Example of Difference Between Myth and Legend

The Myth and the Legend are two manifestations of oral tradition that include in their content Stories with both fantastic and real aspects. This similarity in their composition has meant that, generation after generation, the ability to distinguish between the two has been lost.

It is essential, to start, define them separately:

Myth:

The term comes from the Greek "Mithos", which means History. The myth has been used since the beginning of ancient civilizations, such as Greek, Roman, Egyptian, to give an interpretation to the origin of the universe and the phenomena of existence, in words understandable by the humans.

In myth, natural and divine events are assigned human form and a will. That is why extensive pantheons were generated in the Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures. For example, there is a God for the Dominion of the Heavens, another for the Seas, another for the Underworld, and so on.

Legend:

It is a story about a fact, in which the characters are human beings, without supernatural powers, and with direct influence on the daily life of a society. With examples such as Robin Hood or The Valiant Prince, a social pattern is drawn based on the defined character of the protagonists. In this case, the Legend would be used to provide a teaching.

The differences between the Myth and the Legend will be detailed below, to consolidate your understanding:

Differences between myth and legend

Myth	Legend
His characters are fabulous	The characters are human beings
It is used in religions	Data can have historical origins
Has dogmatic principles	They may be true or have happened
Found in traditions	Has a defined author or writer
Cannot be verified	Can be checked on occasion
It is usually based on lies	They may come to pass or have already passed
The origin of the myths is unknown	In general it takes place in contemporary times

Examples of myths:

Egyptian myth the myth of Osiris:

This is one of the most widespread myths throughout the Egyptian people, it is about Osiris, the god of fertility and agriculture, he had a human figure and a green color With great royal attributes, he was a representative of Upper Egypt, he became the god of the dead and eternal life, finally being the judge of the dead.

Osiris was the son of Nout and Geb, who were also gods, had a brother "Seth" and two sisters Isis and Nephtys, among whom he married Isis.

Horus was the son of Oris and Isis, according to Egyptian mythology, Seth his brother murdered Osiris who ruled the humans, his son Horus avenged him and by the divine powers of Isis he revived and now rules the world of the dead and life eternal.

Norse Myth of Odin:

Odin is considered the father of humanity, because in his mythology he created the first man and the first woman whom he called Ask and Embla.

Odin was the son of Bor and a giant named Bestla and has 2 siblings Vili and Vé.

He lives in Asgard and governs from the valaskjalf where his throne is, it is assumed that from there he can govern human beings and when he leaves there are his brothers Vii or Ve who rule.

When he is not he is "asgard Odin" he is in the Walhalla, which is where the dead warriors who fell with bravery, Odin is supposed to reward brave and fierce warriors because he is the god of the spirit of overcoming personal.

He is the wisest god because when passing through some exhausting tests he lost an eye, the right to be able to drink from Mimir's well, obtaining universal wisdom.

He is an omnipotent god, as he can see the past, the present (attributed to his horns) and by teaching of the goddess Freyia he could see the future.

Odin was also the god of poets, especially since he drank the mead of poetry.

Odin had three wives, with whom he had other gods:

With the first wife Frigg, who represented the cultivated land:

• Balder
• Hoder and
• Hermod.

With the second wife Jörd who represented the uninhabited land

• Thor and
• Meili .:

With the third wife Ring who represented the wintry and frozen land

• Vali.

More information on myths:

• Characteristics of myths.
• Examples of myths.

Legends example:

The legend of the fox:

The legend of the fox arose in the time of 1919, it arose as an emulation of that of Robin Hood, there is the idea that a character did exist in real life and that he trafficked in spices.

The legend is that Don Diego de la Vega, protected the inhabitants of California from the colonialists and the mayor, the fox robbed the government to deliver him to the poor and as a last circumstance, he fell in love with Victoria, who in some versions is the mayor's daughter and in others is an inhabitant of the city. town.

The fox that was Don Diego de la Vega, was the son of a rich and good landowner, who went abroad to study, specifically to Spain, returning an expert in the arts of the war, fencing and literature and science, upon his return he found that the mayor of the city collected illegal taxes and punished the villagers for anything and everything. farmers.

In Spain, Don Diego de la Vega practiced the arts of war and fencing. After observing the oppression that the people suffered, he pretended to be a calm person and even sinned cowardly and naive, but elsewhere and with the character he protected the population and returned the taxes.

He had an assistant, a waiter named Bernardo, who was mute, who prepared all the accessories for him, in addition to the fact that he was the spy and informer of all the events of the town.

He prevented executions from taking place and protected the town and its inhabitants alike.

More information about the legends:

• Legends features.
• Examples of legends.