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Paige Horton Response to Chapter 1 and Study Question 1 What is a myth? A myth, from the Greek word mythos, is essentially a story or a tale. This definition is quite broad, and we can easily examine other types of oral or written works and similarly classify them as stories and tales. A distinction must be made that separates myths from these other genres. Legends and sagas, for example, may be similar to myths in the manner in which they are performed and the overall feel of the work itself. Morford explains an important facet of legends and sagas separates them from myths: Myths are concerned primarily with the actions of the gods and their interactions with the world and its inhabitants, whereas legends and sagas have some form of factual basis. Legends and sagas may be manipulated and embellished over time, but no matter how closely they resemble the content of a myth, they will always be primarily traced back to historical events. At the time of their creation, myths may have been considered as fact for followers of a certain religion. However, the basis of religions is subject to individual beliefs that vary between people and cultures. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that myths have a universally accepted factual basis. In light of this distinction between legends and myths, it is important that we define myths in a way that specifies the content of the story. In addition to our previous definition that a myth is a story or tale, we can now safely say that a myth is a story or tale concerning the actions of gods. Another set of genres Morford presents us with is folktales and fairytales. To some, myths may appear to be similar in content to folktales, in that there are often adventures or some instance of magical powers and creatures present in the story. However, folktales and fairytales are created and passed along, first and foremost, with the intention of entertainment. These

stories often contain some form of moral message, but that is not the priority. Myths, on the other hand, serve another function. We can define myths by their function as being explanatory. Myths present us with an explanation or clarification of an event which we may not yet be able to define rationally or scientifically. This can be in the form of explaining why something happens a certain way, or the origin of something that exists in our world. It is important to add the function of a myth to its definition, which now becomes a story or tale concerning the gods which provides an explanation or origin for something which is not otherwise understood. In respect to the performance context of myths, other genres of stories are performed in similar or identical ways. Myths are primarily and originally passed down and performed orally. Fairytales and folktales can also come of similar origins. Myths, after a time, are written down and thereafter read in text form, as are most other stories and works of fiction. Myths can be acted out or performed in song, as can other stories in the form of plays, concerts, and operas. It is plain to see that the performance context of a myth is not a concrete definition that separates it from other genres; in fact, the performance context is perhaps the part of a myth that is most similar to other types of stories. Therefore, I do not think it is necessary to add the performance context of a myth as a necessary part of its definition. Defining a myth is a very difficult task, and nearly impossible to complete with full satisfaction. Morford tells us that no single theory of myth can cover all kinds of myths. I have concluded that a tentative definition of a myth is a story or tale concerning the actions of gods which provides an explanation or origin for something which is not otherwise understood. It is not so narrow as to exclude myths that were perhaps not initially created orally, but not so broad as to include folktales created solely to entertain, or legends that are based on fact instead of gods.