Myths are the oldest legends of mankind. Echoes of mythical representations are heard in fairy tales, poetic images and even dreams. Anyone who wants to create his own myth, similar to the real one, must have a broad outlook and some specific knowledge.
Instructions
Step 1
A myth is not just a story about long-standing events. At a time when mythological consciousness was the basis of human thinking, he set sacred unshakable patterns for any activity.
Step 2
Most of the myths tell about the origin of something: about the creation of the world, about the emergence of animals and plants, about the creation of man. Even the fact that man is mortal has deserved a mythological explanation among many peoples. Usually, the creator god (or several gods) create the world from the primary chaos. Sometimes, however, the first gods themselves arise out of chaos and become the basis of an ordered world. For example, Greek cosmogony says that Chaos gave birth to Uranus (heaven) and Gaia (earth), who became the parents of all titans and ancestors of the gods.
Step 3
Another, very popular in our time, category of myths is called eschatological. Their theme is not the creation of the universe, but its end. For example, according to the Bible, the world will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus Christ. According to the ideas of the Mayan and Aztec peoples, the Earth dies regularly, after the next sun goes out. It is with this myth that the belief in the end of the world on the day of the death of the sixth sun is associated, that is, according to the modern calendar, at the end of 2012 AD.
Step 4
The third important type of mythical plots is anthropogonic, that is, devoted to the origin and development of man. As a rule, the main character in them is not a god, but a “cultured hero”. He is endowed with supernatural power and, wandering around the world, he gives form to human civilization and serves as an example to follow. As is sometimes believed in modern science, from the anthropogonic myths about the cultural hero, the heroic epic later came, then a fairy tale, and ultimately - almost all modern fiction.
Step 5
The heroic myth is based on the plot of the journey. The hero is born as an ordinary person (although signs and wonders may accompany his birth), but over time his strength begins to demand an exit, and sooner or later he sets out on a journey to perform feats. country, to heaven, to the sea king, to the afterlife). There he must complete difficult tasks and copes with it with the help of his supernatural power. Sometimes this power is inherent in the hero himself, sometimes embodied in his magical ally.
Step 6
Often the performance of deeds requires self-sacrifice from the hero, but even if he dies, he always rises from the dead. Subsequently, this motive turned into fabulous images of dead and living water, capable of reviving the killed hero. Sometimes the sacrificial death itself gives him the power to make resurrection possible.
Step 7
Guided by these samples, you can compose your own mythological texts. However, in order to master the imagery of myth, it is better to first study at least one real mythology. In addition, acquaintance with the works of researchers is highly recommended: J. Campbell ("The Thousand Faced Hero"), M. Eliade ("Myths. Dreams. Mysteries") and V. Propp ("The Morphology of a Fairy Tale", "Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale") …
