Key Theories & Frameworks
Myths are structured by binary oppositions — raw/cooked, nature/culture, life/death. These oppositions are universal structures of the human mind. Myths resolve contradictions through narrative. "Myths think themselves through people."
Myths serve social functions: validating social order, providing charters for institutions, explaining rituals, and maintaining social cohesion. "Myth is not symbolic but a direct expression of its subject matter."
Freud: myths express unconscious desires — Oedipus complex. Jung: myths express archetypes — universal patterns in the collective unconscious. Hero, shadow, anima/animus, wise old man. Myths as expressions of deep psychology.
The monomyth — the universal pattern of the hero's adventure: departure (call to adventure, crossing the threshold), initiation (trials, abyss, transformation), return (return with the elixir). Found in myths worldwide — from Gilgamesh to Star Wars.
Myths are distorted accounts of historical events and real people. Gods were once great kings or heroes who were deified. "Myth is history in the dim past" — rationalist approach to mythology.
Myths and rituals are inseparable — myths explain rituals, rituals enact myths. Frazer's "The Golden Bough" — the dying and reviving god (Osiris, Adonis, Dionysus). Harrison: myth is the spoken correlative of the acted ritual.
Core Concepts
Myths of the end — apocalypse, judgment, renewal. Ragnarök (Norse), Revelation (Christian), Kali Yuga (Hindu), Frashokereti (Zoroastrian). Expresses anxiety about the end and hope for renewal.
Case Studies & Examples
Oldest known epic. Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, seeks immortality after his friend Enkidu dies. Meets Utnapishtim (flood survivor). Fails the test of staying awake. Returns to Uruk accepting mortality. Themes: friendship, mortality, civilization vs. nature, the quest for meaning.
Greek creation myth. Chaos → Gaia (Earth) → Uranus (Sky) → Titans → Olympians. Cronus castrates Uranus; Zeus overthrows Cronus. Establishes cosmic order through generational conflict. Explains the origins of the gods and the world.
Sacred text of the K'iche' Maya. Creation of humans from maize. Hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque defeat the lords of Xibalba (underworld). Explains the origins of the Maya people, the importance of maize, and the cycle of life and death.
One of India's great epics. Prince Rama exiled for 14 years. Wife Sita kidnapped by demon king Ravana. Rama, with Hanuman and the monkey army, rescues Sita. Rama returns as king. Themes: dharma (duty), devotion, good vs. evil, ideal kingship.
Practice Questions
A: Lévi-Strauss: myths are structured by binary oppositions — raw/cooked, nature/culture, life/death. These oppositions are universal structures of the human mind. Myths resolve contradictions through narrative. "Myths think themselves through people." The same structures appear across cultures because they reflect universal cognitive patterns.
A: Campbell's monomyth: the universal pattern of the hero's adventure. Three stages: departure (call to adventure, crossing the threshold), initiation (trials, abyss, transformation), return (return with the elixir). Found in myths worldwide — from Gilgamesh to Star Wars. Universal because it reflects the universal human experience of growth, challenge, and transformation.
A: The trickster: a figure who disrupts order through cunning, humor, and transgression. Loki (Norse), Anansi (West African), Coyote (Native American), Hermes (Greek). Functions: mediator between worlds, culture hero, chaos agent. Tricksters challenge authority, introduce change, and reveal the limitations of social order. They are both creators and destroyers.
A: (1) Ex nihilo — creation from nothing (Genesis), (2) world parents — separation of sky and earth (Greek, Maori), (3) emergence — humans emerge from underworlds (Navajo), (4) cosmic egg — world from an egg (Hindu, Chinese), (5) earth diver — animal dives for earth (Native American), (6) sacrifice — world from dismembered being (Rig Veda, Norse).
A: Flood myths: universal motif — great flood destroys humanity, one family survives. Noah (Hebrew), Utnapishtim (Mesopotamian), Manu (Hindu), Deucalion (Greek). Functions: (1) divine punishment for human wickedness, (2) renewal and rebirth, (3) covenant between God and humanity, (4) explanation of human mortality, (5) moral lesson about obedience and faith.