Mythology Term Definitions

1.Myths are the stories that a given culture uses to explain the gods that they worship, natural events, or the stories of heroes that are passed down through generations. One example of a myth is the story of Persephone and Hades.

2.A hero is someone who has special qualities that differ from other people, they give something to society that it was preciously lacking and perform great feats. One hero we learned about in class is Aeneas.

3.A hero journey is the journey that a hero embarks on to receive the gift that he is going to give to society. The 12 feats that Hercules performs are a great example of a hero journey.

4.A universal quality is something that is found in all of us or something that applies to the whole world and everyone in it. One size fits all. A very universal hero that we learned about is Dionysus, he feels love for his family just like all of us.

5.An archetype is the original model of an idea that all subsequent models are compared to and based off of. The first god was Zeus, so he is an archetype that all the other gods are modeled after and compared with.

6.Something that is cyclical goes into a circle and repeats itself over and over, ending in the same place that it started. Ra's journey is very cyclical, he dies every night and is reborn every morning. He repeats this every single day.

7.Duality is two things contained within one. Two polar opposites working together to balance out the universe or whole. In many myths earth and heaven are used as a duality where the two balance each other out and create a whole.

8.A creation myth is something that explains how the universe was created and who did it. The Enuma Elish is the Mesopotamian creation myth.

9.Cosmology is the branch of study that deals with discovering the origin, structure, and nature of the universe. The Egyptians have a great interest in cosmology because a large portion of their gods are portrayed by heavenly spheres.

10.Life from death is a pattern in which someone or something dying gives life to the next generation or group of people. In the Enuma Elish, Tiamat is killed, but the world and sky are created from her body.

11.A matriarchal society is a society that is ruled and controlled by females. The Mor Soue of China are a matriarchal society.

12.A patriarchal society is a society that is ruled and controlled by males. The society in Afghanistan is a patriarchal society.

13.A sacrifice is when you give up something that is important to you for the greater good. Ra gives his life in his myth so that the world can have light every single day.