Myth and the Origin of the Humanities

Long before there was print, before there were formal arts, the humanities existed in the form of mythology. Early people in societies that were of necessity closely knit preserved their history and culture by weaving stories of their past stories about where they came from and their relationship to the gods; stories about great hunters, warriors, or leaders; and stories designed to illustrate the difference between right and wrong.

 Myth is defined as a traditional story of unknown authorship, ostensibly with a historical basis, but serving usually to explain some phenomena of nature, the origin of humanity, or the customs, religious rites, etc. of a people. All of us have our own personal mythology, beginning in early childhood when we objectify our fears and our secret longings, when we divide the world into good and evil and idolize our heroes. Our myths stay with us for life, growing up with us and fulfilling our psychological needs at every stage of our development.

 The hero is just one of innumerable mythic archetypes or models by which we, individually or collectively, come to organize our understanding of the world, the nature and purpose of human life, and events. We need to demolish common misconceptions about myth. It has become a deceptively simple word used in a variety of ways not necessarily related to the humanities, though closely tied to our personal needs. In popular usage, myth is something erroneous yet widely believed something to be refuted by rational adults. Another misuse of the word is even more patronizing in the sense of old stories once believed by nave people in a pre-scientific age.

 If nothing else, myths can be interesting stories, unrestricted to literal facts, truthful psychologically and emotionally. They help us understand how a given culture characterizes both itself and the other cultures with which it engages.

Archetypes in Mythology
Reading myths, we are struck by similarities in stories and characters. We might ask ourselves why certain of these are found again and again and often influence the way we ourselves think and react to what others do. For more possible insight we turn to a theory of psychologist-philosopher Carl Jung (1875-1961), who maintained that all persons are born with an instinctive knowledge of certain archetypes, the models by which people comprehend, experience, and cope with the enormous and often baffling task of being human. Jung believed these models are shared by societies all over the world, though they may take different forms. Archetypes are mythic characters, events, symbols, and buried assumptions transmitted from one generation to another through what Jung labeled the collective unconscious.

 Jungs theory is not accepted by all psychologists or scholars of myth, but without it or another comprehensive theory to replace it, we have a difficult time accounting for the continued appearance of certain myths and mythic elements: tales of a terrible flood and the salvation of one good man; stories about dangerous journeys into the land of death and darkness; and, above all, tales about the major stages in the life of a singular human being, sometimes partly divine, known as the hero. There are alternative explanations. One is the external theory, the most scientific of the possibilities. According to this theory, stories were spread along migratory routes. Myths originated in specific places and then were transported as peoples warred, traded, and intermarried. In general, we do find myth similarities among cultures whose migrations can be traced.

 An example of the migratory spread of old stories is the way the myths of the Yoruba tribe were transported to Cuba, where they were modified, adopted, and systematized into both a religion and a philosophy known as Santera, which offers an explanation of universal origins that combines Catholic monotheism with an African belief in multiple deities. Yet another explanation for the universality of myth is the predictable one that human beings share common needs, regardless of geography and level of cultural sophistication; and thus certain elements found in all myths must play their part in helping people cope with the situations in which they find themselves. Similar needs do not necessarily imply contacts between cultures or a mandatory belief in a collective unconscious.

The Hero as World Myth

The hero is an archetype found in almost every culture, hence the label world myth. Regardless of how each culture views existence and its particular survival needs, stories of heroes seem to be essential. As early as 1909, Otto Rank, a disciple of Sigmund Freud, cited characteristics of the hero in Western mythology:

 Birth of the hero The heros birth occurs under wondrous circumstances; usually the hero is sired by a supernatural being. Early recognition of the Hero The hero destined for greatness must be recognized early in life, often after accomplishing a spectacular physical deed, such as the young Arthurs removal of the sword Excalibur from the stone that had held it until the rightful owner should come along, or the superhuman ability of Theseus to lift a heavy stone that covered a golden sword and sandals, evidence that he was a kings lost son. The Heros Great Deed It always occurs in young adulthood, at a time when the hero has left home and is separated from the parents. It is a mythical version of the universal rite of passage: the attainment of adult status at puberty.

 The Heros Loss of Power In western mythology, the story of the hero tends to have a tragic ending. If heroes lose their power, a possible compensation is that their death is usually glorious and their nobility acknowledged. Great heroes fail, but their failures only testify to the magnitude of their lives.