The Literary, Religious, Socialand Scientific Cases for Archetype

A Michael Thier production

Photo credit: Kathryn Thier during a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia

Now that you are analytical scholars of archetype, many of you have begun to

wonder why so many culture that seem so different have so many similarities in

their foundational stories.

Some thoughts on the power of myth

• There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. -Willa Cather

• The study of mythology might be compared to the

investigation of a sealed box. We do not know which is top or bottom, who sent it or why. -Mary Barnard

• Essentially, mythologies are enormous poems that are renditions of insights, giving some sense of the marvel, the miracle and wonder of life. -Joseph Campbell

Are myths truer than history?

Myths and folktales remain vital to modern readers because they reveal common truths, patterns, and themes that are familiar to all ages and cultures. They explain the origins of various rituals that people fol low. They are passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Most important of all, however, they explain the human experience. They tell us, in poetic, imagi native terms, the most important things that we can com municate to one another: who we are, where we came from, and what we believe in. As mythologist Joseph Campbell once pointed out, myths and folktales are in some ways even "truer" than history.

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What is a myth and why does it exist?

1. to explain the creation of the world and the universe 2. to explain the human condition: how and why people were created, why they are flawed. why there

is suff ering in the world. why people must eventually die, and what happens to people after death3. to explain natural phenomena, such as the setting of the sun and the phases of the moon 4. to explain the nature of gods and goddesses and how they interact with human beings5. to explain the meanings behind religious rituals, cus toms, and beliefs 6. to explain historical events 7. to teach moral lessons

I photographed this 5,000-year-old Aborigine cave drawing in Kakadu National Park in Jabiru, Australia in Summer 2006.

A myth is an anonymous, traditional story that explains a belief, custom, or mysterious natural phenomenon. Myths were the first human stories, created out of a need to make sense of the universe and explain how the world and its human inhabitants came to be. Along with rituals, cave and rock paintings, songs, and prayers, myths were the means through which human beings tried to find order and pattern in life. They were science, religion, history, and literature all in one. They created a sense of harmony with a world that could be both beautiful and dangerous. The word myth comes from the Greek word muthos, which means "story.“

The Staying Power of Mythic Patterns The more myths you read, the more you’ll notice that certain

themes, characters, and images keep recurring. These recurring patterns are called archetypes. They serve as basic models to

which specific cultural details are added. Archetypes are so powerful that they simply change a bit over time and reappear in different forms in other types of literature. Thus, the archetype of the lost Golden Age might appear today in a novel about a woman

who remembers a happy childhood in her old hometown but returns to it in middle age only to find that everything has changed

and that the joy and innocence of that earlier time cannot be recaptured. The myth of a great flood might appear today in the

form of a science-fiction novel about the end of the world in which a war, disease, or alien invasion destroys almost everything, but

leaves possibilities open for the world’s rebirth.

Folktale: a descendent of the mythMyth: anonymous, traditional story that explains a belief, custom, or mysterious natural phenomenon

Folktales: stories created by common people, including legends, fables, tall tales, fairy tales, ghost stories

Superman is a mythic hero because he is not an ordinary person. He is a phenomenon from another world with godlike powers.

Photo credit: comicbookmovie.com

Photo credit: myfreewallpapers.net

Meanwhile, Batman is a folk hero because he is really the alter ego of Bruce Wayne, an ordinary human being that happens to be very resourceful. Yet, both are heroes. Either way: DC Comics are not as cool as Marvel Comics.

Start your Venn diagram

Traits of both myths and folktales• passed by word of mouth and changed

over time (oral tradition)• tell about beginnings of things• include marvelous events, but usually a

result of the supernatural in myths• deeds of heroes, heroines, gods,

goddesses• explain origins of various rituals• explain human experience• use poetic, imaginative terms• Hero follows this recipe:

1. faces a series of challenges / contests2. suffers greatly for refusal of challenges3. is forced to accept challenge by circumstances4. eventually overcomes them

Traits unique to either myth or folktale

– Folk tales are secular, not religious like myths.

– Folk tales are as much about entertainment as teaching moral or social values.

– Folk tales may have gods and goddesses, but they are not central figures.

– Heroes are common everyday people who lack special powers or superhuman parents.

