Myth and Creation Myth

by Dr. Wayne Glowka

Professor of English

Georgia College & State University

The word "myth" comes from the Greek word "muqos," which means story. Many Greek stories were about the gods, who were responsible for things and events in the world. Collections of these Greek stories are called "mythologies" and a system of such stories is college a "mythology." The association of the term "myth" with stories about the Greek gods has led to the development of two meanings for the word in present-day English.

Because very few people believe in the ancient Greek gods anymore, the term has developed a pejorative meaning. We thus often hear the term "myth" used to refer to some untrue thing in which people nonetheless believe. For example, a health report might say that a piece of erroneous information about AIDS is a "myth."

However, when scholars use the term "myth," they mean something quite different. For scholars, a "myth" is a traditional story used by a culture to explain what otherwise cannot be explained. The Greek myths, for example, often explain why things have occurred in the world or why they still occur. An ancient Greek, for example, may say that it is stormy because Zeus is angry and throwing his thunderbolts. A modern American child may likewise be told that the devil is whipping his wife when it rains with the sun shining. In either case, the explanation is a myth. Scientists have their own explanations for the causes of thunderstorms and prefer to call their explanations "models," but to the historian of culture or the anthropologist, the model is just a myth of a different kind.

Myths are used to explain all kinds of things, but an important kind of myth is the creation myth. Since no human being was around at the beginning of the world, creation myths serve a very important cultural function. They tell us where we and our world came from. They also tell us what our place in that world is.

Creation myths thus reflect the values of their cultures. If a culture is patriarchal, its creation myths will emphasize the importance and value of males and the male contribution to creation. If the culture is matriarchal, its creation myths will do the same for females and female contributions.

However, despite the many obvious cultural differences, creation myths generally cover many of the same topics and offer many of the same elements in their explanations. It is surprising—if not frightening—to see that people from different cultures and religions with different ways of speaking seem to be telling the same story.

Please continue your exploration of myth with Dr. Glowka by clicking on the links below:

Male and Female accounts of Creation

One alone in the Water: Flood Myths

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