What is mythology? Where does it get its origins? Mythology is the world of prototypes, which were the heritage of the family and were passed down from generation to generation. We can say about an image that it is a copy of something that is outside of consciousness. We cannot say so about the prototype. The prototype is the image of consciousness itself. We can get rid of any image, forget it. And one cannot get rid of the prototype, although one may not know about it, not experience its influence. The prototype is the "eye" of consciousness. We see with the eye, but we do not see the eye itself. So it is with the archetype: with its help we realize or think, but to think of the archetype itself is as difficult as it is to see the eye. Perhaps with the help of a mirror. In the mirror, we will see only ourselves. Our own species is one of the prototypes.
Mythological thinking is collective, generic thinking. It enshrines the original, generic relations of people to each other, when each of them did not think of himself outside the genus, he himself was more a generic being, and not individual. On the other hand, the genus was conceived not as a multitude of people, but as a large individual being. Mythology became the original form of human thinking, the source of subsequent, more developed forms of thinking: religious, artistic, philosophical, scientific. They all consist of "building blocks" of mythological thinking. Hegel called myths the pedagogy of the human race. Myths or fairy tales educate each of us in childhood, they serve as a source of inspiration for artists and scientists, and even the most rational theories contain elements of mythological thinking. Myths are a kind of matter of spiritual culture.
A long time ago, when people could not explain how certain natural phenomena occur, peoples began to engender mythology in their cultures. Of course, if we had a time machine, we would have told them everything about the origin of rain, lightning, storm, fire ... but we do not have such a device, and ancient people had to explain everything as they understood. And when we do not understand something, then miracles immediately come to mind. This was the case thousands of years ago. People attributed thunder and lightning to the wrath of the gods, and the long-awaited rain was a blessing of Olympus.
What is mythology according to history? Historians have called mythology an object for their attention and research. Why such an "easy" definition? The fact is that if mythology was in the culture of only one country, then the definition would be more extended and clear, but since mythology is present in completely different countries and cultures, these cultures are often very different from each other. From the foregoing, the definition has such a vague meaning. Here are some examples of mythologies:
Greek mythology is the understanding of the surrounding world by the contemporaries of that time of the territory of ancient Greece and the inclusion of the gods in the daily life of the people. This mythology helped people explain the elements of nature, helped build relationships among themselves, gave people a sense of the presence of a "secret" around them. Some of the gods that were honored by the ancient Greeks: Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hermes and others.
Indian mythology is a very ancient mythology. It combines a very complex interweaving of different currents and beliefs, because of this, India has had a wide variety of cultures. And their mythological beginnings were different among themselves. Therefore, this culture has a very large number of deities. Some of them are: Prithivi, Soma, Indra Matarishvan.
African mythology includes the representation of the surrounding world by African peoples. This mythology also takes the beginnings from antiquity. Under the influence of the peoples who came to Africa, it changed slightly, depending on the regions, therefore very often the same myths have different contents. Some of the gods in African mythology are: Unkulunkulu, Ribimbi, Quinto and others.
Slavic mythology also includes a religious part. In total, it is a combination of mythological points of view and visions, beliefs, and, to some extent, the cults of the Slavic people. Some of the gods that the ancient Slavs revered: Svyatovit, Mokosh, Dazhbogi etc. Basically, Slavic mythology was unified before the adoption of Christianity in Russia. After that, she had very big changes.
Mythology arose at that stage of social development when humanity tried to give answers to questions such as the origin and structure of the universe as a whole. Cosmological myths make up a significant part of mythology. European peoples up to the XVI-XVII centuries. only the famous and still Greek and Roman myths were known, later they became aware of Arab, Indian, Germanic, Slavic, Indian legends and their heroes.
Over time, first scientists, and then a wider public, became available to the myths of the peoples of Australia, Oceania, Africa. It turned out that the holy books of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists are also based on various mythological legends that have been processed.
What is surprising: it turned out that at a certain stage of historical development, a more or less developed mythology existed in almost all peoples known to science, that some plots and stories are repeated to one degree or another in the mythological cycles of different peoples.
Mythology (from the Greek mithos - narration, legend and logos - word, teaching) means: 1) a set of myths; 2) a scientific discipline that studies myths; 3) the earliest, corresponding to a primitive society form of perception of the world.
Mythology arises at the stage of the communal-clan formation, when nature and the world are thought of by man as a huge family, where everything is connected by blood and kinship relations.
Everyday idea of a myth: a myth is a fairy tale, a fiction about the creation of the world and man, a legend about gods and heroes. Scientific: a myth is the creation of a collective nationwide fantasy, which generally reflects reality in personified, animated images in the form of oral narration.
The myth, therefore, the first and oldest attempt to scientifically explain the world and its laws, is the rudimentary equivalent of science. This is evidenced by: 1) the same myths among different peoples, 2) mythology touches upon the fundamental questions of the universe.
For ancient people, mythology was a kind of ideology, it explained social relations, hierarchy in society. Mythology was a kind of religion, because for those among whom he lived, the myth was "true", he passed through many generations of people, personified the wisdom of ancestors, was backed up by tradition. Therefore, the comprehension of the facts contained in the myth turned out to be a matter of faith, faith is not subject to verification. Religion appears in a class society. Mythology is very different from religion, they have different sources. Mythology arises from the need to explain the world, and religion from the inability to understand the world. Mythology is a kind of philosophy of ancient man.
