A myth refers to a legendary or traditional story regarding a hero, being or event (Armstrong 2). Myths, however, lack a basis of proof or a natural explanation to the topics they represent. These are, especially, the ones that talk about demigods, deities or tend to explain some rite, practice or a phenomenon of nature. Myths are traditional, but there is no doubt that they still have currency. What the history of myths, folklore, legends, and fables reveals is that they are frequently used to explain something that is not true, but complex and powerful in today’s world.
Today the name "myth" is often used in explaining something that is not considered true. A myth is, however, more complex and powerful than a mere lie. A myth refers to a culture’s way of accepting itself. The word also has several meanings across anthropological, ritual, literary as well as semiological fields. Human beings have been mythmakers as from Neanderthal times, and their imagination also permits them to have irrational thoughts. Myths have five important aspects. These five vital aspects include: myths are based on the fear of death meaning that they cannot be separated from rituals. They force people to rise above their experience, and they educate people on how to behave. Myths also talk about another world yet to be explored, most commonly known as the world of the gods (Barry 1). The world of humanity and gods was not divided. The gods of ancient times were thought to reside in the same planet as human beings. Mythology was, hence, designed to deal with the people’s predicaments.
The earliest myths originated during the Palaeolithic times. This was between 20000 and 8000 BCE. Before the growth of agriculture, hunters and gatherers applied myth as a constant backdrop for their survival. One of the foremost myths was the Golden Age (Barry 1). The myth told of a vanished paradise where human beings lived in close contact with the gods. Its intention was to tell human beings that they could still go back to that time. However, if humans are to go back to that age, then they need to make their daily lives more scared than before through changing their daily routines. The foremost myths taught human beings how to embrace an external reality and make it an ordinary fact (Barry 1). The sky with its storms, eclipses, sunsets, meteors and rainbows was a spiritual experience. Human beings began to characterize the drama of the heavens, and because of this, sky gods were born.
There are four theories that tend to explain the origin of myths. These theories are: Euhemerism, Allegory, Personification and the Myth-Ritual Theory. The euhemerism theory states that myths refer to imprecise stories of actual past events (Armstrong 34). The theory gained its name Euhemerism since it suggested that the Greek gods grew from myths regarding human beings. In accordance with this theory, narrators elaborated upon past stories till the records in those stories attained the rank of gods. For instance, a person might quarrel that the Aeolus god-wind myth originated from a past story of a ruler who trained his subjects on how to use snails in interpreting wind power.
The allegory theory suggests that myths started as stories or tales. An allegory refers to a story or tale that has no proof or basis. Myths started as allegories from spiritual or philosophical ideas. This is according to the allegory theory. Critics also hold up the allegorical assumption of myths. Critics believe that myths started as allegorical stories of nature, and they were gradually interpreted literally. For instance, the statement of the ocean being “furious” was in due course adapted in the common saying “the ocean was like a furious god”.
The third theory, personification, states that myths originated from the characterization of lifeless forces and objects. Critics say that the early people worshiped natural happenings such as air and the sun gradually describing these factors as gods. This theory states that ancient people saw objects as persons, but not as meager things (Armstrong 36). They, hence, described natural happenings as actions of gods and this brought rise to myths.
The final theory, myth-ritual assumption, holds that myths came to exist due to ritual practices. This theory rose in order to clarify rituals. According to researchers, human beings invented myths so as to cover up their rituals and practices. The researchers believed that early human beings had faith in magical laws. They, later, lost hope in magic, and they invented myths concerning gods to claim that the gods’ magical customs are, in essence, religious rituals (Powell 23).
An example of a myth that relates to today’s urban legend is the story concerning the cat and its nine lives. It can be considered as an Allegory classification since the myth began as a form of storytelling. The society has unsure attitudes towards cats. They are neither cherished nor hated. Many people also tend to believe that a cat has nine lives, plus it has satanic powers especially through its eyes (Hartwell 1). This is a myth that originated during the ancient times and has turned out to be an urban legend these days. Some people are scared of cats due to the above reasons. Others, however, tend to love being around cats. The thought that a cat has nine lives and satanic powers is just a myth.
In conclusion, this cat theory has become a complexity in this era. There is only one likely choice that can change this opinion, plus this option can accept only two severe methods. The first method is to think of the cut theory as a truth that existed in the past, and it still exists now. However, the second method is to think of the cat theory as just a poetic story that people came up with trying to explain the mysteries of the cat. It is, however, hard to blend between poetry and ideology. Hence, the thought of using myths for story telling is advisable. People should not use myths to spread false stories, but instead people should use it as a way of educating and entertaining.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Karen. A Short History of Myth. Texas: Canongate U.S, 2006. Print.
Barry, Derek. A Short History of Myths. NP, 2007. Web.
Hartwell, Sarah. The Cat in Urban Mythology. NP, 2006. Web.
Powell, Barry. A Short Introduction to Classical Myth. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002. Print.
