Myths in Humanities

Eva A. Heredia

September 1, 2013

Humanities 115

Myth and the Origin of the Humanities

Learning disciplines such as history, literature, art, music, theater, and dance can enhance your humanness, as one learns when studying humanities. These disciplines express sorrows, happiness, or shed a light about a particular moral or important life value. Myths are tales and beliefs transmitted from generation to generation. Myths and archetypes underlie these disciplines, and knowledge of mythology greatly enhances the appreciation of: what we read in literature or poetry, what we see in art or dance, or what we hear in theater and music.

As a growing child, my mother shared with me a few myths that she felt would impact me or would be worthy of passing on to convey a lesson. One in particular that helped shape me was the very popular belief of Santa Claus. She described Santa Claus to be a joyous, bearded man, wearing a red coat and trousers with white collar and cuffs, black leather belt and boots, and carries a bag full of gifts for children. I remember this image being reinforced through songs, television, children's books, and films. Santa Claus lived at the North Pole, with a large number of magical elves, and nine flying reindeers. He made a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior “naughty” or “nice”, and then on Christmas Eve he would deliver presents to all of the well-behaved children in the world. This story encouraged me to behave well most times in hopes of making the “nice” list and receiving presents. Although I do not choose to continue the sharing of this particular myth to my own children, I recognize the lesson in the myth. According to Richard Paul Janaro and Thelma C. Altshuler, authors of the text The Art of Being Human, “our myths stay with us for life and grow up with us, fulfilling psychological needs at every stage of our development” (2009).

Knowledge of myth is basic to cultural literacy. This...