Discussing myth can help bring these things to light.
Myth can also broaden our view from introspection to an examination of the workings of our society and culture. As already mentioned, our civilization can be seen as a continuum from the Ancient Greeks to the modern day. This is one way in which myth can help o explain our world -- understanding the Greeks from whom many of our ideas and myths came provides an understanding of ourselves (Powell, Chapter 2). According to Campbell, myth can even explain things that occurred before the Greeks, such as the nearly worldwide system of patriarchy that seems to have replaced a matriarchy in the pre-historic period (Campbell, 125-6). Many myths contain heroic and dominant ma figures, but they also contain hints of the concept of the Earth Goddess or powerful feminine force of reception and creation rather than simple submission.
Far from just allowing us a better understanding of ourselves and our culture, a discussion of myth today can help lead us to a better understanding of other cultures, as well, and how we interact with other human beings in general. An examination of the interaction between changing myths and changing societies and how the two seem to affect each other can lead to a better understanding of the role myth plays in our perspective and worldview (Powell, Chapter 3). In addition, many of the archetypes that exist in...
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