Foundations of Mythology

Foundations of Mythology

Hum/105 Week 1

Written by Benjamin Miller

Class Instructor Manes Pierre

The word “myth” is used today to describe something that is widely known or understood but cannot be proven to be fact, or something that is understood to be true by many and has no truth behind it at all. A few examples might include some home remedies to cure a sickness, UFOs, and even Bigfoot. Also when someone is telling a story or describing something that they have heard about or they believe to be true, someone might counter argue by saying, “No, that's just a myth.” Such as, when Bob says to Ryan, “When you ask someone if they are a cop and the person is a cop, then he or she has to tell you or it's entrapment.” Ryan would respond by saying, “No Bob, that's just a myth.” Even though Ryan is correct by telling Bob he is wrong because his statement is false, his false statement is not quite considered to be a myth.

Myths from around the world in different cultures tend to have slightly similar features and details simply because there are certain inevitable morals and lessons that should be learned by new generations. The easiest way to pass down these morals and lessons from generation to generation is to put them into a story and to make them fun to understand. Religion follows the same guidelines. For instance, Jesus Christ was not the first person in the history religions to be born of a virgin on December 25th, perform miracles, and rise from the dead. However, we as a people need to learn the messages that he and other religious figures represent to understand what our purpose is here on Earth.

Religions and myths are based on two different things. Religions dating back to 3000 BC are based on astrology and stories form from the patterns of the sun, moon and stars. Myths are based on life stories, morals, and myths are even based on religion. Myths also have certain rules to follow. One being the rule of three like we see...