A myth is a traditional story that attempts to explain a natural or social phenomenon. It usually combines historical events with fantasy. Such stories had appeared long before people learned to read and write; they passed from generation to generation through oral tradition. As a result, there is no single author of any myth, and there cannot be one.
An essay about mythology can reflect the reasons that brought ancient people to compose such stories. For this purpose, you should understand the natural phenomena, human relationships, and religious rites the myth describes. Your essay relies on analyzing the lessons people wanted to teach their descendants. That’s why you should see the differences between the ancient and modern vision of reality.
To better understand what is expected from you writing a myth essay, you’ll need topic ideas and some guidance. You will find both in this article, prepared by our experts. Below, you can also find some helpful myth essay examples.
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It is better to know how myth differs from similar kinds of literary pieces. In this section, we’ll focus on mythology, legends, and folklore. Note that they are hard to classify and frequently overlap in many aspects.
Myths:
Describe ancient times.
Regarded as sacred truth.
Perceived as facts.
Characters are supernatural forces and beings.
Legends:
Describe historical times.
Regarded as history.
Are partially factual.
Characters are historical figures described as heroes.
Folklore:
Never specifies the time.
Regarded as secular art.
Are devoid of facts.
Characters are fictional figures or animals.
Myth Essay & How to Write It
So how should you write an essay about mythology? We have prepared a step-by-step guide.
Following this plan will help you get the highest mark:
Select a topic or myth to write about. If your tutor hasn’t limited you in the scope of questions to discuss in your writing, try to select a subject or angle of analysis that inspires you.
Investigate your material. Be sure to check if you can access sufficient materials on the topic you’ve selected. If not, move to the previous point. Take notes and use bookmarks with explanations. It will save you much time later. Also, make a summary of the most important passages.
Formulate your thesis statement. What would you like to tell the reader of your essay? Formulate the message of your writing. Explain what you want to convey in one concise and meaningful sentence.
Outline your paper. Envision it as a five-paragraph essay. It is often efficient to start from the main body that relies on your thesis, move to the introduction, and finalize the conclusion. List your arguments and one counterargument (if it is a persuasive essay). Think about which background information suits your introduction and which conclusion you will reach in the end.
Include the myths or historical facts. It is a mythology essay, remember? Make sure you’ve referenced the primary sources. Historical facts will add plausibility to your reasoning.
Write and edit. Follow your outline and correct it if necessary. Never grudge time for revising and editing as it can save your paper.
15 Myth Essay Ideas & Topics
It is high time to decide what you will write about. The topics are not limited to ancient times if your assignment does not indicate the contrary. So, here you can find unique ideas for a myth essay from modern to personal mythology.
Our list is as follows:
Reasons why the Greeks imagined Zeus as an unfaithful husband.
Did myths transform into science or religion?
The story of Batman in The Dark Knight as a myth.
Compare and contrast Disney’s Hercules vs. the myth versions.
What is a myth from the point of view of Indian mythology?
How does Norse mythology describe the world’s creation, and what does it tell us about the Norse mentality?
Why do we no longer create myths, or do we just call them differently?
What is the central conflict in all Greek mythology?
Why was love so crucial in mythical gods’ relationships, and what does it tell us about ancient people?
How did the Iroquois creation myth explain the appearance of the first people, and how different was it from the Christian tradition?
How does the myth of Gilgamesh explain the human perception of immortality?
What are the myths that we encounter in our daily lives, and why are they no longer considered sacred?
The sexism and the role of women in Greek mythology.
Why was warfare the essential part of Norse myths?
Can superhero movies be classified as myths, legends, or folklore?
We hope our advice and topics will bring you to an A+ essay. Below we have collected the best myth essay examples for your inspiration. Share the page with your peers who may need our tips.
The popularity of the theme of love affairs between the gods and the mortals can be explained with the peculiarities of the concept of divinity in Greeks and Romans.
The story of Icarus and Daedalus is told in a Roman source, Ovid's "Metamorphoses"; the Isle of Crete was blocked by the order of King Minos, but Daedalus wanted to return to his home, Athens.
For instance, the separation stage encompasses a "call to adventure, refusal to heed the call, and a crossing of the first threshold". The last part of a hero's journey according to Campbell is the Hero's [...]
This essay examines the similarities and the differences between the Roman and the Greek god Apollo, and his importance in the leadership philosophies.
Although her daughter is returned to her, a part of her is lost because she has to spend part of her life in the underground as the mistress of the underground ruler.
