ISSN: 2582-1962 Cape Comorin Volume II Issue II July 2020

An International Multidisciplinary Double-Blind Peer-reviewed Research Journal

Clueing in mythical history

𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝟏 , 𝐏𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐚 𝐑𝟐 ,1, 2 Bachelors of Science (Statistics), PSG College of Arts and
Science, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, TamilNadu, India-641014

ABSTRACT:“Fact is everybody‟s truth; Fiction is nobody‟s truth; Myth is somebody‟s truth.” The present
paper is about myths and its subsistence till now. Myths have fed the imaginations and souls of humans for
thousands of years. It has shown us fascinating heritage of gods, heroes, epic adventures, spooky stories and
things that would make an individual question about science. In this article, few concepts have been explored
such as, „myths- its origin ,the actual account in history, its major role in today‟s society, speculation of urban
myths and its popularity, famous mythologies, and all its impact on the present society.

Keywords: Myths, Mythology, famous, urban legends, Film

Introduction:

“Myths are early science; the result of men‟s first trying to explain what they saw around them “said Edith
Hamilton. Myths are tales that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins while some may be
completely fictional. But myths are more than mere tales that serve a profound purpose in ancient and modern
cultures. These sacred stories explain the experiences of man with the world. Myths are very much relevant to
us today like they were with our ancestors. They answer eternal questions and serve as a compass to each
generation. For example, the myths of paradise lost give people the hope that they can lead a better life by living
virtuously. The myths of golden age gives hope that good leaders will guide them. The hero‟s quest is a model
for young men and women to follow as they accept adult responsibilities. The subjects of myths normally deal
with the universal concern of mankind: birth, death, the afterlife, the origin of man, good, the evil and the nature
of man. A myth taps into the collective wisdom of man.

Unlike fairly tales, myths are not always optimistic. Essence of myths is such that they are often warnings
as promises; as often laments as celebrations. Myths are also persuasive in arts and advertising. Each generation
of storytellers add another layer of facts and fictions to the original base and pass it on to the next generation.
There are many things in this world which are beyond human thinking capacity and thus we linked them to
something that does not exist, something supernatural or is believed to be existed without any proof.

What are myths?

Myths are folklore genre consisting of narratives or stories that play a fundamental role in a society, such as
foundational tales or origin myths. The main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods or supernatural
humans. Myths are normally narrated in past format. They are believed to be existed but are not seen today.

But myths are not history. History is the past as it is described in written documents, and the study thereof.
Events occurring before written records are considered prehistory. History relates to past events as well as the
memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of information about these events.
Scholars who write about history are called historians. History uses a narrative to examine and analyze a
sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and effect that determine them.

But myths though have written evidences do not have materialistic object evidences to support it.

How is mythology connected to myths?

Mythology is the study and interpretation of sacred tales or fables of a culture or the collection of mythical
stories which deal with various aspects of the human condition: good and evil; the meaning of suffering; human
origins; the origin of place-names, animals, cultural values, and traditions; the meaning of life and death; the

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ISSN: 2582-1962 Cape Comorin Volume II Issue II July 2020
An International Multidisciplinary Double-Blind Peer-reviewed Research Journal

afterlife; and the gods or a goddesses. Myths express the beliefs and values about these subjects held by a
certain culture. The study of mythology is called mythography.

How many mythologies are there in the world?

There are thousands of them. Each culture has its own mythology and which they believe it and pass it on to
generations. Mythologies all around the world are classified in four.

1. Mythologies by region
2. Mythologies by religion
3. Mythologies by time period
4. Fictional mythologies

What are the most famous among them and why?

The most famous ones are Abrahamic, Hindu, Norse, West African, Japanese, Sumerian, Greek,
Egyptian, Polynesian and Babylonian mythologies. These mythologies are famous because they almost explain
what we see around us every day. All the above stated mythologies have historical origin and are very much
accepted even in today‟s world.

The Abrahamic mythology is a collection of Christian, Islamic and Jewish mythologies. Christian
mythology is associated with the Christ and the bible, Islamic with the Quran and prophet and the Jewish
mythology talks mostly about Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have a profound influence on Christian
and Islamic mythology and even on world culture. In the Jewish mythology we can find narratives that are
present in Christian and Islamic mythologies. Various authors have various narratives in these mythologies to
refer to other mythological and allegorical elements found in the Bible or Quran such as the story of Saint
George and the Dragon, the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and the legends of the
Parsival. Multiple commentators have classified John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as a work of Christian
mythology.

