Types of Myths (with examples)

The myths They are stories that narrate the ancestral ideas and conceptions of the universe of a people. It is a type of traditional narrative that expresses extraordinary and memorable events, involving both supernatural situations and magical characters, whether they are gods, demigods, monsters, demons, among others. They are narrated in a non-specific time and space, which is not properly real.

Unlike other narratives, myths are not historical testimonies because they are unverifiable. However, they are considered true or valid, or at least partially, within the culture that relates them to the extent that they answer questions that are otherwise inexplicable. For example: the myth of Persephone serves to explain the change of the seasons.

Furthermore, they are used to pass on values ​​to succeeding generations and rarely function outside of their respective belief systems.

Characteristics of the myth

Myths have the following characteristics:

Many times, the terms "myth" and "legend”Are used interchangeably. However, its difference lies in the fact that the myth is a fabulous narrative that explains the origin of the universe or unusual events, which are linked to supernatural beings. Instead, the legend is a popular tale that tells a historical fact that is adorned with wonderful elements.

Types of myths

Myths can be classified according to their narrative content in:

Examples of types of myth

1. The Chinese myth of Pangu (cosmogonic myth)

In the beginning, nothing existed in the universe except for uniform chaos and a dark mass filled with nothing. At a certain point, the chaos began to coalesce into a cosmic egg, a process that lasted 18,000 years. Within it, the opposing principles of yin and yang balanced and Pangu emerged from within and remained between them, pushing heaven upward and earth downward. This task took 18,000 more years. Meanwhile, Pangu was also growing. In certain versions, he was aided by the four main animals: the turtle, the qilin, the bird, and the dragon.

Another 18,000 years passed and Pangu lay down to rest. He was already so old that his dream was slowly leading him to death. While he lay, parts of the universe were detached from his organism: from his breath the wind arose; from her voice, the thunder; of the left eye, the sun and of the right, the moon. His body became the mountains; his blood, in the rivers; her muscles, in the fertile lands; the hair on her face, in the stars of the Milky Way. His hair gave rise to the forests; her bones, to valuable minerals; the pith in jade and pearls. His sweat fell in the form of rain and the small creatures that populated his body (a kind of fleas), carried by the wind, became human beings.

According to Chinese mythology, Pangu completed the creation of the universe around 2,229,000 BC. C.

1. The Greek myth of the birth of Athena (theogonic myths)

For Greek mythology, Athena or Pallas Athena, she is the goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, combat strategy, science, justice and skill. The remarkable qualities of the young woman were the consequence of her exceptional birth.

This goddess is the daughter of Zeus and Metis. When Metis was pregnant, certain predictions from Gaia and Uranus reached Zeus' ears that if she gave Metis to birth to a girl, she later would have a son who would surpass Zeus in abilities and power and take away the empire of the sky. The enraged god of the gods devoured Metis when she was about to give birth to Athena. This caused a severe headache.

When it was indeed time to give birth, Zeus continued with her headache and ordered Hephaestus, the craftsman of all the gods, to open her head. As he did so, Athena, fully clothed and armed with her shield and spear, emerged from her, emitting a battle cry that resounded loudly in both heaven and earth.

1. The Norse myth about the creation of mankind (anthropogonic myth)

One day Odin, Vili (also Hoenir) and Ve (also Lodur) were walking along the seashore and came across two blocks of tree wood, one of ash and the other of elm, rudimentary carved in a human shape. The three divinities contemplated the inert wood in silence and utter amazement. Odin, realizing the use that could be given to it, endowed them with souls. For his part, Vili granted them movement and senses, and Ve granted them blood and a healthy complexion.

The man (Ask) and the woman (Embla) were endowed with speech, intellect, and the power to love, hope, and work. They were then given the freedom to rule Midgard in any way they liked. Thus, they gradually populated the world of men with their descendants, while the gods, remembering that they had been the ones who had given them life, watched over their protection.