A myth should be distinguished from a fairy tale. For an ancient man, myth is like a forerunner of a fairy tale. The difference between a myth and a fairy tale is that the myth reflects reality, the desire to know the phenomena of nature, social relations and man. If a myth loses a number of properties, it turns into a fairy tale. Thus, a fairy tale is a myth that has lost its originality, and a myth is a fairy tale that generally reflects reality in primitive consciousness.
For an ancient man, a myth is an unconscious truth, a fairy tale is a conscious invention, an outright fiction. In the tale, there is a weakening of strict faith in what is happening. Fairy tales are often used in myths (in the legend of the Odyssey, stories about sirens, about the sorceress Kirk are widely used - these fairy tales are also found among other peoples).
Etiological (causal, explanatory) - myths about the origin of something (animals, plants);
Cosmogonic - myths about the structure of the cosmos - fire, air, earth, the separation of heaven from earth;
Anthropogonic - myths about the origin of man;
Astral - myths about stars and planets;
Solar, lunar - astral varieties;
Gemini - myths about wonderful creatures presented in the form of twins;
Totemic - myths about animals and their relationship with humans;
Calendar - myths related to the harvest, agricultural magic, the change of seasons;
Heroic - myths about the geo-ancestors;
Eschatological - myths about the end of the world, about catastrophes, about the death of giants and the first generation of gods.
Features of mythology.
Anthropomorphism - humanization;
Fetishism - animation, deification, worship of a thing;
Animism (animus - soul) is animation, this property appeared later, a thing perishes, and the soul is eternal;
Totemism is the zoomorphic nature of nature.
Anthropomorphism has become a vulnerable spot in Greek mythology as a religion. Having lost its religious function, myth has forever retained its aesthetic function.
2. P the periods of mythology.
The stages of development of mythology take shape over 10 centuries.
The first pre-Olympic period (chthonic - chtonos - "earth", cosmogonic - cosmogony - the ancient science of the creation of the world, teratological - teras - - "monster"). The ancients believed that there was chaos in the world, chaos is space. As a result of the union of Chaos and Eros, Gaia - earth and Tartor - eternal darkness arose. Crohn (god of time and agriculture) and Rhea (eternal time, movement) had 12 titan children - 6 sisters and 6 brothers. Cronus was predicted that he would be overthrown by one of his children, so he began to swallow them. Rhea hid Zeus by offering a stone instead. Zeus grew up, defeated his father, made his brothers and sisters vomit. He divided the power over the world between his brothers and reigned on Olympus.
Second Olympic period - myths about gods and heroes.
In Thesallia there was the highest mountain in Greece, Olympus (3 thousand meters) - the habitat of the supreme gods. There was the palace of the supreme god Zeus and the dwellings of other gods. The very concept of Olympus was similar to the concept of "heaven".
12 Olympian gods (Greek and Roman names):
Zeus (Jupiter) - the supreme Greek god, king among gods and people, the youngest son of Kronos. He is the ruler of heaven and all that exists, powerless only over fate. (Moira - 3 sisters of Zeus - in their hands the fate of mortals);
Hera (Juno) - the wife and sister of Zeus, the patroness of marriages, the personification of marital fidelity;
Poseidon (Neptune) - brother of Zeus, patron saint of the seas, all springs and waters;
Demeter (Cecera) - sister of Zeus, goddess of agriculture and fertility;
Hestia (Vesta) - sister of Zeus, goddess of the hearth;
Aphrodite (Venus) - the daughter of Zeus and the goddess Diana, the wife of Hephaestus - the goddess of love and beauty. According to one version, she is the daughter of Zeus, according to the other, the daughter of Uranus. Born in sea foam from a part of the body severed from Kronos. She is the only goddess depicted naked.
Apollo (Phoebus) - the son of Zeus and the goddess Leto, the god of sunlight, the god of harmony, the patron saint of arts, especially music and singing, the healer god (father of Asclepius);
Artemis (Diana) - daughter of Zeus and the goddess Leto, twin sister of Apollo, patroness of hunting, forests and wildlife;
Athena (Minerva) - the daughter of Zeus and the Oceanis Metis (Zeus gave birth to her from his head, this is his beloved daughter), the goddess of wisdom, honest, open, just war;
Ares (Mars) - the son of Zeus and Hera, a cruel bloodthirsty god of an unjust destructive war;
Hephaestus (Volcano) - the son of Zeus and Hera, the god of fire and related crafts: blacksmithing and jewelry. The bent-legged husband of Aphrodite, their marriage was childless;
Hermes (Mercury) - the son of Zeus and the goddess Maya, the god of trade, the patron saint of thieves and swindlers, the god of eloquence and diplomacy;
Hades (Hades) - the brother of Zeus, the lord of the underworld, does not live on Olympus. There was no return from his kingdom of death. Three-headed dog Cerberus (Cerberus) guarded the exit from the abode of the dead, not letting anyone go back. Gloomy old man Charon , the son of the god of eternal darkness and the goddess of the night, transported by river Styx the souls of the dead to the afterlife and did not return anyone to earth. Summer - the river of oblivion, having swallowed its water, the deceased forgot everything. Champs Elysees - eternal bliss, where the souls of the elect go. Hades sat on a golden throne Persephone , daughter of the goddess of fertility Demeter ... Persephone was kidnapped by Hades.
