Theories of Myth, Research Paper Example

The Myths of Creationism

Throughout history, both written and oral, there have been countless myths passed down that are designed to explain creationism.  This paper will discuss various theories regarding creation myths, and will compare two of them while putting them in the perspective of the culture in which they developed.

A Tibetan creation myth describes that initially, there was simply an infinite amount of empty space in the universe.  Eventually, after many years, a strong wind began to blow and eventually it became more dense and thicker, forming the” mighty double thunderbolt scepter, Dorje Gyatram.  This created clouds, which then caused rainfall that fell for so long that an ocean was formed  (Leonard, & McClure, 2004).

Afterwards, there was a period of peacefulness and silence until the winds became active again, stirring up the ocean until the earth-mountain pushed forth, like” butter in a vast churn.” (Leonard, & McClure, 2004.)  It was in this way that the mixing of air and water and then air, water, and the fire of the thunderbolt created the cosmos.  In a similar way, randomly, somehow human beings came into being and entered Tibetan history.

According to Greek mythology, creationism is explained by a series of dramatic, at times violent, and wonderful cast of characters involving various gods and goddesses, their relationships and behavior and the explanation of how things on Earth came to be as a result of their actions.  Aphrodite was born when Zeus castrates his father, Kronos, and several drops of blood from the wound fall upon Ocean.  Since Aphrodite is the goddess of sexuality, her emergence from the bloody foam symbolically demonstrates the beginning of human life on earth.  The Greek version of creationism puts very little importance on life on earth, but rather it is the actual result of the creation of heaven and earth.  Greek mythology was an attempt to explain and understand how things on earth came to be, such as the tale of Persephone explaining why the seasons change.

The third theory of creationism to be examined here is that of Johann Gottfried Herder, who developed what was called Herder’s Organicist Volk Mythology.  Herder responded to growing feelings of European nationalism by theorizing an original, divinely-endorsed humanity that evolved into the various linguistically, geographically and culturally separate Germans of his era.  Herder speculated that a peoples’ environment determined not only their culture and language but also their physical being and character.  These theories were used to justify Nazi fantasies, a movement in which the idea of a physically pure race was the ideal.

One doesn’t need to be an expert in Greek mythology to witness the ways in which it has invaded popular culture, in particular, regarding our language.  For example, there are cars called Saturn and Mercury, the goddess of love, Venus, appears in songs and other art; in addition, her name lent itself to a well known social disease.  Narcissis, the god who fell in love with his own image, is the name of a flower, as well as a psychological term describing a personality disorder or personality traits.  Ajax is the name of a popular kitchen cleanser; one’s Achilles’ heel describes his vulnerabilities, relating to the baby being dipped in the river Styx by his mother in an effort to make him immortal, but leaving his heel untreated since she was holding it.  The most famous hero in Greek mythology, Odysseus, gave modern culture the word for a long journey: odyssey.

Regarding Herder’s mythology, it is a sad fact that after WWII, his theories were viewed as a science of race which had devastating consequences for various groups, most especially Jews who were seen as subhuman.  This was in contrast to the perception that the German race, who called themselves Aryans, consisted of people who possessed superior strength and intellect.

The consequences of Adolf Hitler and the German nationalism that originated from the myth of German superiority and imperialism was devastating on many levels.  Six million Jews and 6,000,000 other unfortunates such as homosexuals and people with disabilities were executed, and the Germans were on a mission to take over Europe and then the world.  When the war was over, and the Germans were demoralized and looking for places to hide, it took a very long time for the image of Germans to be rehabilitated.  Some might say that this is still a work in progress, as the younger generation of Germans asks how this could have happened, both the horrendous crimes and the complicity of many ordinary Germans.  There also were, however, many tales of heroics performed by Germans as well as other members of the Resistance.

There are several functions of myths.  Often, they are used to explain various natural and biological events through stories which it claims to have happened in the past.  They have been used to emphasize specific educational or moral values.  They offer versions about how the world began or will end.  They have been used to justify ritual and other behaviors, such as when during the era of the Salem witch trials, women were accused of witchcraft.  They were hanged as a way to explain things that had gone wrong in certain New England towns, such as bad weather or deaths, even of natural causes.  Myths are used often to answer the unanswerable, questions that are raised but which have no measurable or scientific explanation.

References

C., C. (2010). Functions of myth. Retrieved June 3, 2010, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/functions-of myth.html

Hamilton, E. (1998). Mythology, 11th ed. London: Back Bay.

Laird, Thomas, & XIV), Bstan-?dzin-rgya-mtsho. (2006). The story of Tibet. Grove Press.

Leonard, Scott, & McClure, Michael. (2004). Myth and knowing. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.