Myth Show Essay 01 – Mythology Defined
MythShow.com Introductions and Overview:
Welcome to the Myth Show, where timeless stories are discussed and brought to life. I am your host, Gregory Lemon and this is episode one. This show is for those who would like to know more about the wide and fascinating field of mythology, folk lore, and fairy tales.
To kick-off this new podcast, I will provide a series of discussions that will lay a foundation of understanding that future episodes will build upon. During this episode I’ll answer the question of “What is and what isn’t mythology?” Episode two will have a similar discussion defining folklore. Episode three will talk about fairy tales and similar types of stories that do not fit in any of the previous shows. Episode four will talk about the concept of the monomyth as discussed in Joseph Campbell’s book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”
Episode five will be the first of our “regular” shows where I’ll talk about a story, a character, or aspect of a story. In the second portion of each of these shows, I’ll share a way for you to suggest topics to be covered. And I’ll also share with you the listener feedback I’ve received from previous episodes.
The music for this podcast is provided by Jon Schmidt at jonschmidt.com
Main Topic: Mythology Defined
Stories are all around us. Some are factual, some are fictional, and some are fantastical. Some are long as novels and some are short as retelling something that happened during the day. Wherever we go, we are surrounded by stories. Most of the ways that we entertain ourselves have a story associated with it. Think of television, radio, movies, games and of course, Podcasts. All share stories in one form or another. The stories that we share with each other are so different, they have to be classified so that that similar stories are grouped together because of similar themes or origins. This episode of the MythShow will discuss what makes a story a myth. It’s hard to be exact in a definition because the definition can change depending on who is telling the story.
Let’s start by talking about myths and mythology. The English word “myth” comes from Greek and it means a story passed orally from generation to generation, specifically those tied to a religious belief system. Now, mythology can refer to the study of myths or a collection of myths from a specific group or culture.
Now that is something important, myths are tied to a specific culture. For example, Greek mythology includes stories about Zeus and Hercules. Norse mythology talks about Odin and Thor. Chinese mythology tells tales about the Jade Emperor and Chung Kwei. Now each of these are examples of a god and the strong-man hero found in many of the stories.
Now for a small side note, an apology regarding pronunciation. Not all of my resources provide how to pronounce the names I’ll be talking about. I want to show respect for all of the cultures and topics we’ll be covering. So, please forgive me the occasional mispronunciation. (OK, many mispronunciations). The Encyclopedia Mythica has an on-line pronunciation guide. A link will be in the show notes: (http://www.pantheon.org/miscellaneous/pronunciations.html)
Now back to the mythology.
The thing that separates myths from most other stories is their tie to religion. What I mean is that the people in the culture believe their myths (and their super-natural events) that they are true. Often, myths are supported and spread by religious leaders, and form the reason for and the focus of their worship.
My first experiences with mythology came in the elementary school library when I was about 8 or 9 or something near there. After hearing some of these stories from Greek Mythology, I wanted to read more about them but I couldn’t find them anywhere on the shelves. Finally the librarian took me to the religion section of the shelves. Maybe I was too eager to get the book to realize the significance of where the book was found. But now, many years later, I understand.
So to state it again, when I refer to a myth, I am referring to a story, often ancient, that was once a part of a person’s religious beliefs and that once supported by the culture’s religious leaders. Today, the common use of the word myth refers simply to a story that isn’t true. When I was talking about this show with others at the Podcast Expo, many thought that I would be debunking common myths like the MythBusters on Discovery Chanel. Their definition of myth are more closely resembling urban legend. But we’ll talk more about that in a future episode when we talk about folklore and urban legends.
Even within myths, there are different kinds. For example: A ritual myth describes the culture’s religious practices.
- An origin myth talks about the Creation of Earth, or Custom, or even a significant object.
- A cult myth describes festivals and their origins. Modern use of the word cult has a negative connotation. That is not the meaning that is implied here or will be used in this show.
- A prestige myth focuses on the event or a hero, a city, or a people. For example, Hercules or Odysseus. These are examples of the heroes described in prestige myths.
- An eschatological (es-”ka-t&-’lä-ji-k&l) myth focuses on the End of Times or end of the world.
- And finally, social myths focus of the social values or non-religious customs in a culture.
Even though we talked about these different types of myths, one myth can be classified into more than one of these groups. Taken all together, the adventures of Odysseus described in Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey would fit in many of the categories we talked about earlier.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “Great, I know what a myth is, but is there anything more recent?” That’s a good question. And good questions rarely have good answers. In the reading I have done, there are debates whether this is technically possible to have modern mythology. Not that people haven’t tried. Remember, myths are tied to religion. There are web sites out there dedicated to have people fill in the word “Jedi” as their religion on census forms. So technically, one could say that the characters and stories from Star Wars, is mythology.
However, other popular stories today are not myths. For example, Tolken’s Lord of the Rings, Rowling’s Harry Potter, and Roddenberry’s Star Trek are complex and detailed world, but they are not mythology. While I enjoy Star Trek, this show will not be discussing Star Trek. But I will be talking about Tolken’s and Rowling’s work in future episodes and how they use elements of mythology and folklore tied within their stories.
Thanks for listening to the show. Resource material for this episode came from Wikipedia’s article on “Mythology” and the Encyclopedia Mythica. Other great resources that I found and will be used in future shows will be the “Mythography” website found at http://www.loggia.com/myth/ and the “Encyclopedia Mythica” at http://www.pantheon.org. A special thanks goes to Micha Lindemans from the Encyclopedia Mythica for adding the MythShow to his page of links.
Each of these great resources will be used in future episodes and links can be found in the show notes on the web site. Please enjoy a short musical break and then I’ll be back to talk more about how you can contribute to the show by providing topic suggestions and feedback. I’ll also talk about the great feed back on Episode double-zero.
Show Announcements/Acknowledgments:
Thanks for listening to the show and thanks for sticking around.
First, an introduction of who I am. I make make a living as Web Developer/Business Systems Analyst in Orange County, CA, USA. (I say USA because I’m getting RSS requests from Denmark and Thailand. That is so cool!). While I make a living typing on a computer, I make a life sharing stories with those around me.
And for a disclaimer, I am not a English Professor. In fact my worst grade in High School was in my sophomore English class. (And the teacher’s name will be withheld) Regardless, I love stories. Telling stories around the campfire as a youth and teen are some of my favorite memories. Sharing bed-time stories with my three kids is a great way to end a long day and gets me ready to work on the show. I want to keep the stories alive and help others pass them on.
As far as listener feedback goes, it was awesome! I really appreciate everyone who shared their time and comments with me. I have many things I hope to incorporate. I have made updates to the website including a flash player on the web site and cleaning up the RSS feed. I also secured a telephone number with a voice mail that will record your comments or questions for future episodes.
Special Thanks
A special thanks goes to Jon Schmidt for making his music available for this podcast. To learn more about Jon and listen to his music, please visit his website at www.jonschmidt.com. A link to his website is also found at mythshow.com. All music in this podcast used with his permission.