Mythology: Difference between revisions

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	A '''mythology''' is a relatively cohesive set of ]s: stories that comprise a certain religion or belief system.

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	Myths are generally stories based on tradition and legend designed to explain the universe, the world's creation, natural phenomenon, and anything else for which no simple explanation presents itself. Not all myths need have this explicatory purpose, however. Likewise, most myths involve a supernatural force or ], but many are simply legends and stories passed down orally from generation to generation.
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	Mythology figures prominently in most ], and most mythology is tied to at least one religion. Some use the words "myth" and "mythology" to portray the stories of one or more religion as false, or dubious at best. The term is most often used in this sense to describe religions founded by ancient societies, such as ], ], and ], which were nearly extinct at one time. However, it is important to keep in mind that while some view the Norse and Celtic pantheons as mere ], others hold them as a ] (See ]). By extension, many people regard the stories surrounding the origin and development of religions like ], ] and ] as not literally true.
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	People within most religions take offense at the characterization of their faith as a myth, for this is tantamount to claiming that the religion itself is a lie. However, most people concur that each religion has a body of myths that have developed in addition to scriptures.

	For the purposes of this article, therefore, we use the word "mythology" to refer to stories that, while they may or may not be strictly factual, reveal fundamental truths and insights about human nature, often through the use of ]. Also, the stories we discuss express the viewpoints and beliefs of the country, time period, culture, and/or religion which gave birth to them.

	Stories from ] are usually not referred to as mythology except in a pejorative sense, but one can speak of a Jewish mythology, a Christian mythology, or an Islamic mythology, in which one describes the mythic elements within these faiths without speaking to the veracity of the faith's tenets or claims about its history.

	Many modern day rabbis and priests within the more liberal Jewish and Christian movements, as well as most Neopagans, have no problem viewing their religious texts as containing myth; they see their sacred texts as indeed containing religious truths, divinely inspired but delivered in the language of mankind. Others, of course, disagree.

	== Modern Mythology ==

	Although many people think that a mythology must be old, it does not have to be so.
	Thus, for example, television and book series like '']'' and '']'' have strong mythological aspects, that sometimes develop into deep and intricate philosophical systems.

	An excellent example of such a mythology is that developed by ] in '']'' and '']''.
	However, ] law restricts independent authors from extending modern story cycles.

	Some critics believe that the fact that the core characters and stories of modern story cycles are not in the ] prevents the modern story cycles from sharing several essential aspects of mythologies.

	== Mythologies ==
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	=== Mythologies in fiction ===
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	=== Mythological or ] creatures: ===

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	:see also: ]

Latest revision as of 14:01, 14 December 2022

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