Mythology Mondays - Joseph Campbell

Every since I started thinking about doing Mythology Mondays, I've been wondering what happened to a particular book that my husband bought years ago. For a while I couldn't even remember the name of it. Finally I recalled that it was Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth. But where the heck was it? Finally this weekend I recalled that it was in a stack of books that's been the display vase for a lovely piece of pottery.

Joseph Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) is best known for his work in comparative mythology. In his monomyth concept, Campbell talked about  the idea that "the whole of the human race could be seen as reciting a single story of great spiritual importance. Over time, the story evolved based on the culture in which it was being told, taking on different masks based on societal structures and necessities.

Campbell felt that myths served four purposes:

1. Metaphysical: awakening a sense of awe before the mystery of being.

2. Cosmological: explaining the shape of the universe.

3. Sociological: supporting the existing social order

4. Psychological: guide the individual through life.

Ouch, my head is already starting to hurt. Maybe I'm not going to be up to reading this book after all! Oh, but wait. This book is "with Bill Moyers," respected and beloved journalist. The entire book is a conversation between Moyers and Campbell. Surely Moyers will make Campbell explain his theories in such a way that I can understand what he's saying without having to work too hard. And just maybe I'll even be able to explain to you what I've read as I go along.

To be continued....

Mythology Mondays - The Goddess of Healing

You may already have noticed that I haven't been around as much in the past week, not posting, not visiting blogs, not on Twitter. We've had some rather bad news this past week that will probably mean that I will continue to be online much less than I have been. I'll still be reading your blogs as much as possible and working to keep up with review obligations. Beyond that, I don't know how much I'll get to talk to everyone.That being said, this week I've been looking into the gods and goddesses of healing, of which all cultures seem to have one.

For the Greeks, that goddess is Aceso, the daughter of Epione and Asclepius (who, as one site said, was the main healer dude). Her sisters Hygeia and Panaceia.Asclepius was the god of healing and medicine. The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff is still the symbol of medicine to this day. The Greeks had a number of other gods that also held among their powers healing. Asclepius' Roman counterpart was Vejovis. Angitia was one of the Roman goddess of healing. If you look at both the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses associated in any way with healing, you'll note that most of the names are closely related to current medical terms.
 
In Celtic mythology, the goddess of healing is Brigid. She was also the goddess of fire, poetry and unity. Apparently the Celtics didn't have as many gods; they had to do double duty? She was said to be the daughter of Dagda, the great father-god of Ireland. Dian Cecht was Brigid's male counterpart.

Mesopotamians worshiped Nintinugga, goddess of healing and and Ninazu, god of healing. The Hindu twin gods of medicine were Ashvins. For the Egyptians, it was Bast, whose totem was the cat, and whose image you are probably familiar with.

Once again, I'm surprised, although I don't know why, that there were so many other cultures with such active systems of gods and goddesses. Given what I learned last week about mythology, it's only natural that peoples all of the world would have turned to myths, gods and goddesses to explain the world around them.

Mythology Mondays - What Exactly Is A Myth?

It's been a while since I had time for Mythology Monday and when I was contemplating what I might do this week, I occurred to me that I wasn't sure exactly what constitutes a myth. According to dictionary.com a myth is:

"a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature."

Some peoples came to see their own mythology as "true" stories whereas fables were considered to be fiction. A Greek mythologist, Euhemerus, who lived about 1700 years ago, first put out the idea that myths were based on actual events and people. According to Euhemerus, as these stories were based down, they were embellished until the characters become god-like beings. Whether or not the stories have any basis in reality, it's easy to see why people would have created these stories to explain things for which there was no other explanation.

Another theory is that myths have their basis in allegory, particularly for natural phenomenon or spiritual concepts. Yet another theory contends that myths were the result of "personification of inanimate objects and forces." 


Regardless of how "myth" is defined or what their genesis was, they make wonderful stories that have clearly stood the test of time. What do Shakespeare and George Clooney have in common? Mythology. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from Greek mythology in writing him plays. Clooney starred in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" which was based on The Odyssey.