Hades has maids - unforgiving goddesses of vengeance Erinia , equipped with whips and snakes, constantly pursuing criminals. In the kingdom of Hades there is also the god of death, Thanat, in a black cloak, with black wings, he visited the bed of a dying person to cut off a lock of hair with a sword and ward off his soul.
Apollo had 9 companions-muses (the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of memory Mnemosyne). They are goddesses of art, poetry and science.
Calliope - the muse of epic poetry;
Euterpe - the muse of lyric poetry;
Erato - the muse of love poetry;
Waist - muse of comedy;
Melpomene - muse of tragedy;
Terpsichore - the muse of dance;
Clio - muse of history;
Urania - muse of astronomy;
Polyhymnia - the muse of hymn poetry and music.
Earth gods
Dionysus (Bacchus) - the rural god of winemaking and winemaking, the son of Zeus and the goddess Semele, the husband of Ariadne. In honor of him, the Great and Small Dionysians celebrated in Greece. Dionos is accompanied by satyrs, selenes and nymphs (bacchantes). From cult songs in honor of Dionysus - praises - drama developed.
Pan - the son of Hermes, the protector of shepherds and small ruminants, the pursuer of nymphs, a creature with goats' legs and horns, aroused panic and panic.
Hymen - according to one version, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, according to the other - Apollo and one of the muses, the patron saint of marriage. During the marriage ceremony, epithalamies (wedding songs) were performed.
Earthly gods do not live on Olympus.
Heroes are characters in Greek myths who do not belong to the number of gods. More often the children of gods and mortals are semi-divine beings standing at an intermediate stage between gods and people: Achilles, Hercules, Theseus, Aeneas, Perseus, Icarus, etc. The boundaries between gods and heroes are sometimes vague. Heroes helped with public and private events, with illnesses and misfortunes, defended cities and homes, performed feats. The belief in heroes played a large role in the Greek people. The heroes are presented as fighters against monsters, with chthonic, demonic forces of nature, which interfered with an orderly world order. In this case, they acquire heroic features (myths about Hercules, Perseus, Theseus).
1. Describe the mythical monsters - Typhon, Lernaean hydra, Medusa Gorgon, Chimera, Echidna, Sphinx;
2. Taking into account the knowledge of myths, explain the following phraseological phrases: Achilles' heel, apple of discord, tantalum flour, Sisyphean labor, panic horror, Augean stables, Ariadne's thread. What other expressions do you know?
Sink into oblivion
Golden Rain
Procrustean bed
Run around like furies
Herastratov's rock
Gordian knot
Pandora's Box
Prophetic Cassandra
Danai gifts
Morpheus's embrace
Cornucopia
Topic: Homeric epic.
Plan:
1. "Homeric question" in literary criticism. Time and place of the creation of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
2. The plot and composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
On the one hand, this concept hides the first historically developed form of culture. On the other hand, the myth traces the changes that took place in the mental life of a person. And we see them even today, when these ancient legends have long since lost their dominance.
Scientifically speaking, the essence of myth is nothing more than a semantic unconscious twinning of people with the forces of being of nature or society. But if we consider the ordinary understanding of this concept, then it is understood as biblical, antique, as well as other ancient "fairy tales" telling about the creation of man and the world, as well as stories about the adventures of ancient heroes and gods - Odysseus and Zeus, Dionysus and Apollo, etc. .d.
And there is nothing surprising in the fact that the word "myth" has its roots in ancient Greece. Translated from the language of this people, it means "legend", "legend". What does the word "mythology" mean?
Definition of the concept
The meaning of the words "myth" and "mythology" are close in meaning. And if we are already familiar with the first of them, then what does the second concept indicate? The meaning of the word "mythology" is "the presentation of legends." This is his literal translation from Greek. At the same time, the origin of the word "mythology" becomes clear. It is closely related to ancient legends and legends and means their retelling from one person to another. This is the opinion of the majority of ordinary people. Proceeding from the fact that legends are represented by ancient fairy tales and entertaining stories about heroes and gods who lived in the ancient era, mythology is considered a set of such stories that have nothing to do with reality.
However, scientists have a slightly different opinion on this matter. Their definition of the word "mythology" is an expression of a special type of social consciousness, a peculiar way of comprehending the surrounding reality, which was inherent in people in the early stages of development. Ancient man considered himself to be one with nature. This unity led to the fact that the world was understood as something living. For a person who lived in ancient times, the space and stone, the luminary and the river, wood and stone were as alive as all people. At the same time, the main rule at that time was that the world relates to a person in the same way as he does to every thing in it. That is why people began to animate nature, personify things and phenomena, compare everything that surrounds them with society. They transferred to the objects of the surrounding world either their properties, which is called anthropomorphism, or animals (that is, zoomorphism). Thanks to this, a bizarre mythological fantasy was born. An example of this is the ancient Greek centaur, as well as the East Slavic winged dog Simargl. Tribal relations were also transferred to nature by people. We can also see this in myths, where there are family-tribal ties between heroes, spirits and gods, similar to human ones.
Syncretism as a characteristic feature of ancient legends
What is mythology? This is a concept, the main features of which are syncretism and symbolism, genetism and etiology. Let's consider them in more detail.
