Surely when we were little we had been told stories that seemed really spectacular to us due to the little awareness that we could have at that time due to our mental maturity, and that over the years we have been questioning ourselves to the point that we either we have realized their falsehood, or they have ended up confessing that it was pure fantasy.
Despite the technological and scientific moment in which we find ourselves, the great myths are still a reality, especially in the medical and nutritional field. How many of us have believed something that is useful for losing weight and it really wasn’t like that. In many cases, we tend to fall for hypochondriacs and believe the first thing we are told regardless of who does it. This also applies in the field of communication and journalism with the so-called ‘fake news’, which may be related to the work of politicians.
What are myths?
We associate the origin of myths with ancient Greece, when the first philosophers arose who began to question the why of things. Therefore, the term myth comes from the Greek language and means story or story. We must understand that the Greek culture was the precursor to begin to explain the reasons why some natural phenomena happened. From here, myths began to be explained, which come to be stories or accounts of a character that tries to be scientific or religious about why things happen. For example, due to a lack of scientific knowledge, the Greeks associated storms and rough seas with religion. They believed a lot in the gods, and in that sense,
Poseidon, who is known as the god of the Sea, was in charge of showing his fury through a storm or a bad sea that could end up causing the sinking of the boats. As the years went by and progress was made at a scientific level, myths were denied. For example, Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America, although his initial purpose was to go to the Indies, had many problems approving his trip or expedition before the Catholic Monarchs due to the lack of support because they were convinced that the Earth was flat and that therefore, they would go to the end of the world and end up falling. However, reality as we now know it tells us that the Earth is round, just as Copernicus believed many centuries ago. This astronomer ended up being burned for thinking totally different from the rest, when in reality he was absolutely right in the world.
In fact, many of those who used the myths to their advantage were the priests, and currently also the practitioners of tantric sex. They took advantage of the people’s ignorance to instill fear among the population and end up doing what they wanted, because the citizens thought that if they did not act in this way the gods would end up condemning them because they would get angry. For this reason, the worship of the gods was constant at all times, including before a battle or any important circumstance. The myths have been maintained today, with for example the origin of the universe. Although science supports the Big-Bang theory, where it is believed that an explosion created all the galaxies, others continue to support the religious theory of Adam and Eve. Another great myth is that it happens after life. Do we go to heaven, hell or reincarnate? Depending on the religion we belong to, we think one way or another.
Since there is no scientific theory that supports with facts what happens when we go to the afterlife, there are really many totally different thoughts and it is the subject of debate in numerous table gatherings. The scientific method, which starts from an initial hypothesis, an investigation is carried out through facts and evidence and ends up obtaining some later conclusions, was the great one in charge of beginning to end the myths that had initially always been associated with religious facts, or even paranormal. Philosophy laid the first stone for what is known today as scientific research and which has been able to provide so many advances over the years.
Over time, the definition of the word myth has also been changing. Initially, the myths were considered as a kind of legends. Surely in your place of residence there are different myths that your parents or grandparents have told you. In Barcelona and Catalonia, without going any further, we have that of Sant Jordi and the legend of the knight who killed the dragon that lashed a town and terrified all the inhabitants. When he was about to eat the princess, the knight appeared and with his sword he killed the dragon and roses appeared from his body. For this reason, April 26 is considered the day of Sant Jordi, and also the day of roses and books in which it is typical to give roses and books. Following this line, fables are also a kind of myth but with a much more educational character.
We all know the tale of the wolf, in which the shepherd always warned that the wolf was coming, and after so many times, when it was true, no one believed him. From this story it is extracted that one must never tell lies. Another example is found in the tale of the hare and the tortoise, both running a race. Obviously, we know that the tortoise is much slower than the hare. However, she is confident in her possibilities and with constant work, together with the laziness of the hare, she ends up winning the race. The same, constant work always pays off. With one objective or another, but myths have always been present in all periods of history and have had a more positive or negative character depending on the context we are talking about.
Benefits of myths
However, myths, although it may seem otherwise, have numerous benefits for all those who believe them or end up using them. The most prominent are the following:
- Believe in something. Religion is a myth from which nothing has yet been known, whether we are talking about Christianity or the Arab religion. However, as long as it is used in a positive focus, it has advantages. For example, believing in something that can give us strength will always be good.
- Teach values. Myths also serve to educate. The so-called fables, previously exposed, have an enormous educational character and can serve to guide the smallest of the house on the right path.
- Discussion topics. In addition, they serve to organize healthy and friendly discussions after a family meal on topics that are interesting and on which different points of view can be found.
- Research possibilities. The debate may end up turning into research. There are many unsolved myths currently, and therefore they are really interesting fields of research today.
Undoubtedly, myths offer numerous possibilities and benefits for all fields of the population and, therefore, must be exploited if we want to advance at an intellectual and scientific level in humanity.
How are the myths?
Currently, myths can have multiple interpretations, such as the fact of being a vegetarian, which we are going to explain below. On the one hand, we find that story that can have part of reality or fantasy, as a legend. This is applicable to all fields from history, religion, but also medicine or nutrition, among others. Have you read in the press that according to a study taking spidifen constantly lengthens life? Have you read that milk can cause or generate cancer? Is it true or is it false? We do not know, since this study may have some truth, but also some invention and, therefore, it is up to our criteria to believe said information or, instead, to think that it is totally false. Another type of myth can come from real events.
Throughout history, this has been written by the victors and, therefore, they have been able to alter some details that explain what has really happened. It can happen with the Spanish Civil War, that depending on the type of family the person explaining the story comes from, they can say one thing or another. It is the same with any type of historical war. Winners and losers will never explain the same thing.
In this sense, myths can be created from historical facts that with the passage of time have been altering their plot. The types of myths can be of the cosmos, of religious types, as well as related to paranormal phenomena or the end of the world. Many horror movies are set in paranormal events that people like us are starting to have. In fact, the practice of the oyster may be another of the myths of talking to the afterlife.
Finally, one of the conceptions of myth can also be related to the fact of idolizing a person that we see as a role model. For example, soccer fans may have Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo as idols or myths, considered by many to be the best soccer players of the moment. Not only in sports, but also in politics or the economy, we can find myths like George Washington or Theodore Roosevelt, among others. However, they do not necessarily have to be famous people, but we can also consider a much closer person as a son, a father, a brother or simply any friend or partner as a myth.
The characteristics of myths differ greatly depending on who explains the theory and its definition. While some theorists associate it only with the origin of the Earth, especially since it was in the majority due to the scientific deficit that was available at that time, others do speak of the possibility that myths existed after the creation of the Earth. However, what they do agree on is the composition and the elements of which a myth is made up.
On the one hand, it starts from a question of an existential nature referring to a theme that is broad and that can have different points of view that are very far from each other. On the other hand, it will also have two positions that are also very contrary to each other. For example, about the existence of God. There will be those who may think that he does exist and will have his arguments, which can be varied among those who think the same, or instead those who think otherwise may also have different reasons for believing it. However, the myths are still present at a time when the scientific method shines in all its splendor and in which there are still many cross-debates between different people.