Pages: 2
Words: 496
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However, the most common myth indicates that before creation of the heavens, the sea and the earth were made and whatever existed could only be described as lifeless, disorganized and shapeless matter.
But, the content of the myth is meaningful in terms of representation of human beliefs in the creation of the world, structure of the universe and reflect people's vision and explanation of the power of [...]
The increasing interest in the occult world and other rituals linked to diabolical are becoming extensive in a wide segment of the populace, prompting renewed vigor in comprehending their actions. The expression accentuates the Canaanite [...]
Homer, in his epic The Odyssey tells the story of the heroes of Trojan wars and the most enchanting of all the themes of the classic work is the loyalty of Odysseus to his wife [...]
Zeus' main weapon was the thunderbolt and he was commonly referred to as the father of men and gods. Zeus had to fight with the remaining Titans and he was able to vanquish one of [...]
The inevitability of destiny is the main idea of the play, and the last lines support that: nobody should name a mortal happy until this mortal faces everything that destiny has for them. The story [...]
Still, according to Ovid love is the eternal source of conflicts and is the strongest manifestation of a person, it is the essence of life and its pivot.
So, it should be pointed out that Medusa was the great character of the Ancient mythology and remains to be the significant image in the world of modern literature and art.
This shows she was courageous and determined to bury her brother irrespective of the consequences. Antigone's mistake was disobeying the law and Creon's mistake was being arrogant even to his son.
The Muse is the giver of gifts and in this case it is the gift to create words that are melodious to the ear but at the same time the power to move the hearts [...]
The second aspect of the relationship between the Greek gods and humans is that the gods sought to influence human action to achieve their own "divine" ends.
In the Greek tradition, the women were the ones that were concerned with the issues of burial and she wants Ismene to help her to ensure that their brother is properly buried despite the objection [...]
As the reader explores the idea of divinity throughout most of the Greek mythologies and epics, it becomes clear that there is a strong connection between the people of Greece and their gods thus making [...]
He was believed to be the creator and the controller of the sea therefore, people gave him respect and they make him to become angry. Poseidon was a god of the sea and therefore was [...]
The Mexican folktale of La Llorona, the weeping woman, about a mother who laments her lost children by weeping on the banks of lakes and rivers, is an instance of a myth that spans the [...]
The central figures of the myth are Amma, the Earth, the pale fox, the imperfect twins, and the perfect twins. The assertion illuminates the fact that human beings are imperfect due to the sinful act [...]
The first allegory used in the book is the one of the Monkey King who was a great person, who was recognized by gods from the very first moment of his birth, and who worked [...]
The Biblical conceptualizations of the origin of man provide an excellent form of a myth in the antiquity while the relatively new myth of the Superman offers the best illustration of a myth in the [...]
But it is his marriage to Hera that made a great impact in the continuance of the Greek myth. In Greek mythology, Hebe is the personification of youth and immortality.
The human personality traits determined the gods and goddesses to be immortalized, hence the actions that were observed in the myths were as a symbol of the actual actions of men.
The reason for such attitude can be found in the patriarchal culture and the dominant role of free adult males in the Greek and Roman social life. However, this was not the only, and probably [...]
Pages: 4
Words: 915
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The Epic of Gilgamesh is the most famous work of Babylonian literature, in which the everlasting question of life's purpose and the inevitability of human death is posed.
In the course of the transformation of humankind that is depicted in 'Metamorphoses' as different ages from the golden age to the bronze age, the literature might have taken shape before the golden age, and [...]
According to Eicher and Roach-Higgins, the elements of her dress were important because they immediately communicated specific ideas about her character that was as contradictory as the physical gender of the birthing parent."In appropriating the [...]
Greek God and Goddess have not been given any proper mention in The Bible, but at more instances it has been given reference as unknown gods and the goddess to the people of Asian origin [...]
Due to the events of this quest for knowledge, Odin was always depicted as a one-eyed man. Odin was an excellent warrior and the god of violence and fury.
Enkidu, another man who is also depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh as having a power in terms of how he treated his companions, meets King Gilgamesh in some of the scenes in the epic [...]
As the creator of humans and gods, he had the initiative to bring order to earth and the heavens. Like other creations narratives, the Mayan initializes that in the beginning, the earth was void as [...]
Homer offers a variety of shades of religious consciousness, and many of the plot elements used by the author indicate a social interpretation of the divine cult and the introduction of human beliefs into the [...]
The name also conveys the important idea that each person has one's mission on this earth, and Some's mission is to relate the message from his culture to the western world and to become a [...]