The word "syncretism" in translation means "connection". This is a concept that characterizes mythology as knowledge, which is undivided due to its underdevelopment. If we consider modern ideas about the world, then it can be subdivided into a number of branches, each of which in its own way comprehends certain facts of reality. In ancient times, people tried to explain everything with just myths. For example, why it rains, how the world appeared, where did people come from, and also why they get sick from time to time and die at the end of their lives.
In myths, we can see the beginnings of various forms of art, religion, as well as rational knowledge passed on to future generations. Already in the early stages of the development of human society, the legends created by people were closely associated with religious rituals and beliefs. In the myths, the system of norms of behavior and values adopted in human society was affirmed and transmitted. Our ancestors considered the content of such legends to be real, since they contained the collective experience of a number of generations, which was an object of faith and was not subjected to critical rethinking.
Ancient man possessed indivisibility of thinking. And this clearly manifested itself in the mythological consciousness, which did not subdivide phenomenon and essence, word and thing, name and what is named. In the narrative of the ancient legend, all objects are close in their external sensory characteristics. An example of this is lightning with an arrow.
Symbolism
What is mythology? This is an attempt to explain natural phenomena, when a person did not even try to delve into the search for essence. That is why, in ancient legends, the outwardly similar was presented only as identical. This is the second important property of mythology, that is, symbolism. What happens when you do this? Certain objects, as well as phenomena, turn into signs of other objects and phenomena. In other words, they begin to symbolically replace them.
Genetism
Very often in ancient legends, the origin of an object was passed off by people as its essence. This property is called "genetism". Translated from Greek, this word means "origin", "birth".
In mythology, the explanation of a thing or phenomenon means a story about their origin.
Etiologism
This property, inherent in mythology, has a direct connection with genetics. Translated from Greek, this concept means a reason. From myths, people learned why all natural phenomena, surrounding objects, as well as living beings are exactly what they are. In all ancient legends, the narrative about the structure of the world looked like a story about the origin of certain of its elements. At the same time, we can familiarize ourselves with a number of etiological legends proper. These are myths, which are short stories and give an explanation of the characteristics of a phenomenon or object.
Considering the genetics and etiology of ancient legends, one essential detail becomes apparent. It includes the moment of the appearance of a thing or mythological time. It differs sharply from the narrative period. Moreover, such a mythological time has a sacred (sacred) character and serves as a model for repeating the event at the moment.
From all of the above, we can conclude that myths are far from legends, fairy tales or funny stories. This is a heritage that reflects the most ancient knowledge. Moreover, what is mythology? It is nothing more than the most ancient way by which people comprehend the world around them, while explaining not only natural phenomena and other existing order of things. With the help of mythology, a person learned how he should act in this world.
Grouping of ancient legends
The myths of the various peoples inhabiting our planet are very diverse. However, if you study them, you can notice in these legends some similar motives, themes and features. Such properties made it possible to classify myths, combining them into certain groups.
Most of the ancient legends were about animals. Such myths were often told about those representatives of the fauna that people considered to be their ancestors. These are the so-called totem animals. However, this group includes myths of a slightly different orientation. They talk about how sometimes a person turned into an animal. An example of this is one of the ancient Greek myths about the weaver Arachne. This skilled craftswoman was turned into a spider by Athena. This group also includes the East Slavic myth, which speaks of Volkh Vseslavovich - a werewolf prince.
Another type of ancient legends is astral. These are the myths that tell us about the heavenly bodies. Sometimes they are subdivided into additional subgroups. So, legends about planets and stars are separately distinguished. There are also solar myths about the Sun and lunar myths about the Moon. The central group includes legends telling about the origin of the cosmos. They are called cosmogonic. Stories about the appearance of gods (theogony) are often interwoven into such legends, which leads to the emergence of complex mythological complexes - theokosmogony.
In a separate group there are myths that explain the origin of man. They are called anthropogony. Very often they are included in the cosmogony, although independent narratives can also be found.
Eschatological myths about the end of the world have a close connection with comogonies. These legends sometimes pointed to the time when the world will cease to exist.
The ancient peoples assigned an important place to myths, which spoke about the origin of the existing cultural goods. These are the skills and objects that the heroes of legends and tales passed on to people. In some cases, this happened personally on my own. An example of this is the Karelian-Finnish Väinämeyanen. Sometimes the heroes of mythology stole cultural goods from the gods. For example, like the ancient Greek Prometheus.
The gods of Slavic mythology did not stand aside either. For example, there is a legend about how people learned blacksmithing. According to him, the God Svarog dropped the pincers directly from the sky to the Slavs.
Calendar myths tell us about the culture of ancient peoples engaged in agriculture. They reflect the cyclical nature of natural processes. The invariable sequence of times and their repetition were reflected in the legends of the dying and resurrecting gods. In Egyptian mythology, it was Osiris. In Phenicia - Adonis. In Thrace - Dionysus. The Slavs have Yarilo.
The groups of myths listed above are the largest. However, there are many other legends. They tell about fate and death, the afterlife.
As in many other areas, the classification in mythology is rather arbitrary. But even this distinction given above allows one to orient oneself as best as possible in the endless and intricate labyrinths of this direction.
