I've been thinking about the word myth a lot lately. Maybe it's because some of the books I've been reading have talked about the ancient stories of our culture and others have had reference to stories from outside my range of experience.
Some people use the word myth now as the equivalent of the word lie. They protest their innocence by claiming the accusations against them are a complete fabrication, a myth. Who told them that a myth was a lie, or make-believe? Somewhere, somehow that impression has been developed and generally accepted by people if its use in soundbites by politicians on a regular basis is anything to go by.
This is a word that used to have rich and varied connotations: the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus; King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; Beowulf; The Norse Gods of Asgard; Rama, Sita, and Ravana; the heroes of Ireland; Coyote and who knows how many other heroes and heroines. Myths were the stories that glorified us, helped us rise above our day-to-day mundane existence. They also offered us explanations of who we are and where we came from.
Plenty of people who have made a career out of explaining and analyzing the place of myth in our lives, mixing it in with stuff about archetypes to form an intellectual stew. For some reason I've never really been able to make myself interested in the academic/intellectual aspect of myth; my reactions have always been on a more visceral level.
I read a story and it either means something to me or it doesn't; analysis doesn't enter into it that much. Perhaps that's more indicative of laziness on my part more then anything else, I don't know, but I do know that no matter how much I may find the accademic approach a little to over the top for me, at least they recognise that myth is more than just another word for lie.
According to my handy Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, the word is derived from the Greek word mythos, which literally means word, speech, and story. The primary definition they give is " A traditional story usually focusing on the deeds of Gods or heroes, or in explanation of some natural phenomenon." The secondary meaning supplied is the one about "An imaginary or fictitious, person, thing, or story."
What bothers me is that the second meaning has been able to take root so easily. Why did users have to steal such a wonderful word that has the potential for such poetry and turn it into something ugly? I hate it when I hear someone being accused of myth-making as if it were a bad thing.
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