The Hindu mythology is narrative gathered from texts like Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharatha,
Ramayana, the puranas and also regional literatures. The Hindu people consider these stories factually true and
follow certain rituals. We can find a very good mention of this mythology in the Panchathantra and Hitopadesha
books.

Norse mythology is of North Germanic people stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after
the Christianization of Scandinavia and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period. This mythology
consists of many stories of deities, beings, heroes derived from sources before and after the pagan period,
medieval manuscripts, archeological representations and folk traditions. Some of the Norse gods are Thor, Odin,
Freyja, Skadi, Njoror, Heimdallr, Loki and many more.

West Africa is a place that has been dominated by tribal for centuries. Thus, the myths, stories, gods
and goddesses are often associated with nature. Most of the mythological stories vanished due to slave trade and
thus today have very much less information on this mythology. It is said that most of their gods were associated
with five elements of the earth like Abosam, Achimi,Adroa and so on. They linked all the misfortune happening
to them with the evil spirits like Ogbanje and Anansi. Unlike western mythology, African myths aren‟t
recounted as single narrative story, nor are there any established corpus of Myth.Instead; myths are embedded
and transmitted in ritual practice.

The Japanese mythology is a collection of stories, folktales and beliefs that are found in the Japanese
archipelago. Shinto and Budhist culture forms the major part of this mythology.The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki are
the old source texts of Japanese mythology. These books talk about the origin of the imperial family saying they

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ISSN: 2582-1962 Cape Comorin Volume II Issue II July 2020
An International Multidisciplinary Double-Blind Peer-reviewed Research Journal

descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu and her grandson Ninigi. Many deities appear in this mythology
.Some names are comparatively long.

Sumer is a part of Mesopotamia now modern day Iraq. Sumerians created a complex civilization with
their own language and writing, architecture, arts, astronomy and mathematics. The first Sumerian myth was
found in the city of Nippur in form of tablet dating around 5000BC.This mythology claims that at the beginning
human like gods ruled over earth. The Sumerian mythology is the interested and most fascinating mythology
next to the Greek mythology.

Greek mythology is the most fascinating mythology and is the most known mythology in the world. In
ancient Greece, stories about gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters were something like a part of their life.
Their myths gave meaning to the world people saw around them. Greek Mythology doesn‟t have a single source
text and was passed on in form of oral tradition. The poet Hesiod‟s Theogany is the first written cosmogony or
origin story by the Greeks. The Theogany tells the story of the universe from a Chaos to being, and details an
elaborate family tree of elements, gods and goddesses who evolved from Chaos and descended from Gaia,
Ouranos, Pontos and Tartaros.

Egypt had one of the largest and most complex pantheons of gods of any civilization in the ancient
world. Egyptians worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses. Egyptian myths are very absorbing. The story of
Osiris is the most famous one. Osiris, one of Egypt‟s most important deities, was god of the underworld. He also
symbolized death, resurrection, and the cycle of Nile floods that Egypt relied on for agricultural fertility.
According to the myth, Osiris was a king of Egypt who was murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth. His
wife, Isis, reassembled his body and resurrected him, allowing them to conceive a son, the god Horus. He was
represented as a mummified king, wearing wrappings that left only the green skin of his hands and face
exposed. Each and every god or goddess had their own animal symbols. So, in ancient Egypt not only gods or
goddesses but animals were also worshipped.

Polynesia is a region of the Pacific Ocean combining all the widely separated diverse island groups.
Most of the Southeast Asian myths can be seen in Polynesia because humans migrated from there to Polynesia
2000 years ago. As time passed they adapted and modified the myths they knew to their new environment. So,
in the process they added new characters and events to the traditional myths and legends. Polynesian Mythology
placed a great emphasis on the ocean environment. They believed that every living thing consists of a sacred
power called Mana and thus made complicated rules to protect it. The most popular character in the Polynesian
mythology is Maui. The people living in the pacific didn‟t venture throughout the world and thus were not very
advanced. They still believe these myths and follow this culture whole heartedly.

Babylonian myth records date back to 700 BC.They were transcribed in cuneiform on clay tablets and
stored in the library of King Ashurbanipal at Ninevah.Apart from this two books were found in form of epics,
„Epic of creation‟ and the „Gilgamesh Epic‟. The Babylonian mythology is more earth bound and materialistic
and thus lacks transcendental quality. The Babylonian gods mostly indulged in eroticism, feasting and fighting.