Legends and religion
What is mythology? These are narratives that have a close connection with the religious beliefs of a person. Indeed, both in those and in others there are ritual actions and appeals to gods, to spirits and to miraculous phenomena. But unlike religious beliefs, in myths supernatural forces are assigned a secondary role. Turning to them is necessary only to explain natural phenomena.
As for religious ideas, the supernatural was assigned the main role in them. In this case, all the processes that take place are completely dependent on the wishes of the gods.
At a certain stage in the development of human society, religious consciousness took dominant positions. At the same time, myths became part of the belief system. In doing so, they receded into the background.
Thus, we can say that mythological consciousness is a certain stage in the development of human consciousness. And the way through it was passed by every nation.
Ancient mythology
It includes those legends that told people about gods and goddesses, heroes and demons of Rome and Hellas. The word "antique" itself, translated from the Latin language, means "ancient". And here you can include not only any Greek myth, but also the Roman one. Together they create a single community. That is why in some sources there is such a concept as "Greco-Roman mythology".
Even the most ancient monuments of Greek creativity indicate the predominance of concrete ideas over abstract ones in this people. At the same time, the quantitative ratio of humanoid gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, clearly outweighs the number of deities with abstract meaning.
About whom, as a rule, were ancient myths composed? These are heroes born of the marriages of gods with mortals. In the legends, such people were described as having tremendous strength, as well as superhuman capabilities, without endowing with immortality. The heroes of mythology carried out the will of the deities on earth and brought justice and order into ordinary life. They performed various feats, for which they were revered by people. The most famous heroes of ancient Roman-Greek mythology are:
- Hercules. As the son of Zeus and Alimene, he possessed remarkable strength. During his life, he performed twelve labors, about which myths were formed.
- Achilles. This son of the goddess of the seas Thetis and King Pepeus was raised by the centaur Chiron. From the myths, we know about Achilles as a mighty young man, perfectly wielding weapons, and also familiar with singing and musical instruments. The legends, passed down from generation to generation, tell of his exploits during the Trojan War.
- Perseus. This is the son of Zeus and Danae, the daughter of the king of Argos. Many myths tell of his miraculous exploits. Some of them are the destruction of the gorgon Medusa, the rescue of the daughter of King Kefei - the beautiful Andromeda, whom he later married, and many others.
- Odysseus. The myths tell us about this king of the island of Ithaca as about a clever and cunning person. During their participation in the Trojan War, they were asked to build a wooden horse, in which the best warriors hid, and leave it at the walls of the besieged city. The trick was a success. The Greeks took possession of Troy. And this is just one of the many exploits of Odysseus, about which ancient legends were composed.
Myths of China
The legends and tales of the people of this country had a special feature. The heroes of Chinese mythology were presented as real figures of ancient times. The main characters in legends often turned into emperors and rulers, and minor characters into officials, dignitaries, etc.
Totemistic representations were of great importance in Chinese mythology. For example, the Yin Tsi tribes had a swallow totem, while Xia had a snake. A little later, the bird gradually transformed into fenghuang and turned into a symbol of the empress. The snake became a dragon (moons), which ruled over water and rain, thunderstorm, and was associated with underground forces. This totem became the symbol of the sovereign.
The most famous heroes of Chinese myths:
Yeaxian is a group of eight immortal lucky characters;
Rong-Cheng, who was a teacher and magician, capable of achieving immortality, and who was credited with the invention of the calendar;
Hou Yi - the son of the supreme god, a wonderful shooter who received the elixir of immortality, and also subjugated the winds that devastated the country to his will;
Huangdi - this hero of enormous growth with the face of a dragon, a sun horn, four eyes and four faces in Chinese mythology is the personification of the magical powers of the earth itself.
Legends of the Slavs
Many mythological texts created by this people in pagan times have not reached us. The reason for this was the lack of writing, as well as the decisive struggle that the Christian Church waged against this belief. However, those mythological ideas that were characteristic of the Eastern Slavs were reflected in the work of some writers. The motives of folk tales can be seen in the works of N.V. Gogol, A.S. Pushkin, etc. The Slavic mythology is also reflected in the poetry of S. Yesenin in a peculiar way. His poems describe the customs and traditions of folk beliefs that are far from Orthodox canons.
In the surviving unique work of ancient Russia "The Lay of Igor's Campaign", pagan symbols were combined with Christian ones. This legend mentions many gods: Veles and Stribog, Hars and Div, Karona and Zhelya, Troyan and Dazhbog. Considering the mythology in "The Lay of Igor's Campaign", one can indicate the presence of many other images. Among them are Christian (icon) and poeticized (falcon, cuckoo, raven, swan), as well as unsolved (Virgo-insult, Boyan, etc.).
