Mythology and Cultures

The study of myths, or to a collection of myths of a culture depits the nature of a culture. Comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths of different cultures. Greek mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Greece. A myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the world and mankind began and progressed to their present form. Basically a myth is a story originating within a tradition of any society.

The main characters in myths are gods, superhuman heroes and humans. As sacred stories these myths are closely linked to religion or spirituality in ancient times. In the society from which it comes, a myth is regarded as a true accounts of the past which has come down through rulers and priests. Creation myths generally take place in a primordial age, when the world was not in its form as how it is in the society, these and explain how the world evolved into its current form and how customs, sins and rituals were established.

Folktales are linked to myths although they are different stories with different meanings. Folktales are created in any time or place, and are not regarded as true or sacred. Legends are stories that are considered true, but have happened in a more recent time. Legends usually have humans as their main characters, whereas myths generally focus on superhuman characters.

Some scholars claim that msince myths were often orally passed down through the ages myths are accounts of real historical events, and so these figures in the historical accounts until the figures came to be Gods.

According to one theory, myths began as explainations that represented natural phenomena: Apollo represents the sun, Poseidon represents water, etc.The spiritual concepts: Athena represents wisdom Aphrodite represents love.

Modern movies often show mythological characteristcs of the Superhero. Movies are an expression of the society in which it was created by and reflects the time and location in which it is created. Movies are the evolution of myths, idea of the myth is the same. Myths will continue on in the cultures that fabricate them and be passed down through the media. Whether movies or book or ebooks myths change and evolve with time. It is the nature of man to explain the unexplainable.