How Mythology plays a major part in film making:

A large portion of the movies made in Hollywood concentrated on Greek Mythology. At the point when
the main film developed individuals contended that it has assumed control over the job of the novel. Since the
time movie producers began to utilize the type of narrating as its structure establishment for films, the
progression to take well known books effectively famous and use them in films was a straightforward advance.
The adjustment of a novel to a film is a gigantic imaginative undertaking that requests a specific sort of
understanding and decisions yet in addition the capacity to reproduce and safeguard the air that has been made.
In "O Brother" clearly the movie producers are utilizing adjustment by taking on an old notable story and
transforming it into another well known and engaging film. Obviously there are classes under these three
different ways in how to break down the movies simply like writing however that isn't the issue here.

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ISSN: 2582-1962 Cape Comorin Volume II Issue II July 2020
An International Multidisciplinary Double-Blind Peer-reviewed Research Journal

Increasingly significant is the way we see every adjustment of novel to film, every individual has various
perspectives and understandings and in this way the comprehension on the adjustment itself is consistently
unique. Now and then it is said that film adjustment gets the watcher's consideration just if the watcher has just
perused the novel. Once more "O Brother" shows us in any case, despite the fact that the watcher knows nothing
about Homers Odyssey the film itself is engaging and maybe due to the beginning content it has incited
individuals not exclusively to appreciate the film yet additionally provoked them a while later to go out and read
the book. Numerous well known movies have some premise of folklore in them classification film, for example,
the western, criminal, war or sci-fi film, which from the outset sight shares nothing for all intents and purpose
with the antiquated world, may in any case adjust plots or examples natural from olden times, especially those
identifying with chivalrous legend .To make reference to only a couple of motion pictures that have some
premise of folklore in them without having the rundown to long: Blade Runner, Neuromancer, The Fifth
Element, Aliens, Back to the Future, Batman, Superman, Shane, The Wild Bunch, Narrow Margin, Murder at
1600, Lion King (animation), The Little Mermaid (animation), Hercules (animation and film), The War of the
Roses,300,Thor,Meet the Spartans, Percy Jackson,Moana, As Good as It Gets, Excalibur, The Dark Crystal,
Merlin, The Star Wars, etc. The rundown may appear to be both clear and astonishing and some become well
known and some not. Would could it be that makes some of them so captivating while others don't exactly make
the cut? It can't be a result of the on-screen characters, movement or coordinating, the story plot itself is
generally the most significant thing if a film is to get the opportunity to endure its underlying fame. The
standard hunk, most up to date stars and innovation is regularly insufficient to keep the watcher intrigued while
time goes on. A genuine case of a film that despite everything holds some portion of its charm and the colossal
impact that it had at its time is O Brother,Where Art Thou.

Mythology and Urban myths-Are they related?

No, they are not related. Mythology is the study and interpretation of sacred tales or fables of a culture
or the collection of mythical stories which deal with various aspects of the human condition. They describe good
and bad and at a point make us wonder whether they actually existed. But urban myth is a genre of folklore
comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend or family member, often with
horrific elements. These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events,
such as disappearances and strange objects.

Is urban myth a hoax?

Not all urban myths are hoaxes. Every culture has its own urban legend. Some can be very old. Some
urban legends have passed through centuries with only minor changes to suit the present situation. But internet
urban myths like the bloody Mary, pass it on or you die forward messages, full charge your battery forward
messages, and so on are surely hoaxes.

Here are some urban myths that bring Goosebumps whenever one comes across it:

One thing we must always remember is that all the urban myths are orally passed and we don‟t have
any physical proof for that. For nonbelievers these stories are just a piece of entertainment but for believers it
can make them to go the stage of extreme madness. They believe this stories to such an extent that only these
things roam in their heads. From the point of view of the discipline of Scientific Research Methodology, no such
evidence has been found to attest to the existence in reality or in writing, as it is likely that people encountering
such problems are mad and should seek medical assistance. Here are some of the famous urban myths all over
the world.

1. The Curse of 0888-888-888

Ever imagined a phone number killing people? The phone number 0888-888-888 has been the number
of many people throughout the 2000s, up until now, but every single person who has had the number died. It is

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ISSN: 2582-1962 Cape Comorin Volume II Issue II July 2020
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said that this is a curse which will kill whoever owns the number or tries calling this number. Some owners died
of cancer while others died in accident. But don‟t worry. This number has been suspended by the mobile
company and when you try calling this number you will get a message saying, „out of network coverage. Is 888
the new 666?