Dionysus is viewed as apposite in character to Apollo; he is a god that is described to be slow to anger and always willing to help those that are in need. He is willing to [...]
The sea fell to Poseidon, the underworld to Hades, and Zeus became Lord of the Sky. Being the wife of Zeus and Queen of Olympus, Hera was powerful, but she exercised her power in subtle [...]
Pages: 5
Words: 1833
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According to the author, the king is "given such glory of war, such honor of combat, that all his kin obey him gladly till great grow his band of youthful comrades".the character of the king [...]
Examples can be found in Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, telling about the heroic quest of Sundiata, and in Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, telling about the heroic twins [...]
Furthermore, from this story, the reader will learn about the special relationship of Navajo to the stars, the constellations of which provide the life principles and values of the people.
Modern image of trickster can be illustrated through popular ‘hero’ of literature and movie fields having all the characteristics of archetypical character.
Myths are said to provide a framework of cultures in the society and are also said to educate people in the society so that they can have a means of coping with the traditions which [...]
In this paper, the ideas to what extent Roman mythology is similar to Greek one, the differences and similarities of myths from different cultures, and the impact of these two mythologies will be introduced; a [...]
The brevity of it is that myth is a message and its definition does not lie in the content it intends to convey but by the means with which it is conveyed.
The ideals of a given culture are determined by the social cultural conditions of a society or can also be greatly influenced by the views and the perceptions of the author.
Plato and Hesiod tried to evaluate the ideas of justice in their worlds and the ways of how people prefer to use their possibilities and knowledge using the story of Prometheus; Plato focused on the [...]
Mythmaking in literature can be analyzed on the examples of famous poets such as Ted Hughes and Geoffrey Hill who managed to embody the mythological elements in their outstanding masterpieces.
The Trojans were the ancestors of the Romans according to the Aeneid, and their enemies were the Greek forces who had besieged and sacked Troy; yet at the time the Aeneid was written, the Greeks [...]
He led him to the highest point of the mountain and pointed him to a certain point on the land where there were lots of fig trees referred to as Mugumo in your native language.
This myth is priceless for the researchers of Mesopotamian culture since it mirrors the religious traditions of that period, the treatment of gods, the perception of a hero, and attitudes to friendship and death.
Since it was believed that Anat had extra-ordinary powers in matters related to reproduction, war, and harvest, the town of Zoan was expanded and the sanctuary of Anat was renamed as the City of Ramses.
In fact, majority of the traditions that people in the modern society carry out have their origin in Greece. One Greek mythology that has influenced the whole world is the celebration of the Olympic Games.
However, suppose one understands the meaning and the reasons for their creation, which in most cases are similar regardless of the area of origin of the legend.
At the same time, the mystical part inherent in many legends is essential for supporting the interest and curiosity of people and their faith in the best.
The story of the Garden of Eden has, for centuries, shaped Western culture and influenced the American world. The narrative approach raises the question of the correspondence between stories and reality.
With the introduction of different cultural shifts and a variety of retellings, their origins change and alter, bringing new and interesting angles to existing stories.
The fact that testifies to the idea that Prometheus preferred people over Gods is the way the titan tricked the Gods over parts of the animals that had to be given to them in a [...]
One of the characters that can be interesting to examine in a more broad way is Telemachus. It works well to tie in a sense of loss and longing for a father with Telemachus, allowing [...]
The legend of the Mayan twin gods is a metaphor for the creative process and illustrates how everything came to be as a result of the heroic actions of the Mayan community.
Finally, a gorgeous bull of a white color came to the land and, therefore, Minos became the King of Crete. Minos' promise to Poseidon was clear and stated that he first would sacrifice a white [...]
Pages: 2
Words: 603
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As stated, the main character of this story is the King of Uruk, who now serves as a reminder that in the early times, humans used to feel the same as we did.
For this objective, he traces the origin of this approach from the ancient Irish oral tradition and, more specifically, "the tale of the Prince of the Lonesome Isle and the Lady of Tubber Tintye".
Such a formulation implies that people's minds intertwine myths and dreams as a mechanism of self-perception, understanding of the self in the context of the whole life cycle, and coping with developmental change.
The bull became the emblem of the brand, as the bull is the sacred animal of Zeus. Prometheus was destroying people's faith in the deity, and for this, the thunderer Zeus decided to punish him.
This is the task worthy of a hero because, in order to acquire the previous cedar logs for the monument, the characters would have to travel to the faraway forest guarded by the dreaded giant [...]
