Mythology
The classical myths of Greece and Rome have much in common with medieval myths, because ultimately, all myths have elements in common. The Greek and Roman myths dwell most often on heroes, Gods, and Goddesses. Their characters are larger than life - someone the reader can look up to. Medieval myths also heavily rely on heroes who commit heroic deeds, such as Charlemagne and King Arthur. One difference is many of the heroes in medieval myths were real people, while most of the heroes in Greek and Roman myth were just that - myths. Medieval myths took mythology one step further, because they often commemorated and idealized the deeds of real people, and this was quite a step away from classical mythology.
However, many elements remain the same, and as such, become timeless reminders of the most successful myths. Heroism is one timeless element, and romance is another timeless element. Most all heroes have at least one love interest, and medieval myth took this to another level, and created the romantic myth, where heroes not only won over the odds, they won the girl as well. Heroism is evident in just about all cultures, from Native American to Greek, Roman, and beyond. The Native American Coyote myth often uses coyote as a mythical hero who can transform himself and has great power, just like most mythical heroes (Lindemans). Of course these attributes of heroes, both strength and romance, make themselves known often in our own culture, from film to romance novels. These stories embody our own modern form of myth, and they contain many of the elements of traditional myth, from strong and impossibly good looking heroes such as Brad Pitt and Russell Crow, to the beautiful Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman. The romance novels of Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts are simply a furthering of old mythical tales, and our culture feeds on these stories, just the way classical Romans and Greeks fed on their own persuasive and pervasive myths.
The Native American myths of transformation differ from Greek and Roman myths in many ways. While there are transformations in Greek and Roman myth (for example, the legend of Prometheus is known as a transformation myth, for he is the character who brought death to the world, via...
With respect to the mythology of the male gods, Zeus, Apollo, and Hephaestus seem to be a combination that matches the dynamism of their female goddess counterparts. These gods represent the good and the bad of males; they also represent the spectrum of power and balance of male energy. There is no one god or goddess myth that I feel fully represents the tension between male and female gods because
Interestingly, Venus is a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, which is significant, since she was literally created from the male genitalia, and males were more strongly linked to sexuality than females, even at that point in Roman history. In the rest of Roman and Greek mythology, Venus/Aphrodite generally plays a benevolent role, though she does use influence women to use their sexuality in inappropriate ways, such as the
"Yeats's flight into fairyland begins in his early childhood with Celtic folklore, 'the chief influence of [his] youth,' and climaxes in his early twenties with the 1888 publication of his first book" (Ben-Merre 2008). Yeats was commissioned to "gather and record the fairy and folk tales of the Irish peasantry" in what eventually became Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (Foster 76). "The collection includes descriptions of
Myth Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings follows the basic concepts and structures of classical mythology, including having heroes who embark on journeys of self-discovery, and those journeys of self-discovery are often thrust upon them. For example, Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey did not want to get thrown off course after the Trojan War. It was Athena and Poseidon's fighting that led to Odysseus's fateful storm that caused him to flit from
However, there are everything from language barriers to misunderstandings and demands between mothers and daughters. In this, it could be the story of any mother and daughter anywhere, because it tells the tale of two different generations with different ideas and different aspirations. The characters reconcile in the end, so as in many myths, the ending is "happy" and gives hope for the future, and teaches a lesson at
Calling her the worst names he could, insulting her honor and degrading her spirit, the Storm God beckoned forth all the clouds he could and harnessed the wind, thunder, and lightening to use against her in battle. Hearing his brother insult his wife, the Sun God began to brandish his armor and prepare for war. Storm clouds gathered, thick and black and completely obscuring the sun for hours. The people
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