LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH

YEAR 7, WEEK 7

Myth
This is a literary work based on a traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon
of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and the soul are personified. The actual existence of a
mythological concept is normally not verified.

Types of myths
There are many types of myths. However, the main ones are historical myths, etiological myths, and
psychological myths.

Historical myths
Historical myths re-tell a story of the past but give it more meaning than what the event was about i.e., if the
event even did take place.

Examples
 In the Indian epic, 'Mahabharata' (400 BCE) by Vyasa, in the Battle of Kurukshetra, the Pandava brothers
are symbolic of different values and are role models despite their flaws. The Kurukshetra is present in the
Bhagavad Gita (100 CE) episode of 'Mahabharata' where one of the Pandava brothers, Arjuna, is visited by
the Hindu God Krishna who tells him the purpose of life.

 In Ancient Greece, the myth of Persephone was used to explain the changing seasons. Persephone had to
spend one-third of the year with her husband Hades, and two-thirds with her mother, Demeter. This created
the seasons.

Due to the importance of myths in different cultures, there are many different ways to interpret them. Myths can
be explored through the lens of anthropology, sociology, religious studies or literature, to name a few!

There are different origins for myths. Some are formed to explain the origin of a group of people and are based
on history. Other myths may have been created with the intention of entertaining guests. These myths would
have been passed on orally (by the spoken word). The practice of writing down myths did not become popular
until the nineteenth century.

Myths can be used to explore religious or cultural beliefs. In the Golden Age, myths were principally used to
boost morale amongst the public. In other cases, myths would be used to explain events in the natural world.
For example, this is seen in the Greek myth of the nymph named Echo, which explains how echoes of sounds
began to be heard.

Etiological myths
The word ‘etiological’ comes from the Greek word ‘aitiología’ which means 'reason'. These myths describe
how a particular thing was formed, why it is the way it is and its origins. As a result, etiological myths are often
characterized as origin stories. They also explain how the world became the way it is now.

 For example, in Norse mythology, it is believed that thunder is formed from Thor’s chariot rushing across
the heavens. In a Chinese myth, the institution of marriage is explained through the goddess Nuwa who used
to create humans and got tired of doing so created marriage for people to get married and have children
themselves.

 Australian Aboriginal mythology explains how kangaroos developed a pouch through the story of the
mother kangaroo who saves her son and a wombat from hunters. The wombat reveals to the mother
 Kangaroo that he is the Father of all Creatures and wants to reward her. He does this by putting bark on her
stomach and creating a pouch. Now, she could use the pouch as a way of keeping her son safe.

Psychological myths
These myths are stories of the journey from the known world to the unknown world. Carl Jung and Joseph
Campbell believe psychological myths were told as it was a psychological need by individuals to balance their
outside world with their inner consciousness of it.

Jung believed that myth was an important part of the human psyche that allowed it to find order and meaning in
the world. Therefore, myths were not only used for teaching cultural values but also to create a structure in
society.

These stories are often of heroes/ heroines going on a journey to discover their destiny or identity and solve a
problem, at the same time being culturally relevant to the audience.

 An example of this is Prince Oedipus who leaves the home of his adopted parents after learning of a
prediction that he would grow up and kill his father. He travels to another place where he ends up killing his
real father who abandoned him when he was born. This would have shown the ancient Greek audience the
futility of changing one’s destiny that was controlled by the gods and would lead them to fear, respect and
be in awe of the gods.

 The oldest myth in the world is a psychological myth explaining the individual’s journey to find their
meaning in life and the inevitability of death. The Epic of Gilgamesh (2150 BCE – 1400 BCE) was created
in Mesopotamia and came from Sumerian poems telling the story of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, who
eventually earns the status of a demi-god in the story.

In this myth, Gilgamesh is a haughty and proud king and the gods want to teach him a lesson. They groom
Enkidu into an opponent for the king and the two engage in a fight. However, when neither can win they
become best friends. Later on, Enkidu is killed by the gods after offending them and Gilgamesh, who is in
great pain and grief after his best friend’s death goes on a journey to find the meaning of life/ immortality.
Though he doesn’t attain eternal life, he learns a great deal from his quest and returns to the kingdom as a
better King and man.

Other types of myths include chthonic myths, myths of gods and goddesses, and creation myths.

Chthonic myths
A chthonic myth deals with issues of destruction and death. Myths of the afterlife were used as a way to explain
why people experienced harsh events in life or why children died before having the chance to grow up.
Chthonic myths often featured an ‘underworld’ that could either be good or bad and from which only a few
came back (which symbolized death and re-birth).

 In Egyptian mythology, Ma’at was the goddess of the underworld and would choose who would enter there.
When people passed, she would place their hearts on one side of a scale and on the other she would put her
feather of truth. If the feather was lighter than the heart, then the person would be sent to their second death.

 There are myths about phoenixes in various cultures such as in Indian, Egyptian and Greek mythology. The
phoenix is usually presented as a large bird or bright eagle linked to the rising sun. After living a long life,
when a phoenix knows it will die soon, it creates a funeral pyre. When the fire destroys the old phoenix, a
new phoenix is born.

Gods and goddesses’ myths

A lot of classical civilizations create myths featuring the lives and actions of gods and goddesses. The settings
of these myths would take place in supernatural, otherworldly destinations such as heaven or the cosmos. It
could also take place in mythological places such as Mount Olympus for the Greeks. These gods were
personifications of human attributes like beauty and music or natural states like thunder or rain.

The interaction between these gods is used to reason the events of the world that the ancient people lived in.
For example, in ancient Greek mythology, it was believed that the Trojan War began due to a disagreement
between three goddesses.

