Definition Essay -- essays papers

Definition Essay The origin of the word myth seems to be a myth in itself. Myths have generally originated from a Greek history that used an oral tradition to explain events that occurred before the written word. Often supernatural beings or fictitious characters were used to explain popular ideas concerning phenomena's of nature or the history of people. The myths that were carried on from generation to generation were often very imaginative in an attempt to spark the interest of young listeners. These would be told at social gatherings. The main purpose of a myth was to relay historical information among groups. Early myths often dealt with the origin of man, customs, religious rights, incidents involving the lives of gods, stories of culture heroes, adaptations of old world myths, or the retelling of biblical stories. From the Webster’s dictionary the real meaning of the word myth is, â€Å"a story or legend† that was created as oral traditions that were told from generation to generation. Often as individuals told the stories, they were changed slightly in context or meaning. One cannot be certain, however, that historically based myths are not historically correct. Exaggeration due to personal vendetta was often the cause for discrepancies of factual or not factual information included in dialect from a mythical standpoint. An instance where this fact was the case is seen in the Old Testament. Even, the Old Testament can be looked upon as being mythical. From a religious perception, the Old Testament may be viewed as the history of Judaism and believed to be completely factual and true, but from a mythical standpoint that selection may be fictitious in context. Mythology suggests that due to the fact that events w... ...ide to them. The mythical side is present because a culture or society does not want to believe the facts that are known in an attempt to give reassurance to ones inner self. A modern example of a myth is the belief that one cannot achieve a pregnancy upon the primal intercourse experience. Research has proven that this is not true, but many believe or are told that this is the case. These types of myths are used today to create reassurance for those believing them. The word myth has been defined by scientific evidence throughout history. As scientific evidence has become clearer, early myths have become less clear to the present day human being. Even though early myths are becoming obsolete, they are still being studied to teach all aspects of life and culture past and present. Also, modern myths are being studied just as well to teach the aspects of the world today.