How Myth Became History

"The book explores how border subjects have been created and disputed in cultural narratives of the Texas-Mexico border, comparing and analyzing Mexican, Mexican American, and Anglo literary representations of the border"--Provided by publisher.

A compelling comparison of the gospels and Greco-Roman mythology which shows that the gospels were not perceived as myths, but as historical records Did the early Christians believe their myths? Like most ancient--and modern--people, early Christians made efforts to present their myths in the most believable ways. In this eye-opening work, M. David Litwa explores how and why what later became the four canonical gospels take on a historical cast that remains vitally important for many Christians today. Offering an in-depth comparison with other Greco-Roman stories that have been shaped to seem like history, Litwa shows how the evangelists responded to the pressures of Greco-Roman literary culture by using well-known historiographical tropes such as the mention of famous rulers and kings, geographical notices, the introduction of eyewitnesses, vivid presentation, alternative reports, and so on. In this way, the evangelists deliberately shaped myths about Jesus into historical discourse to maximize their believability for ancient audiences.

What are myths? How have they evolved? And why do we still so desperately need them? A history of myth is a history of humanity, Karen Armstrong argues in this insightful and eloquent book: our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, link us to our ancestors and each other. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense–from Palaeolithic times to the “Great Western Transformation” of the last 500 years–and why we dismiss it only at our peril.

Ever since Herodotus declared in Histories that to preserve the memories of the great achievements of the Greeks and other nations he would count on their own stories, historians have debated whether and how they should deal with myth. Most have sided with Thucydides, who denounced myth as "unscientific" and banished it from historiography. In Mythistory, Joseph Mali revives this oldest controversy in historiography. Contesting the conventional opposition between myth and history, Mali advocates instead for a historiography that reconciles the two and recognizes the crucial role that myth plays in the construction of personal and communal identities. The task of historiography, he argues, is to illuminate, not eliminate, these fictions by showing how they have passed into and shaped historical reality. Drawing on the works of modern theorists and artists of myth such as Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, Joyce and Eliot, Mali redefines modern historiography and relates it to the older notion and tradition of "mythistory." Tracing the origins and transformations of this historiographical tradition from the ancient world to the modern, Mali shows how Livy and Machiavelli sought to recover true history from uncertain myth-and how Vico and Michelet then reversed this pattern of inquiry, seeking instead to recover a deeper and truer myth from uncertain history. In the heart of Mythistory, Mali turns his attention to four thinkers who rediscovered myth in and for modern cultural history: Jacob Burckhardt, Aby Warburg, Ernst Kantorowicz, and Walter Benjamin. His elaboration of the different biographical and historiographical routes by which all four sought to account for the persistence and significance of myth in Western civilization opens up new perspectives for an alternative intellectual history of modernity-one that may better explain the proliferation of mythic imageries of redemption in our secular, all too secular, times.

When is a story more than just a story? When does it become a myth? When it holds a piece of truth about our history, our morality, and the cosmos. Throughout history, humankind has use stories to explain the unknown. From the cycle of the moon to the changing of the seasons, tales about supernatural beings and events have served to account for the purpose of the cosmos. But mythology isn't entirely fiction, these stories have been passed down for generations for a reason. They also hold a kernel of truth about our ancestors and our world. You'll: - Take a peek at the stories on ancient Jewish scrolls that became the cornerstone of Jewish traditions, teachings, and laws. - Listen to ancient Egyptian tales of Ra, Isis, Osiris, and Horus and glimpse the core of Egyptian understanding of the cycles of nature. - See how the myths of the Norse and Vikings are tied to the growth of life and seafaring raids. - Glimpse the development of Christian faith and belief through the ancient stories of creation, floods, and Armageddon. - Learn how the Romans wove the tales of their people into lessons of morality, integrity, and politics. - Watch the Greeks capture their ideas and beliefs into narratives and poems of heroes, tragedy, and victory. Start your journey through humankind's oldest tales with Folklore, Myths & Legends: The History of Gods, Men and the Mythologies of the World and learn how ancient humans understood and explained the questions of the universe.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts of the myth *Discusses historical theories behind the legend *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "Theseus, the hero-slayer of the Minotaur, entered Crete from without, as the symbol and arm of the rising civilisation of the Greeks." - Joseph Campbell Countless civilizations have come and gone over the course of time, but interest in mythology is one of the great constants. People have approached myths from countless angles, some denigrating and self-righteous, others earnest and open-minded, but there is something mystical and universal in all myths that speaks to the reader across the years, regardless of what they know of historiography or "schools of thought." The truth is that all of these stories live in a murky, anachronistic history so entangled that trying to unravel it can mean everything or nothing at all. One of the reasons for this is the age of most myths, especially those from ancient times (the name Theseus can be traced back as far as 1450 BCE, for instance). Another is the sheer volume of possible versions there can be of a given myth. A lot of mythological stories span centuries, so it's likely that nothing like an "original version" of Theseus and the Minotaur will ever be known. In fact, even if the story could be traced all the way back, the "original" is likely to be so far removed from the beloved modern-day version that it would not be adopted as canon anyway. Nor, it has to be said, can a version of the story be isolated that would have been read at a specific point in time, such as the Classical Period, since a lot of the sources for stories like Theseus are either fragmentary or come even later. Moreover, an "original" is less important than the layers of meaning accumulated over the ages. To the modern reader, the sum of the parts can be more fruitful than the mode of conception. Regardless, as one of the most famous myths of all time, the story of Theseus has been at the heart of Greek mythology since he became Athens' "Culture Hero" at the beginning of the 5th century BCE, and variants on his story surface in countless ancient sources. The importance of the story to the Greeks themselves makes it worth looking at the story from a historical standpoint; many scholars believe the actions and events in myths have a basis in historical fact. On the other hand, Joseph Campbell's "monomyth" theory takes a different approach by suggesting all myths are part of a wider, mythological framework representing the psychological needs of the reader. Whether the approaches are "correct" has been and will continue to be debated in scholarly circles for the foreseeable future, but in many respects both sides of the debate can add value and understanding for modern readers. Even in the case of a story like Theseus that so many people are familiar with, studying the legend allows for different ways of interpreting it, and helps readers understand all the different variations of events within it. Theseus and the Minotaur: The History of One of Greek Mythology's Most Famous Legends looks at the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, based on both Greek and Roman sources, from which both fascinating and key elements of the story emerge. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the story like never before.