Creation myths
The purpose of these myths was not just to give culture an explanation of the beginning of society/ the cosmos
but to create a meaningful background that linked to the present time.

 In the Hopi story of the Spider Woman who created the first human beings from saliva and dirt, the fall of
humanity is also described. It showed how human beings had free will to go against original creation and
thus, shows how myths were also used as allegorical warnings and lessons about how society and
individuals living in it should behave.

Features of myths
 Myths include supernatural qualities and entities such as gods and goddesses, who often have
supernatural powers. The characters can be non-human in other ways such as having the characters as
animals or other-worldly beings.

 Myths were like lessons and therefore, were told like they were facts. They were supposed to offer
logical explanations of society which made people believe that these stories were true. The tone of the
stories further added to the belief system. They were used as ways to explain the origins of certain things
in the world.

 The setting of myths was usually in very ancient places and were often set in places that were similar to
the culture in which the myth was being told.

 Myths were used to teach moral values to their audiences. The metaphorical language was used as a way
to analyze and explore real-life events.

 Conflict plays a key part in myths. The duality between dark and light, good and evil etc. are present in
many myths.

 Change and metamorphosis is an important part of myths in which a hero goes through a life-changing
journey and at the end of it has a different view of life or when a monster turns from bad to good.

Myth stories and examples

Some well-known myth stories and examples include 'Theogony: Clash of the Titans' (700 BCE) and 'Pandora's
Box' (700 BCE).

 Theogony: Clash of the Titans' (700 BCE) by Hesiod

In Hesiod’s 'Theogony: Clash of the Titans, at the beginning of time darkness covers everything until Earth is
created out of Chaos, with the sea, sky, mountains, moon, stars and sun being born from it too.

After this, Uranus and Earth together produce children called the Titans. Uranus was scared that one of his
children would overthrow him and take his throne, so he put all his Titan children into the land of Earth. This
doesn’t work, and his son Cronus who is the strongest Titan defeats him and becomes the leader of the world.
He marries Rhea and together they have five children, two gods, Hades and Poseidon and three goddesses,
Hera, Hestia and Demeter.

However, like his father, Cronus fears that one day his children would overthrow him and take his throne so
when they are born, he swallows them. Later, Rhea, who is pregnant with her sixth child and fearing that it
would be killed by its father like her other children, secretly gives birth to it on a mountain in Crete and hides
her child there (who she names Zeus). She tricks Cronus and makes him believe that he swallowed the sixth
child too by giving him a stone wrapped in clothes (which Cronus eats thinking it is the sixth child).

Meanwhile, the nymphs take care of Zeus and bring him up. When Zeus is grown up, he finds Cronus and tricks
him into drinking a mixture which forces Cronus to throw up the things in his belly. When he does this, Zeus’s
five siblings come out of his mouth now fully grown.

From this, the Titanomachy starts. This was the war between the Gods (with Zeus as the leader) and the Titans.
This battle occurred for ten years, with the gods winning and throwing the Titans into the dark Tartarus which is
far away from the world. After this, the gods engaged in battle with the Giants in the Gigantomachy for control
over the world which the gods won again. In the end, Zeus becomes the king of the world and settles in
Olympus with the other gods.

 'Pandora’s Box' (700 BCE) by Hesiod

Zeus decides to take vengeance on Prometheus after Prometheus gives fire to the humans against Zeus' wishes.
Zeus orders Hephaestus to form the first-ever human woman from water and soil, then each of the gods bestow
this woman with a gift. For example, Aphrodite gives her beauty, Hermes gives cunning, Athena gives wisdom
etc. The woman is named Pandora (which is Greek for ‘all gifts').

Zeus gives her a box and tells her not to open it under any circumstances. Then he sends her to Prometheus’s
brother, Epimetheus. Prometheus previously warned Epimetheus to not take any gifts from Zeus. However,
Epimetheus accepts Pandora. Pandora finds it extremely difficult to not open the box out of curiosity and ends
up opening it. From the box emerge all the evils that enter the world such as war, hunger, death, sickness and
hatred.

LEGENDS
Legend, traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place. Formerly the term legend
meant a tale about a saint. Legends resemble folktales in content; they may include supernatural beings,
elements of mythology, or explanations of natural phenomena, but they are associated with a particular locality
or person and are told as a matter of history.

Characteristics of a Legend
 It has a narrative account of a historical figure or place.
 It stays within the realm of possibility.
 It evolves over the time.
 It has distinct setting.
 It includes believable miracles.

Examples of Legends
 SEVEN SLEEPER: Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, heroes of a famous legend that, because it affirmed the
resurrection of the dead, had a lasting popularity in all of Christendom and in Islam during the Middle Ages.
According to the story, during the persecution of Christians (250 CE) under the Roman emperor Decius,
seven (or eight in some versions) Christian soldiers were concealed near their native city of Ephesus in a
cave to which the entry was later sealed. There, having protected themselves from being forced to do pagan
sacrifices, they fell into a miraculous sleep. During the reign (408–450 CE) of the Eastern Roman emperor
Theodosius II, the cave was reopened, and the Sleepers awoke. The emperor was moved by their miraculous
 presence and by their witness to their Christian doctrine of the body’s resurrection. Having explained the
profound meaning of their experience, the Seven died, whereupon Theodosius ordered their remains to be
richly enshrined, and he absolved all bishops who had been persecuted for believing in the Resurrection.
 King Arthur and the Round Table
 Robin Hood
 Queen Boudica
 Mary Slessor
 Queen Amina
 King Jaja of Opobo
 Shaku Zulu, etc.