The word "myth" is Greek and literally means tradition, legend. Usually legends are meant about gods, spirits, heroes deified or related to the gods by their origin, about the ancestors who acted at the beginning of time and participated directly or indirectly in the creation of the world itself, its elements, both natural and cultural. Mythology is a collection of similar legends about gods and heroes and, at the same time, a system of fantastic ideas about the world. The science of myths is also called mythology. The creation of myths is regarded as the most important phenomenon in the cultural history of mankind. In primitive society, mythology represented the main way of understanding the world, and myth expressed the worldview and worldview of the era of its creation. "Myth as the initial form of the spiritual culture of mankind represents nature and the social forms themselves, already reworked in an unconsciously artistic way by popular fantasy" (K. Marx, see K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., Vol. 12, p. 737). The main prerequisites for a kind of mythological "logic" were, firstly, that primitive man did not distinguish himself from the surrounding natural and social environment, and, secondly, the fact that thinking retained the features of diffuseness and indivisibility was almost inseparable from the emotional spectacular , motor sphere. The consequence of this was the naive humanization of all nature, universal personification, "metaphorical" comparison of natural, social, cultural objects. Human properties were transferred to natural objects, animality, rationality, human feelings, and often external anthropomorphism were attributed to them, and, conversely, the features of natural objects, especially animals, could be assigned to mythological ancestors. The expression of the forces, properties and fragments of the cosmos as animate and concretely sensual images gives rise to a bizarre mythological fantasy. Certain forces and 1 abilities could be plastically expressed by multi-armed, multi-eyed, the most outlandish transformations of external appearance; diseases could be represented by monsters - eaters of people, space - by a world tree or a living giant, tribal ancestors - by creatures of a double - zoomorphic and anthropomorphic - nature, which was facilitated by the totemic idea of the relationship and partial identity of social groups with animal species. It is characteristic of the myth that various spirits, gods (and thus the elements and natural objects represented by them) and heroes are linked by family and clan relations.
In myth, the form is identical to the content, and therefore the symbolic image represents what it models. Mythological thinking is expressed in an indistinct separation of subject and object, object and sign, thing
and words, a creature and his name, a thing and its attributes, single and multiple, spatial and temporal relations, beginning and principle, that is, origin and essence. This diffuseness manifests itself in the realm of imagination and generalization.
For myth, the identification of genesis and essence is extremely specific, that is, the actual replacement of cause-and-effect relationships with a precedent. In principle, the myth coincides with the description of the model of the world and the narrative about the emergence of its individual elements, natural and cultural objects, about the deeds of the gods and heroes who determined its current state (and then about other events, biographies of mythological characters). The current state of the world - relief, celestial bodies, animal breeds and plant species, lifestyle, social groupings, religious institutions, tools of labor, hunting techniques and cooking, etc., etc. - all this is a consequence of events long past time and actions of mythological heroes, ancestors, gods. The story of the events of the past serves in myth as a means of describing the structure of the world, a way of explaining its current state. Mythical events turn out to be “building blocks” of the mythical model of the world. M i-physical time is time "initial", "early", "first", this is "moral time", time before time, that is, before the beginning of the historical countdown of the current time. This is the time of the first ancestors, the first creation, the first objects, "the time of dreams" (in the terminology of some Australian tribes, that is, the time of revelation in dreams), sacred time, in contrast to the subsequent profane, empirical, historical time. Mythical time and the events that fill it, the actions of ancestors and gods are the sphere of the root causes of everything that follows, the source of archetypal prototypes, a model for all subsequent actions. The real achievements of culture, the formation of social relations in historical time, etc., are projected by myth in mythical time and are reduced to single acts of creation. The most important function of the mythical time and of the myth itself is the creation of a model, example, model. Leaving models for imitation and reproduction, mythical time and mythical heroes simultaneously exude magical spiritual forces that continue to maintain the established order in nature and society; maintaining this order is also an important function of myth. This function is carried out with the help of rituals, which often directly stage the events of a mythical time and sometimes even include the recitation of myths. In rituals, the mythical time and its heroes are not only depicted, but, as it were, are reborn with their magical power, events are repeated and re-actualized. The rituals ensure their "eternal return" and magical influence, guaranteeing
Mythology(Greek mythología, from mýthos - legend, legend and lógos - word, story, teaching) - a fantastic idea of the world, characteristic of a primitive communal man, as a rule, transmitted in the form of oral narratives - myths, and a science that studies myths. To a person who lived in a primitive communal system based on the spontaneous collectivism of his closest relatives, only his communal-clan relations were understandable and closest. He transferred this relationship to everything around him. The earth, sky, flora and fauna were presented in the form of a universal tribal community, in which all objects were thought not only as animate, but often even rational, but necessarily related to each other. V Mythology these ideas took the form of generalizations. For example, craft, taken as a whole, with all its characteristic features, in all its development and with all its historical destinies, was thought of as a kind of living and intelligent being who controlled all possible types and areas of craft. Hence, mythological images of artisan gods, agricultural gods, cattle-breeders, warrior gods, etc. arose: the Slavic Veles (Volos) or the Celtic Damona, representing one or another generalization of cattle breeding, the Greek Pallas Athena or the Abkhaz Erysh ( goddesses of spinning and weaving), as well as the gods of