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the essential nature of myth—page 4

 

 

 

myth and mystery

The story a myth tells always contains an element of mystery. It may be mysterious, irrational, or inconsistent. Happenings that defy reason or experience may take place. The world in which a myth is set may work in unusual ways; the rules of ordinary human experience may not apply. Natural laws or the laws that normally govern relations between people or society may be nonexistent or may be temporarily or permanently suspended, rendered ineffectual, or crippled.

Michelangelo's Delphic Sybil, from the Sistine Chapel

Note that a myth's characters, story, and setting always relate to real human life even when they depart from it. None of these departures from reality are ever total or complete. At least a few of the ordinary rules of everyday life must apply or the story would make no sense and have no point. There could be no moral of the story, as the saying goes.

Indeed, even when a myth turns the world upside down, it is about some aspect of real life. Real life is the reason for its existence. The point a myth makes is a point about real life. That's one of myth's little open secrets. When you think about it, it's obvious.

Mystery is upsetting because it turns the world upside down, but that's all right because it opens the door to new and different possibilities. If sufficient, the skill of the storyteller will draw the reader into the world of the story; it will make it possible for the mystery to seem plausible and acceptable, at least while the reader is engaged by the tale. A myth's facts are subservient to its message, and the storyteller will bend the literal truth as long as it is convenient to do so.

For example, in a myth godship is not necessarily a permanent status as it normally is in the real world; the estate or rank of a god can change. So too can a god's powers, appearance, or other qualities and characteristics.

The Muse Of Mythology offers you these bits of friendly advice for dealing with mythic mysteries:

  • As you read a myth, don't question or challenge its mysteries or demand rationality or internal consistency.
  • If a mythic story has a moral (which it probably does), analyze its relationship to the characters, plot, and other aspects of the story. The moral or message is what it's all about.
  • Look for a myth's message in its subtext. Usually the subtext will be self-consistent even if the storyteller has bent the objective facts to make his point.
  • A mythology is a body of mythic stories about a particular god or group of gods that are related to each other by virtue of the fact that they have a common cultural or societal origin. Don't expect a god who appears in more than one of these stories to agree with himself. Don't expect the separate myths to be consistent with each other. Each myth is a unity unto itself. It will let you know what it wants you to know when it wants you to know it.

Just relax, lean back, and enjoy. See what happens.

about Joseph Campbell

When it comes to explaining the underpinnings and mysteries of myths and heroic stories, Joseph Campbell is the acknowledged master. Without doubt, he transformed our modern understanding of mythology. He's the man who found his bliss.

  • Don't miss the Joseph Campbell Foundation web site: click here.
  • Learn about his remarkable life; see his biography at the Foundation web site: click here.

 

 

 

Artist's concept of the interior of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece as it might have looked in the 5th century BCE before destruction by Theodosius II in 426 BCE. The statue of Zeus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world.

godship

In myths, the central character or characters are gods; gods are often supporting characters, as well. If the central character in a myth is not literally a god or called a god, it probably has the characteristics of a god. Whatever you call it, if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

What is a god? For the purposes of myth, a god is:

  • A deity presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. A deity is a divine personage, especially a supreme or powerful being with strange or unusual powers.
  • A person or thing revered as or understood by a culture or a society to be a god or goddess.

What is godship? Godship is the condition of being divine. Stated simply, godship is the rank or character that makes a god a god. Exactly what does it mean to possess a condition that is divine or to possess a divine essence? As with many other aspects of the concept of god, godship is not a simple notion to define, convey, or understand. It's murky, but most people sense it when they near it.

  • For more about the nature of gods, visit The Muse Of Mythology's feature called Table Of Deities. There you can explore The Muse's pantheon of mythological gods and goddesses: click here.

demigods and heroes

Hercules fighting the monster Achelous

The concept of a demigod is closely related to the concept of a deity but a demigod is a distinctly different kind of fish. In mythology, a demigod is a half or lesser god, a deified mortal (human being), an ambiguous creature who is partly divine and partly human.

Different mythologies portray demigods differently. Demigods are the offspring of a god and a mortal. The demigod has more than mortal power, as if the union had imparted some of the god's divinity to a child who otherwise would be a mere human. The Celtic hero Cúchulainn, the Sumerian king Gilgamesh, and the Greco-Roman hero Heracles are demigods who are the spawn of god-mortal match-ups.

Some demigods have unusual or superhuman powers. Their special powers give them extraordinary abilities that make them shine in the eyes of ordinary men and enable them to do great deeds.

Although some demigods make good heroes, others do not. Some demigods do not live heroic lives; they live ordinary lives among ordinary men but they are pre-eminent.

Most demigods are mortal and eventually die, but some live to a ripe old age, far longer than could an ordinary human.

Not all heroes are demigods and not all demigods are heroes. One thing seems clear: universally in mythology, a demigod is considered an inferior deity. Why?

We can't be sure, but at one level demigods are probably considered inferior because their heritage is mixed; they're half-breeds. Gods are strong and powerful, men are weak and powerless; in demigods, the strength of the gods is diluted by the weakness of men. Complicating but enriching this assessment is that fact that some myths show gods who demonstrate the failures, weaknesses, foibles, and deficiencies of demigods or men. For example, the god Zeus is profligate; the god Narcissus is vain.

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The Essential Nature Of Myth—Continued


Joseph Campbell Foundation


Table Of Deities

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The Essential Nature Of MythPage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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