Myths and Legends

Storytelling is integral to humans, and myths and legends are aspects that heighten this part of our lives. Since pre-historic times, the cavemen have drawn on walls, and we still learn about it to this day. On the other hand, myths are also widely believed tales which are false.

To start off, each culture has its stories. Greek and Norse mythology is a huge part of our lives now, because not only do they represent the past lives of our ancestors, they also give us an idea that human nature has been identical throughout history. Greek and Norse gods were worshipped because people loved stories back then too, but the major difference was that they believed in them. Today, we make plays and movies about such beings and peoples as a form of entertainment. It works well because it captures themes such as family and love. Shakespeare's play "Troilus and Cressida" takes from the Trojan Horse story as it capitalizes on human aspects we still see to this day: betrayal and tragedies. The story is a myth or legend, but the way the deception works in the story is what leads to the famous plot-twists we see in stories today. Myths and legends have cemented themselves as pillars in our lives because they excite the masses. The hit series Game of Thrones took massive influence from Norse mythologies such as dragons representing both good and evil. The gods in the respective mythologies are shown to have human characteristics such as flaws and wants. This plays into myths and legends shaping a culture's identity, and how we can draw from them.

The second aspect which is about false tales shares a similar characteristic to the former definition that people want to believe in stories. People believe that bubble gum would get stuck inside their stomachs without even researching that it is simply false. This is because people use myths to justify their assumptions about the world. Such an assumption does create an interesting story, one that others would not dare to doubt, as it strikes emotion, being the crux of what myths and legends cater to.

We all feel emotion, and we strive to be happy. Myths work to serve ourselves, and satisfy us and our beliefs. When we normally watch a romance film, we want the couple to end up together, and that is a story. Families have traditions where they will gather together and tell emotional tales about how they met their spouses, but a lot of them end up being fake or exaggerated accounts. That is how you use a myth. It acts as a placeholder for something extraordinary, while also making it believable. The reason it works is that it touches our emotions, and we would like to keep believing such a lie, just so we feel secure. This is why myths are able to shape cultures.

Myths help with perception. It would not be too far off to say that we live our own myths, believing what we want to be true. The moment something contradicts our core beliefs we feel discomfort and try to avoid such a result. One of the biggest myths nowadays, and perhaps since a long time ago, is what it means to be an adult. I, sincerely, believe that we are always that ten-year-old child who enjoys being spoon-fed, but we put up a false persona, or a myth, to try and become someone society will accept. We all need to wear a myth to work or socialize. It ties into how we perceive the world and the emotions we would like to feel.

Another smaller aspect myths explain is the journey of life. When we are children, we are most certainly living the myth that we have control over our surroundings. As we grow older, the myth evolves, and we learn that we have much less control, but we have the ability of trial and error. We work towards a chance to find opportunities to get what we want. Finally, as we grow older, ironically, we revert to childlike behavior as old people's demands become unreasonable. It makes sense that a myth could be a substitute for life which is why it has been integrated into numerous cultures throughout life. We learn from myths, without even knowing if they are accurate, because it proves that life does itself does not have to be perfect, but more so a comforting experience.

To sum it all up, myths and legends are vital to culture because they make up each individual. They give us insight and knowledge about what was and what will be. They act as an elder brother, as we hold them in our hearts, trying to believe in a cause and doing what we believe is right. Facts may represent the truth, but myths mold our minds.