Serenity

Serenity
Serenity

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Non-Existent Mythological Formula

The definition of "myth" has been under constant change since early 700 BCE. Derived from the Greek word mythos, myth has meant several different things over the years. According to Hesoid's Theogony, "mythos seems to have meant divinely inspired, poetic utterance"(2). With Hesiod, myth is associated with the divine and sacred. Heraclitus in the 500 BCE dismissed the belief that poets are divine inspiration. For him, myth was not sacred or divine. Instead, it was a tale filled with fantasy and guile. Soon after, Plato defined mythos as synonymous with falsehood. He argued that myths are irrational and therefore untrue and should be banned(along with the poets) because it would decrease the morality of the polis. Much later Joseph Campbell has his own take on myths, stating that myths are "stories of the rugged individual who realizes his true nature through heroic struggle…mythology is ultimately and always the vehicle through which the individual finds a sense of identity and place in the world"(17). Levi-Strauss' beliefs were polar opposites to Campbell's. He believed that myths "mediate the tension created by always present oppositions, whether individuals within a society are aware of it or not… [he] viewed the structures of myth and language as the hidden bedrock upon which narratives are built"(19). With all beliefs taken into consideration, it is naive and flat out stupid to assume that one of these beliefs fits every single story line. A myth is not a formula one can plug characters into and predict a desired outcome. Myths contain many layers and it is important to consider each when reading.

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