2. Jatinga- valley of death for birds

Jatinga is a village located in the Dima Hasao district in Assam state. Over the last 100 years,
thousands of birds have flown to their death over a small strip of land in Jatinga. In only a town of 2500 people,
this bizarre incident of fowl death remains largely unexplained, despite studies by most prestigious and famous
ornithologists. Although the eerie forces in this area have their sights set on birds rather than humans, the stories
are enough to give sleepless nights. The village experiences the unexplained phenomenon of mass bird suicides,
with all of them falling dead from the sky between 6:00pm and 9:30pm on moonless nights in the months of
September and October.

3. The Legend of the Blood Countess

How far will you go to maintain your youth and beauty? Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who lived from
1560 to 1614 in Hungary, is the most prolific female serial killer history will ever remember. She was accused
of vampire behavior: Biting the flesh of victims and bathing in their blood as a beauty treatment. She would take
her victims underground and subject them to the worst cruelties one could ever imagine. It is believed that she
never died and still haunts the castle. Creepy!

4. Shanthi Devi-A reincarnation tale that even shocked Mahatma Gandhi!

Shanthi Devi is one of the best cases of children‟s past life memories ever be recorded. It was
investigated by a committee of prominent citizens led by Mahatma Gandhi, who accompanied her to the village
of her past-life recollections and recorded what they witnessed.Shanthi Devi when was 5 years old started
talking about her past life saying she was Lugdi bai . She even said that she was married and had kids in her past
life. When Shanthi grew older she remembered her past life in more detail and clearly described the house she
lived, her in laws, how her husband used to look and how difficult her delivery was. The committee investigated
Lugdi bai‟s life and found many things Shanthi described to be true.

Though reincarnation is just a narrative found in mythology, this strange case of Shanthi Devi suggests
strong proof of reincarnation. Seems something extraordinary, right?

5. The Tower of London: Ravens, Ghosts and cursed Jewellery

From the ghosts that are said to haunt the walls, to the ravens that protect the castle and the city, there
are many stories and superstitions surrounding the tower of London.The ravens in the castle are surrounded with
a superstition which says that if there are no ravens in the castle, if they get lost or fly away, the crown will fall
with Britain in it.Today, the ravens have their wings clipped in a way that allows them to fly, but prevents them
from travelling far. A minimum of 6 ravens are kept in the tower guarded by raven master Chris Skaife who has
very close bond with the birds. This tower is also said to be haunted by two princes who were murdered by their
mother. It is said that one can see two small shadows holding hands and roaming in the night.

The Tower is home to the British Crown Jewels, which are on display at the Jewel House. This
includes the Koh-i-Noor diamond which is believed to be cursed.The Koh-i-Noor, which means „Mountain of
Light‟ in Persian, is a 105 carat diamond and is believed to have been mined in India. A Hindu text from the
1300s reads: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God,
or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”The history of the stone has been littered with violence; many of the
early dynasties that owned the diamond were brief reigns, ending in war. In 1639, the diamond was owned by
the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. His reign ended with his four sons torturing and killing each other. In 1747,

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ISSN: 2582-1962 Cape Comorin Volume II Issue II July 2020
An International Multidisciplinary Double-Blind Peer-reviewed Research Journal

the Persian King Nadir Shah was assassinated and the diamond passed to his successors. Each one was
dethroned and ritually blinded. Similar stories continue through the years. It is believed that the curse only
brings bad luck to any man who wears it. Since being ceded to Queen Victoria in 1849, the diamond has only
been worn by female members of the British royal family.

6. Bhangarh-the haunted fort

Bhangarh is a village situated in Rajgarh Alwar in Rajasthan.It is famous for its historical ruins and is
considered to be the most haunted location in India.This place is so haunted that the archeological survey of
India has strictly prohibited anyone to enter this fort before sunrise and after sundown.There are in reality two
legends about the fort.The famous ones that can be heard from the locals is that a tantric named Singhia fell in
love with Princess Ratnavati. He tried to use magic to win over her, but the princess got to know of his evil
plans and ordered him killed. Before the tantrik died, he cursed the residents of the fort to die and the village
dwellers to remain roofless forever. Certain villages in the city are roofless. Even if a roof is built, it collapses
soon after.One can even see dark shadows and eerie sounds in broad daylight.Ghostly!

7. Aokigahara Forest

The Aokigohara forest is situated in the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan. The forest is said to be the suicide
forest because of dozens of corpses of suicide victims have been found. Legend says that whoever depressed
about someon‟s death or some work which are not so serious to commit suicide comes in the forest will be
forced to die and death looks like a suicide. Many ghostly figures and apparitions of the dead victims have been
sighted in this forest. So, next time you go to Japan; keep in mind not to visit this forest if you are depressed!

8. Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

In 1936, a photographer taking pictures of the 300-year-old Raynham Hall in Norfolk, U.K., captured
an image of an apparition floating down the stairs. It's one of the most famous ghost photos ever taken, although
some experts believe it was caused by double exposure. The manor, covering an area of 7,000 acres, has a long
history of being haunted, and the BBC notes that the ghost may be of Lady Dorothy Townshend, the wife of the
second viscount of the estate. She died in 1726, supposedly of smallpox, after having an affair, which her
husband Lord Townshend had learned about before her death. She is said to still wander the manor dressed in
brown. Spooky!

All the above mentioned stories are ones that passed from mouth to mouth. They neither have any
proof to say all these really happened nor a proof saying these are all hoaxes.

Are Urban Myths revealing society’s fear?

Yes. Urban fantasies are odd stories that occasionally get the open creative mind. A few stories like
crocodiles amassing the sewers after individuals have flushed the infant reptiles down the latrine, the sitter who
gets undermining calls that end up being originating from inside the house, the rodent that gets southern style
and served by a quick foot outlet or in a variety, the mouse that has some way or another suffocated in a shut
Coca-Cola bottle are silly, yet in a mass society like our own, where stories are generally produced by
Hollywood, they just might be the most veritable type of legends. Like customary legends, they are stories
created by the aggregate awareness. They offer articulation to the national psyche. When Jan Harold Brunvand,
one of the renowned driving specialists on urban legends said that, "the dull contemporary scene is equipped for
delivering stunning or astonishing events."

Be that as it may, in these accounts, anything can happen not on the grounds that the world is a
supernatural spot rich with amazement but since our reality is so absolutely unnerving. Here, nothing is
dependable and no laws of ethical quality oversee. The crocodiles in the sewers presents a picture of a urban

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An International Multidisciplinary Double-Blind Peer-reviewed Research Journal

damnation possessed by mammoths - a picture that may have come straightforwardly from Hades and the River
Styx in Greek folklore; The sitter and the man upstairs adventures fears that we are not even safe in our own
homes nowadays.; The mouse in the soft drink cautions us of the hazards of an indifferent large scale
manufacturing society.Urban legends testify to an overwhelming condition of fear and to a sense of our own
impotence within it. That is why there is no accommodation in these stories, any lesson or wisdom imparted.
What there is, is the stark impression that our world is anomic. We live in a haunted forest of skyscrapers or of
suburban lawns and ranch houses, but there is no one to exorcise the evil and no prince to break the spell.

Conclusion:

Mythology and folklore are windows to our cultural souls, just as our respective technologies are.
Anything that we create and perpetuate presents a connection, both intellectual and visceral, to our origins and
our sense of identity and purpose. I would like to conclude by quoting the lines of Ed Kramer and Neil Gaiman,

"We need gods - Thor or Zeus or Krishna or Jesus or, well God - not so much to worship or sacrifice to, but
because they satisfy our need - distinctive from that of all the other animals – to imagine a meaning, a sense to
our lives, to satisfy our hunger to believe that the muck and chaos of daily existence does, after all, tend
somewhere. It's the origin of religion, and also of storytelling - or aren't they both the same thing? As Voltaire
said of God: if he did not exist,it would have been necessary to invent him."

"There are only two worlds - your world, which is the real world, and other worlds, the fantasy. Worlds like this
are worlds of the human imagination: their reality, or lack of reality, is not important. What is important is that
they are there. These worlds provide an alternative. Provide an escape. Provide a threat. Provide a dream, and
power; provide refuge, and pain. They give your world meaning."

References:

Puhvel, Jaan,‟ Comparative Mythology‟, United States of America: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.

Sveindís, Sveinsdóttir,‟ Mythology to Film‟, Hugvísindasvið,University of Iceland,2010

Graziosi, Barbara and Greenwood, Emily, „Homer in the Twentieth Century: Between World Literature and the
Western Canon‟, Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007

Gabler, Neal,‟ THE CULTURE : How Urban Myths Reveal Society‟s Fears‟,Los Angeles Times,1995

Brunvard, Jan, „Encyclopedia of urban legends‟,ABC Clio,2001

Cayce, Edgar, „Reincarnation and Karma‟, Edgar Cayce Foundation,2012

James,M,‟ Collected Ghost stories‟,Edward Arnold,1931

Hamilton,Edith,‟ Mythology:Timeless tales of Gods and Heroes‟,Little,brown and Company,1942

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