fertility, vegetation, guardian gods and patron demons among the Aztecs, in New Zealand, in Nigeria and among many other peoples of the world. Generalizing concepts in Mythology emerged gradually. Initial forms Mythology were fetishism(when individual things were animated, or, rather, the complete non-separation of a thing from the "idea" of the thing itself was thought), totemism(fetishization of a given community or tribe, expressed in the image of one or another founder of this community or tribe). A higher stage of development Mythology appeared animism, when a person began to separate the "idea" of a thing from the thing itself. In connection with the further growth of generalizing and abstractive thinking, a different stage of mythological abstraction was created. She came to the idea of some one "father of people and gods", although at this stage the images of such mythological rulers contained a lot of remnants of fetishist and animistic antiquity and were deprived of the utmost absolutization. This is how the Olympic Zeus, overthrowing his predecessors into the underworld, and subjugating other gods as his children. Homer cites a number of ancient and pre-Olympic features of this Zeus, which make his figure historically complex and diverse. Such are the supreme deities, the creators of the world, who arose during the era of patriarchy in Polynesia, Tahiti, the Yakuts, and African tribes under different names, with different functions and with varying degrees of mythological abstraction. Development Mythology went from chaotic, disharmonious to orderly, proportionate, harmonious, as can be seen when comparing mythological images of different historical periods. The mythological images of the era of matriarchy were characterized by awkward, and often even ugly forms and were very far from the later plastic harmony. Three-headed, four-headed and fifty-headed, hundred-armed, as well as all kinds of evil and vengeful monsters or half-beasts met in the world Mythology the era of matriarchy very often (for example, in Ancient Babylon - the bestial ruler of the world Tiamat, in Australia - a one-legged killer spirit, in Tahiti - the god Oro, demanding bloody sacrifices, in North America - 7 giant man-eating brothers, etc.). In the era of patriarchy, ideas about a heroic personality were born and took shape, who conquers the forces of nature, which until then seemed invincible, consciously organizes social life, as well as the protection of this community from the hostile forces of nature and neighboring tribes. For example, Babylonian Marduk kills the monstrous Tiamat, creating heaven and earth from her body. In Babylon, the famous epic about the hero arose Gilgamesh... Iran, god Miter fights evil spirits and defeats the terrible bull. Egyptian god Ra fights the underground serpent Apop. Ancient Greek Zeus defeats the titans, giants and Typhon; performs his 12 feats Hercules... The Germanic Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir, Ilya Muromets - the Serpent of Gorynych, etc. However, the myths that have come down to us represent a complex complex of strata (rudiments) of different eras, for example Minotaur... The bull's head of the Minotaur indicates that the origin of this image belongs to the period of early matriarchy, when a person did not yet distinguish himself from animals. The Minotaur is depicted with stars and bears the name of the Star - this is already a cosmic generalization. The Minotaur is killed by the hero Theseus - this part of the myth could have arisen only during the period of patriarchy. Mythological thinking very early came to various kinds of historical and cosmogonic generalizations. With the transition of people to a sedentary lifestyle, when they turned out to be economically connected with a particular locality, their idea of the unity of a tribe or clan intensified, the cult of ancestors and corresponding myths about ancestors appeared (historical Mythologism). Created Mythology about the changes of the previous divine and demonic generations ( Mythology cosmogonic and theogonic). Attempts to understand the future, in the afterlife led to the emergence Mythology eschatological. Being the worldview of the primitive communal system, any myth also contained a cognitive function, an attempt to understand complex issues: how did a person, the world, what is the secret of life and death, etc. Mythology was a kind of naive faith, the only form of ideology. In early class society Mythology became an allegorical form of expression of various kinds of religious, socio-political, moral and philosophical ideas of this society, it was widely used in art and literature. In accordance with the political views and style of this or that author, she received one or another design and use. For example, Pallas Athena in Aeschylus turned out to be the goddess of ascending democratic Athens, and the image of Prometheus was endowed by Aeschylus with advanced and even revolutionary ideas. In this sense Mythology never died, mythological images are still used by modern politicians, writers, philosophers and artists. Being for millennia a form of awareness of nature and human existence, Mythology is considered by modern science as a chronicle of the eternal struggle between the old and the new, as a story about human life, its sufferings and joys. Scientific approach to study Mythology originated during the Renaissance. However, up to the 18th century. in Europe studied mainly antique Mythology; acquaintance with history, culture and Mythology Egypt, the peoples of America, the East made it possible to move on to a comparative study Mythology different nations. In the 18th century. historical understanding Mythology was given by the Italian philosopher G. Vico. In comparison with Vico's theory, the French Enlightenment, with its rejection of the historical approach, considered Mythology as a product of ignorance and deception, as superstition, it was a step back (B. Fontenelle, Voltaire, D. Diderot, C. Montesquieu, etc.). On the contrary, the English poet J. MacPherson, the German writer and philosopher I. G. Herder and others interpreted Mythology as an expression of popular wisdom. Romanticism heightened interest in Mythology. The collection and presentation of folk tales, legends, fairy tales and myths began, the so-called. mythological school, who interpreted myths as a source of national culture and attracted Mythology to explain the origin and meaning of the phenomena of folklore (its first representatives: German scientists K. Brentano, J. and W. Grimm, L. Arnim and others). Within the framework of the mythological school in the middle of the 19th century. a number of positivist mythological theories arose: the solar-meteorological theory (German scientists A. Kuhn, Mythology Müller, Russians - F.I.Buslaev, L.F. the theory of "inferior Mythology"Or" demonological "(German scientists W. Schwartz, W. Manhardt, etc.), which presented myths as a reflection of the most ordinary phenomena of life; an