NARRATIVE GENRE

 MYTHS 

A myth is a traditional, sacred story, endowed with symbolic meaning, that recounts extraordinary and transcendent events as if they were real, associated with a people’s cosmogony—that is, their conception of the universe.

Myths offer answers to questions such as: What is the origin of the world? How did human beings come into existence? Why does evil exist? What happens after death? Their stories involve supernatural or fantastical beings (such as gods and demigods, mermaids, fauns, nymphs, etc.) and take place in a primordial time, before recorded history. Through these stories, a culture transmits its values and beliefs to future generations.

With the advancement of scientific thought, the term "myth" acquired a negative connotation, and began to be used to emphasize the fanciful nature of an explanation associated with religion, in contrast to the rational thinking characteristic of science.

More generally, myth is often used as a synonym for invention, fiction, or falsehood. At the same time, in a positive sense, the term is used to refer to the central and important stories of a given community and to outstanding people or events that become models or archetypes.

Characteristics of Myths

Myths have the following characteristics:

1. Traditional and Anonymous Narrative:

• Myths originate in oral tradition, without a known author, and are passed down from generation to generation.
• They tend to evolve over time; while details may change with each narrator, their core remains intact.

2. Supernatural Characters: 

• They feature gods, demigods, heroes, and fantastic beings with extraordinary powers.
• These characters often symbolize natural forces or conceptual ideas like life and death.

3. Timeless Time and Space:

• Myths are set in a primordial, undefined era outside of historical time.
• The settings transcend ordinary logic, allowing for extraordinary events.

4. Sacred and Religious Nature:

• Myths hold a sacred dimension and are tied to rituals and religious beliefs.
• They serve as vehicles for transmitting societal values, norms, and power structures.

5. Symbolic and Metaphorical: 

• Elements, characters, and events represent deeper concepts—moral, existential, cosmological—rather than literal occurrences.

6. Explanatory of the Unknown: 

• Myths arise to make sense of inexplicable aspects of the world: the origin of the universe, natural phenomena, life and death, the existence of evil.

7. Narrative Structure:

• They typically follow a full narrative arc—introduction, conflict, and resolution—with characters, plot, and message.

8. Cultural Universality: 

• Present in all cultures and eras, myths often share themes such as creation, floods, life, and death.

9. Social and Educational Function:  

• Myths fulfill explanatory, symbolic, social-cohesion, and legitimizing roles in societies.They act as pedagogical tools and help preserve cultural heritage.

10. Mutability and Adaptation: 

• Myths vary based on era, locale, or storyteller, adapting to new contexts while retaining their central themes.

Types of Myths

While each culture has created its own myths, there are marked similarities between myths from different cultures, distant in both time and space. For example, the myth of a universal flood is common to many peoples. Based on these similarities, we can identify several types of myths:

1. Cosmogonic (Creation) Myths: These myths explain the origin of the world or cosmos—how the universe came into being from chaos or nothingness.

2. Theogonic Myths: Stories about the origins of the gods, their genealogy, and how the divine pantheon came into being (e.g., Hesiod's Theogony).

3. Anthropogonic (Anthropogenic) Myths: Explain how humans were created or emerged, sometimes from clay, earth‑diver motifs, or divine acts .

4. Etiological Myths: Also called origin myths—these explain the beginnings of natural features, cultural practices, rituals, institutions, names, places, etc. 

5. Foundational (Founding) Myths: Narratives about the founding of cities, nations, or social groups, e.g., the story of Romulus and Remus founding Rome .

6. Moral Myths: These address the origin or nature of good and evil, often teaching ethical lessons through mythic storytelling .

7. Eschatological Myths: Narratives about the end times, world destruction, and subsequent renewal—such as biblical Revelation or the Norse Ragnarök.

-Additional Recognized Types

• Nature Myths — Explain natural phenomena (seasons, weather cycles, celestial patterns).

• Primitive-State Myths — Describe the original, ideal state of man and the cosmos and how it fell into the current condition (often tied to death or suffering).

• Savior (Soteriological) Myths — Center on divine beings who die and are resurrected, often linked to agricultural or fertility rituals .

Example of myth:

• Orion—born either from Poseidon or through a miraculous birth involving Zeus, Hermes, and Poseidon—is a mighty hunter who joins Artemis in slaying wild beasts. However, his pride (or a love affair with Merope) brings about his downfall: in some accounts, Gaia sends a scorpion that fatally stings him; in others, Apollo tricks Artemis into shooting him accidentally. After his death, the gods immortalize him in the stars as the constellation Orion, eternally positioned opposite Scorpius—ensuring they never appear in the sky together

Origin of myths

Myths originate from ancient oral traditions and were passed down anonymously across generations long before writing was invented. Initially transmitted by storytellers within communities, these narratives explained the unexplainable—such as the origins of the cosmos, natural phenomena, life and death—through vivid, symbolic stories . These tales often feature gods, demigods, and mythical creatures who personify natural forces and cultural values. As Mircea Eliade noted, myths recount an event in a "primordial Time" and inaugurate structures of social and cosmic order.

Over time, myths became foundational to social customs and rituals, providing divine legitimacy and collective memory. They endorsed rites—such as agricultural ceremonies, seasonal festivals, or royal enthronements—by linking them to sacred origins and ancestral commands . Because these narratives were fluid by nature, they evolved with each retelling, adapting to different contexts and reinforcing shared identities and moral codes.

Differences between myth and legend 

Aspect	Myth	Legend
Definition	Traditional sacred narrative explaining origins of world, gods, or phenomena; involves supernatural beings	Traditional stories about historical people or events; rooted in fact but often embellished
Characters	Gods, demigods, monsters, culture‑heroes with divine attributes	Humans (heroes, saints, rulers) with extraordinary deeds; may include magical elements
Setting(Time/Place)	Set in primordial or timeless realms, often before human history	Occurs in specific historical period and real locations
Purpose	Explains cosmic or natural phenomena; answers existential “why” questions	Glorifies or moralizes heroic acts, cultural identities; often civic or instructive
Basis in reality	Purely symbolic or fictional; no factual foundation	Based on real events or people, though heavily exaggerated
Relationship to religion	Often sacred; tied to rituals and belief systems	Generally secular or folk‑based; not central to religious praxis
Evidence type	Lacking empirical or historical evidence	Sometimes supported by anecdotal or documentary traces

Presented by: Laura Fuentes, Sofia Acuña & Daniela Bajo