Theories Of Myth Interpretation

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Rationalism

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The conviction that human reason is the way to important, fundamental truths; led some Greeks to apply reason to their traditional myths.

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Allegory (Physical/Psychological/Moral)

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"Saying one thing through another"; the allegorical method assumes that the myth is really talking about something completely unrelated to the events of the surface narrative.

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Etymology

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The study of the root meaning of words; in some myth interpretation it was used to discern the true nature of a narrative by examining the roots or associations of the words, as when Hera is argued to be originally a goddess of the air because her name sounds like the Greek word for air.

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Symbolism

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The idea that myths contain symbols: things that stand in for or point the way to important concepts

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Euhemerism

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Historical allegory: mythical characters reflect real people sufficiently important to be remembered after death

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Stoicism

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Philosophical system originating in the 3rd century BC that found in traditional myths complex allegories that supported their own philosophy

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Neoplatonism

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2nd century AD revival of certain aspects of Platonic philosophy; sought moral allegory in myth that not only supported their metaphysics, but also served to inspire the soul to escape the material world

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Plato's theory of forms

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the changing surface of the present reveals eternal realities. Plato rejected traditional myths.

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Medieval and Renaissance theories

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interpreted myth in order to extract a moral meaning or viewed pagan myth as a distorted version of biblical history

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Enlightenment theories

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17th and 18th century intellectual movement that, among other things, applied reason to inherited cultural traditions, including myth. The general conclusion about myth was that it was either failed efforts at science or irredeemably primative expressions of the savage mind. Bernard Fontenelle argued this.

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Romantic theories

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19th century approaches that rejected the Enlightenment deemphasizing of the emotional aspect of human consciousness and experience; saw myths not as irrational, but as expressions of emotional truth. Friedrich Creuzer argued this.

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Ritual Theory of Myth

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Anthropological, posited by James Frazer. The idea that myth explains and codifies religious ritual.

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Charter theory of myth

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Posited by Malinowski, holds that myth explains and justifies social, economic, political, as well as religious practices of a society

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Solar mythology

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Linguistic theory from Max Muller, myth as allegory of struggle between sunlight and darkness.

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Indo-European comparative mythology

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Posited by Georges Dumezil, linguistic theory, European myths are derived from the Indo-European people; the original form of the myths can be deduced by extracting the common "grammar" from the existing descendant myths

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Freudian interpretation

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Myth as by-product of personal psychological forces, particularly repressed sexual needs

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Collective unconscious

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Jung's theory that our unconscious is a shared reality

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Structuralism

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argues that the true meaning of myth is not conveyed by the surface narrative but by how it confronts and organizes key opposing elements of cosmic and human experience -- Claude Levi-Strauss

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programs of actions

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concept that finds quasi-ritualistic patterns of behavior in secular activities of human society; myths therefore serve as charters for these activities -- Walker Burkert