1. The Greek myth of Pandora's box (moral myth)

Zeus imposed a punishment on Prometheus for stealing the fire of the gods to give it to men and gave his brother Epimetheus the company of Pandora, the first woman created by Hephaestus. She this she was endowed with her with all the charms that the gods gave her: Aphrodite gave her her beauty; Hermes, eloquence; Athena, wisdom, and so on with several other qualities.

When Pandora appeared before Epimetheus, she did so accompanied by another gift: a closed box that under no circumstances should be opened. Epimetheus, dazzled by Pandora's grace, ignored the promise made to his brother never to accept no gift from the Olympian gods and she accepted it as her companion and, at the same time, sought to hide the cash register.

One day when Epimetheus was sleeping, Pandora stole the key to the place where she hid the box, and opened it to spy on the contents of it. He was soon disappointed to find it empty, but it was because at that very moment they escaped and spread throughout the world. all the misfortunes and evils that could affect humanity: diseases, suffering, wars, hunger, envy, go to. The woman promptly closed it when she saw that deep down there was still hope that she had not yet escaped. In this way the fate of all humanity was sealed, which from that moment on, suffered all sorts of evils, but even in the midst of the most terrible, continued to retain hope.

1. The Aztec myth of the Sun and the Moon (etiological myth)

There was a time when the gods argued about which of them would be the one to give birth to the whole world. Everyone knew that it was a difficult task, albeit one of great prestige, as it required throwing himself into the fire and sacrificing his own life. One of the younger gods, Tecuciztécatl, took up the challenge and the other gods worshiped him.

However, for such work, he would need a companion, and no god dared to go with him until that a ragged-looking old man, Nanoatzín, stepped forward and offered to go with the young.

On the appointed date, Tecuciztécatl tried four times to enter the fire, but each time he got up determined, he instantly repented. To encourage him, Nanoatzín entered the fire and lay down quietly while all the other gods worshiped him, so the young god, embarrassed, also entered the flames.

Suddenly, a ray of sun appeared from the East, rising up like a great sun that everyone identified as Nanoatzín. Then another equally bright sun came out, Tecuciztécatl, which the gods agreed to darken so that the old man, who had been the first to enter the stake, would not be less prominent. In this way, they decided to cover the moon with a rabbit and darkened its sky.

1. The Inca myths of the founding of Cusco (founding myth)

About the founding of the city of Cusco, there are two myths that try to explain who were in charge of the feat. The first tells the story of Manco Capac. This mythological character emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca in the company of his sister and companion, Mama Ocllo Huaco. At the command of his father, the Sun, both made a long journey to the northeast with a stick of gold, which would be buried in the precise place where they were to found the city. Finally it sank in the Huanacaure hill where, in compliance with the mandate of his father, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo founded the city of Cusco.

According to another myth, the city of Cusco would have been founded by the Ayar brothers, these were: Ayar Manco, Ayar Cachi, Ayar Auca and Ayar Uchu. After a strong deluge on earth, they emerged from a cave on Cerro Tamputoco and, with their respective wives, went in search of fertile lands. After fratricidal fights between them, Ayar Manco emerged victorious, who founded the city of Cusco, the same city that became the "navel" of the Tahuantinsuyo empire or of the four regions.

1. The Egyptian myth of the judgment of Osiris (eschatological myth)

The judgment of Osiris was the most momentous event for the deceased on his journey to the underworld. The spirit of the deceased was guided by the god Anubis before the court of Osiris, who would dictate sentence after weighing his heart, which represented conscience and morals. For this purpose, Anubis magically extracted it from the deceased's chest and placed it on one of the two pans of a balance. In the other saucer, a feather of Maat (symbol of truth and universal justice) was put. Then, a jury of gods asked him a series of questions about his behavior on earth and, depending on the answers he gave, the heart would either decrease or gain weight.

At the end of the trial, Osiris passed sentence: if the heart was less heavy than the feather of Maat, the sentence was positive and the deceased could live eternally in the fields of Aaru (the paradise in mythology Egyptian). On the contrary, if his heart was heavier than the feather, then the sentence was negative and he was thrown at Ammit, the devourer of the dead, who would finish him off. In this way, the so-called "second death" occurred and the deceased lost his immortal condition and ceased to exist in Egyptian history.

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