What is a myth, its differences among different peoples of the world.

What is a myth? He narrates about the life of ancient gods, heroes and great exploits. Thanks to these narratives, we get acquainted with the world outlook of people of that time, their culture and customs. Usually myths explain to us the riddles of the modern world, for example, why the sun rises, why the seasons change, why the sea foam is white. We could answer all these questions today, relying on scientific knowledge, but the ancient people did not possess them, so they assumed that the cycle is governed by the gods.

Each of us is familiar with at least one myth. In Greek, this word is translated as "tradition", "legend". Particularly known biblical myths about the creation of the world. At the same time, it is worth noting that different peoples of the world have different versions of the appearance of the universe. In Orthodoxy, the creation of the universe took seven days, in China it is believed that all living things came from the egg. Therefore, with the question of what a myth is, one can answer that this is the narration of the different peoples of the world about the surrounding reality. But the emergence of the world must lead to development or termination, so the myths about the end of the world are no less frequent than about its birth.

In the myth the nature of people is humanized, to itattributed to the properties inherent only to a living being. For example, the rivers are associated with the blood of giants who died in battle, the Sun is a deity, which every morning begins its journey on a golden chariot, and it should be borne in mind that different nations have different names for God.

Proceeding from this, it is possible to note the most importantA sign of myth is symbolism. Therefore, in mythology, two different objects can be perceived as a single whole. For example, the bride in Slavic mythology is symbolized with a swan in a flock of geese, that is, relatives of the groom who peck a noble bird. There is also a single line between bread and wealth, an egg and life, a towel and a road. The first is characterized by the characteristics of the second.

So what is a myth? This concept can be described as an experience of cognition of the world of a whole generation, which gathered for centuries. He serves us as a stronghold of wisdom and loyalty to his traditions and people, on which the faith of our ancestors was based. Just like many of us today believe in God, so the ancient nations believed in the heroes and gods that their fantasy created.

Scandinavian myths say that a single godis One. This is a great warrior who accompanied the Vikings in their battles. It was believed that the warrior who died in battle with the sword, will certainly fall into the realm of this god. In another case, a man who quietly dies in bed, will never be next to Odin. Most likely, it is this that can partly explain such a striking force and power, which was held on faith.

Slavic myths open for us a completely differenta world that is closer to the Russian mentality and is understandable to us by the general principles of creation, although it contains no fewer puzzles. In this mythology, the world is saturated with a powerful supernatural force, which is not so dangerous to the mortal, but is also beyond his control. The Slavs believed in the transmigration of souls, into the soul of stones, flowers, fire, and much more. At the head of this world is the god Rod and his beloved Lada, as well as their descendants - Svarog, Mother Svay god, Iria, Ra, Mokosh, Siwa, Svyatogor, Chernobog, Dy. These deities managed our world, keeping the balance in it.

What is a myth? For today's generation of science fiction films and video games, it's hard to imagine what he is like. Are these the gods on whose shoulders the universe stands, or is it the fantasy of an uneducated ancient man? But you can think for a moment that perhaps the myth is a reflection of reality that passed through the prism of the soul of our descendants ...