Mythology is a belief system composed of a series of narratives called myths. These stories seek to explain everything that exists and is important for a society.
Myths are stories that explain the existence of different elements of nature, as well as teach about human behavior. These narratives and legends make up the collective imagination of a specific people.
They form an oral tradition, their stories are told from generation to generation. These fabulous accounts become the story of things and a common belief shared by a group of people.
What is myth?
The word myth has its origin in the Greek term mythos which means “narrative”. Thus, mythology can be understood as an oral knowledge that aims to explain the world.
The myth is a story told orally composed of fantastic beings: heroes, gods and mythological creatures. These are full of teachings and form a kind of knowledge.
The meaning of myth today
Throughout history, the term myth has come to designate events or characters that seem to break with logic. When used for people, the word myth takes on the meaning of identifying that person as a hero, something that is above ordinary people.
However, when used to define events from the past, myths mean something possibly false, without confirmation, but which some people believe.
How many mythologies are there?
It is not possible to specify the exact number of existing myths or mythologies. Different peoples have built different and complex mythological systems.
However, all mythologies have a common characteristic: to serve as an explanation for the emergence of the world, for the elements of nature and the relationships between human beings.
The main examples are:
- Greek mythology
- Roman Mythology
- Egyptian Mythology
- Norse mythology
- Phoenician Mythology
- Yoruba Mythology
- Zulu Mythology
- Celtic Mythology
- Mayan Mythology
- Inca Mythology
- Japanese Mythology
- Guarani Mythology
Many societies that had a mythical conscience were extinguished, others underwent a process of transformation in which myths were being replaced by other knowledge: philosophy and religion.
Examples of myths
In Greek mythology, the Myth of Cronos explains the rise of the world. According to the myth, gods and human beings would be children of time (Cronos), but he was in the habit of eating them for fear that someone would take his throne.
One day, his wife, the goddess Reia, deceives him with stones wrapped in fabric and manages to free a child, Zeus. Zeus grows, defeats Cronos and begins to govern and organize the world as it exists, assuming himself as the god of the gods.
Other important myths that have a legacy in the construction of Western culture are:
- The Narcissus Myth
- Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice
- Oedipus the King
- The Medusa
- Pandora’s box
- Perseus
Mythological beings, gods, animals, plants, human feelings and whatever is most relevant to a specific people are intertwined in a web of stories that explain everything that exists in the world.
These explanations are simple to understand, for using images, metaphors and a narrative with a middle and an end.
Even so, Greek mythology tends to be one of the most complex, composed of a series of gods and beings that relate and give meaning to everything that exists. Some Greek gods are:
- Aphrodite – goddess of beauty and love
- Apollo – god of light
- Ares – god of war
- Artemis – goddess of the moon
- Athena – goddess of wisdom
- Demeter – god of fertile land
- Dionysus – god of feast, wine and pleasure
- Eros – god of love
- Hades – god of the underworld
- Hermes – god of communications and travel
- Ivy – goddess of the heavens, motherhood and marriage
- Hestia – fire goddess
- Persephone – Queen of the Underworld
- Poseidon – god of the seas
- Zeus – god of gods
Mythological beings
Each mythology has its own beings. They have characteristics that human and superhuman, mixed with elements of nature, build a narrative that helps to understand the culture of a people.
Some examples of mythological beings are:
- Medusa – In Greek mythology, Medusa was a female figure with snakes in place of her hair and capable of turning anyone who looked directly into her eyes into stone.
- Minotaur – Creature with the body of a man, head and tail of a bull. He was responsible for guarding the labyrinth and protecting the entrance to the city of Minos, Greece.
- Cerberus – The three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the world of the dead.
- Hydra – Water monster similar to a multi-headed dragon. She lived in the swamp of Lerna and was defeated by the hero Hercules.
- Kraken – giant squid from Norse mythology, attacked vessels that dared to sail across the North Atlantic.
- Elf – Creatures from Norse and Celtic mythologies, responsible for guarding the forests, also possessed healing powers.
- Curupira – Protective creature of the forest in Brazilian mythology, his feet turned backwards form footprints that confuse hunters and those who try to chase him.