Turning to Gilgamesh's outward metamorphosis, he was selfish and arrogant at the beginning of the epic, convinced of his exceptionality and ultimacy of judgment.
There is no perfect equivalent of the ring of Gyges in the real world, and I can only think of some allegories to it, such as political power or financial superiority.
Hector's behavior is often contradictory since the motives for his actions are either a thirst for glory, which is typical of an epic hero), or an understanding of the duty to the fatherland and the [...]
This paper aims to examine the myths of Odysseus and Oedipus from the unifying idea of hubris. The hero becomes a hostage to circumstances and incurs the wrath of the gods.
His childhood and adolescence were joyless, as the mother's love and care and the custody of a wise educator Mentor could not substitute his father, who had gone to war with Troy.
The emphasis of the color, hue, and light makes the figure of Cephalus the focal point, while toning down the background and other characters help to avoid distraction of the audience with the use of [...]
To be honest, while identifying, researching, and developing the project, I discovered much information and realized the great significance of myths nowadays. Each step contributed to my understanding of the presence and significance of myths [...]
Although the stasimon in question appears to center the character of Zeus, especially at the beginning of the narration, the portrayal of the god adds not so much to the exploration of the theme of [...]
Pages: 2
Words: 656
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In The Golden Ass, the behaviors of Lucius and Socrates are ridiculous due to the impossibility of coping with their curiosity and pleasure but prioritizing sexual satisfaction, basic human needs, and the overwhelming power of [...]
The character traits of Achilles reveal how the Greeks view heroism and outline their values such as fearlessness and fame. The Greeks acknowledged their desire for fame and honor, just like Achilles, who the Myrmidons [...]
It must also be noted that the deaths of Hippolytus and Narcissus were the result of "wishes" wherein it was the wish of Theseus that led to the death of Hippolytus while it was the [...]
In this case, the position of kingship was the highest in political rankings, equivalent to the presidency in modern-day practices. Most importantly, the element of leadership in Greek mythology was characterized by concessions and plots.
Through the meeting of Telemachus with Menelaus, the author emphasizes the significance of hospitality as a primary value and develops such features and discretion, leadership, and heroism of the son of Odysseus.
This paper is dedicated to the study of the connection between classical epos of Beowulf and Gardner's work through the analysis of Gardner's toying with the conventions of the warrior code, the place of heroes [...]
The Cambodian "Myth of Lightning, Thunder, and Rain" is a narration of a dance symbolized by the fight between the characters, Reamesor and Moni MeKhala.
However, the fact that it is physically difficult to commit suicide surprised me, and the idea that people who are one step before suicide are often difficult to distinguish made me think.
On the other hand, Antigone looked at things in a totally different perspective from Creon; she believed it was her duty as a woman to bury the body of a family member and proceeded to [...]
Consequently the idea of respect and submitting to patriarchy is even seen in the human level. This is a parable for women to behave and obey the rules of the patriarchal society.
This essay will discuss and compare the way women are represented in Marie de France's The Lais and Ovid's Metamorphoses. Although the two authors in question embraced different literary traditions, there are similarities in their [...]
Themes of Self-Sacrifice and Love in the Iliad Easily seen is the strength that is given from Zeus to mortals either in those into whose hands he gives the surpassing glory, or those he diminishes [...]
In Greek culture, dragons are always evil and pose a threat, which is why the most familiar motif in Greek myths is that of a dragon combat: there is a dangerous monster, and there is [...]
Pages: 4
Words: 1124
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The examples of myths that are supported by modern historical, astronomical, medical, physical, economic, and even philosophical findings are multiple including the myth of Ramayana, the creation story of Zuni's emergence, the Native American myths, [...]
The depiction of couples in the African culture keeps up a correspondence to the neighborhood originators or the associates. Almost every culture has a creation myth and all the myths are directly reflected in the [...]
The early inhabitants of America, like other ancient groups, derived their own legendary stories on creation of the universe, the people and the locality together with their heroes and their deities in the universe.
Though the poem's creation was encouraged by the emperor Augustus, Vergil put into The Aeneid not only a laudatory narration of Roman people origin but vividly depicted social and moral values of that period; he [...]
According to Brian, Mongolia is a Chinese province known as 'Outer Mongolia?' The Mongol language is one of the renowned Altaic families of languages that include Vigur, Turk Oroquen, the Ewenk, the Daur, and lastly, [...]
Pages: 1
Words: 121
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