Mythology Terms

apocalypse myth: The opposite of the creation, tells how the world (universe, mankind) will end.

creation myth: Recounts the beginning of the culture (and people)—often starts with the universe and earth.

cosmology:  The big picture puzzle of all the little pieces of mythology. By putting all those pieces together, it forms a structure of how the universe works.

demigod: Part god and part human. Often they receive some kind of special traits or powers from their divine parent, but not always. Hercules, Perseus, and Christ.

Documentary Hypothesis:  Theory to explain conflicting narratives in the first five books of the Bible, which suggests these books were compiled and edited in some fashion. It explains the two creations of mankind and two accounts for the flood found in Genesis. Scholars believe there are four separate documents, named for how each refers to God.

• J — the Yahwist. J gets its name because it uses and allows humans to use the name (Jahwe in German) before Israel exists. J appears to have been composed in Judah, perhaps during Solomon's day, around 950 B.C.E.
• E — the Elohist uses Elohim (Hebrew for “God”) rather than YHWH in the early period. E reserves the name Yahweh for the time from Moses on. E appears to have been written in the north, around 850 B.C.E.
• P — the Priestly source. P is especially concerned with stories and laws relevant for priests. Like E, it reserves the name YHWH for the period from Moses on (see Exodus 6:3). Dated from exile or after (7^th-5^th century BCE).
• D — Deuteronomist. The book of Deuteronomy. It is not mingled with J, E and P.
• More info at: http://imp.lss.wisc.edu/~rltroxel/Intro/hypoth

etiology: Etiological myths are ones that tries to explain the origins of a natural phenomenon. Such as the origin of animals (Arachne’s transformation into a spider) or natural events occurs (The Earth shakes because of Poseidon).

          Etiological myths are, in essence, the ancient people’s attempt at scientific explanation with the evidence they had. They wanted to understand the world around them and where they came from. Often thse myths reflect the culture’s values (temperament of the gods, method of creation, etc.).

flood myth: Recounts how a flood wiped out the culture, yet a remnant was saved to carry on.

god/goddess (uncapitalized): Divine beings. They are empowered far beyond mortals. They are considered the force (directly or indirectly) behind creation, humanity, and natural phenomenon.

God (capitalized): This form of the word is a proper name for the Hebrew (Jewish) god or for the god in Christianity. Always capitalize it when referring to this god. It is also customary to capitalize all of the third-person pronouns that refer to God: He, His.

Greco-Roman gods: The Romans changed the Greek gods to suit their needs, including their names, as follows.

G	Zeus	Hera	Athena	Hermes	Artemis
R	Jupiter	Juno	Minerva	Mercury	Diana
G	Aphrodite	Ares	Poseidon	Cronos	Eros
R	Venus	Mars	Neptune	Saturn	Cupid

heavens & underworld: The heavens are the living places of the gods. The location can be ambiguous and not on Earth (such as Asgard) or point to a real places (Mt. Olympus). An underworld is where mortals (sometimes gods) go after dying, not necessarily a bad place (hell).

hero: A person (never a god) who fulfills the definition, certain conventions, and has traits reflective the origin culture. Not to be confused with a literary (or tragic) hero (including the hero’s journey). See hero handout.

hero myth: Myths about important figures within the culture that serve as a model of behavior.

hospitality tradition:  The custom and law of taking in of welcoming, feeding, providing safety, and giving gifts to travelers. Traveling in the Ancient world was a hardship. A twelve mile journey meant walking an entire day through the wilderness filled with wild animals, brigands, dehydration, starvation, and simply getting lost. Hospitality, in many cultures, was a law punishable by death. The tradition exists as a universal cultural idea.

knowledge myth: Myths that show how mankind received knowledge, and often the cost of that knowledge.

monotheism: belief in one divine being responsible for everything. While there are no other gods or goddesses, there may be other beings (like angels): Judaism, Christianity, Islam.

pantheon: A group of gods (or other semi-divine beings) for a particular culture. Referring to the Greek pantheon encompasses all of the Greek’s gods and goddesses, nymphs and various entitites. The Christian pantheon refers to God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Satan, angels, and demons.

polytheism: belief that many gods exist and are responsible in part for creation. Polytheism is more popular in mythology than monotheism. Greek, Norse, Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, and Norse pantheons to name a few.

Synoptic Gospels: The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke contain parallel accounts of Christ with small variations. Mark (probably first) is a general narrative; Matthew focuses on politics & law; Luke focuses on medicine.