The Hero’s Quest(which we’ll discuss later on in Hamilton’s Mythology)

• is a journey in search of something of value, such as a princess, truth, meaning of life, treasure, magical charm.

• is often helped by loyal friends and gods / goddesses or animals and magical beings

• features a hero tempted to leave “true path” by a woman, lure of easier lifestyle, or a character flaw.

• features a descent into underworld or dark, frightening place

• shows a hero boldly going where no one has gone before

• may involve surrendering hero’s life• If the hero survives, he returns with something

to share, such as new knowledge, renewed commitment, greater passion / wisdom.

• symbolizes: individual v. societal justice• OR facing unpleasant realities• OR answering tough questions

I took this photo inside a cloud as I climbed the top of Mount Whistler, site of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. This is what parts of the Hero’s Quest often feel like.

Get that Venn diagram backTRAITS OF THE MYTHIC HERO TRAITS OF THE FOLK HERO

•remarkable birth / childhood (born under unusual circumstances)•offspring of god + human being with qualities of immortals and mortals•often unaware of origins and usually raised by foster parents•early signs of supernatural powers•E.g.: Luke Skywalker, Theseus

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•Ordinary person•stepchild or neglected youngest child scoffed at by parents/older siblings•may not have superhuman abilities, but is out of the ordinary with kindness, cleverness, or resourcefulness

•E.g.: Cinderella, Paul Revere

If you think about it . . .As young children, most of us created our own myths to explain our world with similar archetypes. Do these sound familiar?

Did any of us ever ask:

• Daddy, why is the sky blue . . . and then create a non-

scientific reason for why?

OR

• Mommy, where do people go when they die?

. . . and then create a non-religious location for where?

Excerpt of “Help Pour Out the Rain” (Lacey’s Song) By Buddy Jewel

I was ridin' with my daughteron our way back from Monroe.An' like children do, she started playin' 20 questions,But I never would've guessed one would touch me to my soul.

She said: "Daddy, when we get to Heaven, can I taste the Milky Way?"Are we goin' there to visit, or are we goin' there to stay?"Am I gonna see my Grandpa? Can I have a pair of wings?"An' do you think that God could use another Angel,"To help pour out the rain?“

Collie Midre: the greatest baseball player that you’ve never heard of

Photo credit: eyefetch.com

But why are the stories all so similar?

Linguists Say: Proto-Indo-EuropeanEnglish: father, mother, sister, brother English: one, two, three Hebrew: Shalom English: SabbathFrench: père, mère, sœur, frère Latin: unus, duo, tres Sanskrit: Shanthi Hebrew: ShabbatSanskrit: pitar, matar, svasar, bhratar Hindi: ek, do, tin Arabic: Salam Babylonian: Shappatum

But why are the stories all so similar?

Mythologists Say: PantheonsVisit Godchecker.com and look up how many cultures have the same gods with slightly different names and descriptions. Check out how many cultures have gods of chocolate or lettuce or vomit.

But why are the stories all so similar?

Monotheists Say: Tower of Babel

Read Genesis 11.1-9 from the King James Version of the Old Testament.

1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

But why are the stories all so similar?Scientists Say: Pangaea

• the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration

• Name coined in the scientific discussion of Alfred Wegener's theory of the Continental drift. In his book The Origin of Continents and Oceans, he postulated that all the continents had at one time formed a single supercontinent which he called the "Urkontinent", before later breaking up and drifting to their present locations.

• The term Pangaea appeared in 1928.• Fossil and magnetic rock samples that are

1,000s of miles apart provide evidenceSource: Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution

Pangaea and the fossil evidence

therapsid Lystrosaurus Mesosaurus

Photo credit: wikiimages

250-million-year-old dinosaur with fossils found alongside rare flowers in South Africa, India and Australia

Freshwater reptiles whose remains have been found on eastern coast of South America and western coast of Africa

And there’s proof around the corner

The Appalachian Mountains, which run through North Carolina, extend to ranges in Ireland, Britain, Greenland and Scandanvia.

Source: Visualizing Earth Science

So, it’s all a big game of telephone?Historians Say: Oral TraditionPower was best consolidated when few people controlled stories on which cultures were founded. In a time before large-scale literacy, passing stories down from generation to generation meant those who could read or recite the stories would have power in that society.

Photo credit: poguepress.com