Transcript Where Did Myths Come from?

Where Did Myths Come from?
Here are some mythological origin
theories.
None of them answer all the questions
scholars have about mythology, but
they all provide interesting ideas
concerning the mystery of mythology.
I. Euhemerus: Greek Scholar
from B.C.times
A. Developed one of the oldest known
theories about myths origins
B. Suggested all myths were based on
historical fact—in some way or
another
C. Believed scholars need to strip away
the supernatural elements to get to
the facts
II. Muller: language scholar
from 1800s
A. Suggested all gods and mythological
heroes were really representations
of nature deities, and heroes were
originally a symbol for the sun in one
of its phases.
B. Today, few scholars take his
theories seriously.
III. Tylor: anthropologist from
1800s
A. Believed myths began through man’s
efforts to explain dreams
B. Believed man’s 1st idea about the
supernatural was his belief that they had
a soul that would wander freely during
dreams
C. Believed animism (all living things have a
soul) was the beginning of myth
IV. Malinowski: anthropologist
from 1900s
A. Emphasized the psychological conditions
that lead man to create myths
B. Believed man created myths when they
couldn’t find a scientific answer to
questions
C. Believed man had to create myths to
decrease tension caused by not knowing
why something was happening
V. Frazer: anthropologist from
1800s-1900s
A. Believed myths begin in the great cycle
of nature—birth, growth, decay, death,
rebirth
B. Wrote that societies around the world
sacrificed symbols of their gods to keep
these gods—and the world—from
decaying and dying. Instead, the
sacrifice would lead to death then to
rebirth with strength again.