Although regularly used in various contexts, the word myth implies to tales relating to the ancient or distant past. Myths are traditional stories that attempt to explain historical events and how the occurrences relate to certain people. Moreover, they explain the origin of a practiced belief or a natural phenomenon. More often than not, myths narrate stories of good versus evil and how good eventually triumphs over evil. Ways in which the word myth is popularly used, common mythological themes across different cultures and imaginary ideas in the contemporary world are discussed in this paper.
In the contemporary world, the word myth is often used when referring to occurrences or events that are believed not to be true. For instance, when out playing in the woods, kids usually scare each other by insinuating that vampires live in the woods. Although some believe such fantasy, they are never accurate (Matey, 2016) . The scared child would run home only to be informed that vampires do not exist. Most mythological stories have no scientific backings and have never been corroborated by anyone. Myths are short folktales that have been narrated over a period through many generations. Such stories are usually told in such a manner that listeners tend to believe that there exists some truth in such tales such as the story of Santa Claus. The statement it is a myth, therefore, means that although a tale is claimed to be true, it is never true.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The word Myth in Academic Context
In the academic setting, the word myth is used to refer to ancient narratives that try to answer long-ranging and fundamental human questions such as; How did the universe come into existence? How did human beings come to be? What is expected of humanity on earth and how should people behave? What are the consequences of acting unacceptably? Myths are highly exaggerated stories that attempt to influence human behavior (Encyclopedia, 2014) .
Common Mythological Themes across Different Cultures
The most widespread and universal mythological theme across different cultures is the story of the creation of human beings. This is because people have always wondered how the earth and humanity came into existence. Since time immemorial, human beings have told creation stories and how a supernatural being created the universe with everything on it even though these stories have never been confirmed to be true (Pattanaik, 2016) . People from different societies and culture firmly believe in highly intelligent and powerful being called God.They attribute this supreme bein g to the creation of the universe, humanity, plants and all animals on earth. Additionally, they believe that this supreme being dictates on who lives and who dies. Each culture believes in a different God and refers to Him by different names, but all cultures unanimously agree that God is the creator of the universe and is responsible for all life forms on earth. This is the universal theme across different cultures.
In today's world, these themes are presented in how human beings strive to behave in acceptable ways to avoid being sent to hell when they die. In churches, it is a commonplace to hear priests and preachers prevailing upon the brethren to accept God, follow His ways and deviate from sin or risk being locked in hell when they pass on.Those who follow God’s directions are promised heaven while those who sin are told to expect hell. This belief is shared by many religions across the world and is believed by millions of people although no one has ever been to heaven or hell and confirmed the stories to be true.
Conclusion
Myths are imaginative stories pertaining religious beliefs, supernatural beings, heroes, heroic deeds and gods that are still deemed relevant and entertaining in today's world. Myths give directions on how people should live, relate to each other through specific beliefs and principles.
References
Encyclopedia, N. W. (2014). Mythology. New World Encyclopedia , Retrieved From http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mythology.
Matey, N. (2016). THE MOST COMMON MYTHOLOGICAL THEMES. International Journal of science technology and management , 2-4.
Pattanaik, D. (2016). Ten best mythological tales from around the world. Hindustan Times , Retrieved From http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/devdutt-pattanaik-narrates-10-divine-tales-of-gods-and-their-creations/story-ZI2vERHOr6sPLgYL6pskUM.html.
