Muslims. The
wars fought over who owns The One Truth are without number in human history;
the hatred engendered over whose God is the real God seems no closer to
solution than it was one-thousand years ago. But few have ever hated or killed or
fought a war over his culture's myths, its own stories; it is over the truth that men
kill each other.
Trekkies recall the rules under which the crew of the Enterprise will explore the
Universe, with respect for alien cultures. Mythologies teach respect for alien
culture. "These are my people's stories, I'd like to hear yours"; rather than "this is
what happened, if you don't believe it, you will toast in Hell forever, and we'll
help you get there." Too-strongly-held religious views makes non-believers
somehow less worthy of the label "human," worthy, instead, of salvation through
coerced conversion, or death, for their everlasting souls sake.

Mythology, on the other hand, makes other peoples interesting, the bearers of
more fascinating stories to listen to around the campfire of dazzlingly bright
colors, languages and customs. Lovers of myth have many books to read, and all
of them are entertaining, if not wondrously enlightening. I personally would feel
poorer if I only had one book to read, only one lake to dip my toes into and to
drink from, only one church, temple or mosque that was the handiwork of God.
It is the diversity implied in the idea of Mythology, not the exclusive Truth of
one's own religion's stories, that can save us, finally, from our mad addiction to
kill those whose brotherhood we are blind to. Myth makes clear every culture's
similarities (e.g., a Resurrection story is common among world mythologies, as is
the secret royal blood of its hero) as surely as it insists on each culture's
uniqueness. Only men of tolerance and good-will, who love hearing, and telling,
the stories -- not the whim of a jealous tribal God -- can save us for a future that
is rich enough to experience and celebrate all of its old mythologies, and secure
enough to help us sew a new, more inclusive and planetary mythology, suitable to
our times and to a future.

WHY TEACH MYTHOLOGY?

The teaching of mythology provides many varied benefits to students of all ages. Students come
in contact with a variety of world cultures while comparing those cultures to their own.
Mythology also teaches history by examining ancient times and their effect on the modern
world. The study of Greco-Roman and Norse mythology also strengthens students'
understanding of language since many English words are derived from characters and events
found within. It can also increase students' appreciation for Literature and art by understanding
the many mythological allusions. By studying ancient mythologies, students also start thinking
analytically about modern culture, analyzing the traces of ancient mythology has left behind and
the legends that have been created in their own day.
Mythology combines all these different facets of learning into one object of study. And the best
part is: Mythological stories are often fun! If taught correctly, a mythology course can be
simultaneously educationaland entertaining.
Because of its multifaceted nature, mythology is hard to categorize into one single subject area.
Some schools teach mythology as a history or sociology course. Others emphasize the literary
importance and teach mythology as an English or Communication Arts course. Teachers of Latin
often teach mythological stories to supplement the study of language.
No matter which way mythology is taught or to which age group, it is still an important and
interesting topic of study.