Purpose Of The Myth

Myths usually answer four fundamental questions for a certain culture. They include the following: Who am I? What is the nature of the universe in which I live? How much control do I have over my own life? How can I reconcile myself to the inevitability of death? Myths also usually contain four themes. They are often about how the first parents are the gods of sky and earth, a creator god that fashions the first humans from parts of the earth, a god that destroys the earth with a flood, or some heroes who are the children of gods that posses powers, kill monsters, and have an unusual death. According to myths the beginning of the universe, for most major cultures, was a chaotic mass that a god or pair of gods separates. Then the gods multiply and a creator god brings life. Hero myths and epics are primarily to teach normal people the appropriate attitudes, behaviors, and values of that culture. Ordinary people can often identify with heroes because they still have human weaknesses or similar psychological needs and can be seen as ourselves, yet larger and grander.