animistic theory, whose adherents transferred ideas about the human soul to the whole of nature (English scientists E. Tylor, G. Spencer, E. Lang, German - L. Frobenius, Russian - W. Klinger, and others). It gained wide popularity in the 19th century. historical and philological theory (German scientists G. Uzener, U. Vilamovitz-Möllendorf and others, Russians - V. Vlastov, F. F. Zelinsky, E. G. Kagarov, S. A. Zhebelev, N. I. Novosadsky, I.I.Tolstoy and others), who used the methods of literary and linguistic analysis in the study of myths. Modern bourgeois theories are based exclusively on logical and psychological data from the history of human consciousness, as a result of which Mythology interpreted as the most subtle and highly intellectual phenomenon, which it could not have been at the dawn of human history. These theories are usually abstract and anti-historical in nature. Among the psychological theories of the 20th century. The concept of the Austrian scientist Z. Freud was very popular, which reduced all processes of social life and culture to the mental life of an individual, highlighted subconscious, mainly sexual needs, which are supposedly the only factor in all conscious human behavior. One of the greatest Freudian scholars, the Swiss scientist C. Jung, saw in Mythology an expression of the unconscious fantasy of the primitive human collective. In contrast to Freudianism, the "prelogical theory" (late 20-30s of the 20th century) of the French scientist L. Levy-Bruhl argues that primitive thought is supposedly based only on phenomenal memory and on contiguous associations. The cultural-historical theory of myth-formation is widespread (English scientists J. Fraser, G. R. Levy, B. K. Malinovsky, French scientists J. Dumézil, P. Sentive, American scientists R. Carpenter, and others). This theory considers any myth as a reflection of a ritual and a rethinking of an ancient magical rite. The structural typology of myth (the French scientist C. Levi-Strauss in the works of the 50s - early 70s of the 20th century) sees in Mythology the field of unconscious logical operations designed to resolve the contradictions of human consciousness. Mythological theories of bourgeois science, using for explanation Mythology this or that ability or activity of an individual (sexual, affective-volitional, mental, religious, scientific, etc.), give an explanation of any one side of myth-making. None of these concepts can explain social essence. Mythology, for explanations should be sought not in the individual abilities of the human spirit, but in the social conditions that gave rise to the ideology of a particular society and, therefore, its component part - Mythology. This materialistic concept underlies the works of Soviet scientists A. Zolotarev, A. F. Losev, S. A. Tokarev, Yu. P. Frantsev, B. I. Sharevskaya and others; cultural and historical interpretation Mythology on a Marxist basis and a related comparative historical analysis of the world epic is given by V. Ya. Propp, P. G. Bogatyrev, V. Zhirmunsky, V. I. Abaev, E. Meletinsky, I. N. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, etc. ...
http://bse.sci-lib.com/article077053.html
Mythology as the world of prototypes and the matter of spirituality But for the creators of mythology, it was not just reliable or true. They could not even have a question about the truth. For primitive man, mythology was an objective reality. The same as for us, for example, the knowledge that there are 365 or 366 days in a year. The question of whether this is really so does not even occur to us. Such knowledge seems to us like properties of things themselves, almost natural phenomena. This is also because we do not know the author. But myths are just anonymous works. For primitive man, therefore, they were not works at all. They acted as his consciousness, his mental state, which for him was also the state of the world around him. Finally, it was a mass, collective state that a person experienced not individually, but jointly. Loners could be the destroyers of mythological consciousness, they could be, say, those artists who retired in order to escape from the power of the collective consciousness and depict in some hidden place their own, and not the generally accepted, vision of the world, their own consciousness. Not the world outside of man, but the world in the perception of the race became the beginning of human knowledge. Mythology is the world of prototypes, which were the heritage of the family and were passed down from generation to generation. We can say about an image that it is a copy of something that is outside of consciousness. We cannot say so about the prototype. The prototype is the image of consciousness itself. We can get rid of any image, forget it. And one cannot get rid of the prototype, although one may not know about it, not experience its influence. The prototype is the "eye" of consciousness. We see with the eye, but we do not see the eye itself. So it is with the archetype: with its help we realize or think, but to think of the archetype itself is as difficult as it is to see the eye. Perhaps with the help of a mirror. In the mirror, we will see only ourselves. Our own species is one of the prototypes. Mythological thinking is collective, generic thinking. It enshrines the original, generic relations of people to each other, when each of them did not think of himself outside the genus, he himself was more a generic being, and not individual. On the other hand, the genus was conceived not as a multitude of people, but as a large individual being. Mythology became the original form of human thinking, the source of subsequent, more developed forms of thinking: religious, artistic, philosophical, scientific. They all consist of "building blocks" of mythological thinking. Hegel called myths the pedagogy of the human race. Myths or fairy tales educate each of us in childhood, they serve as a source of inspiration for artists and scientists, and even the most rational theories contain elements of mythological thinking. Myths are a kind of matter of spiritual culture. Modeling function of myth It would be wrong to equate mythology with something like the elementary school of human education, with the preparatory class of science. Mythology is not naive answers to the supposedly naive questions of primitive man, which he put before himself or nature. The man looked for and found answers besides myths. He found them in practice. Otherwise, we repeat again, he simply would not have survived. Primitive man understood nature no worse than we understand it today. Mythology played the role of the ideology of primitive society, the very "social glue". Ideological consciousness is such a consciousness when ideas or fantasies become reality for a person. Guided by some ideas or principles, a person can act contrary to circumstances that he considers less real or significant than the products of his own consciousness. We already know about the determining role of images. The image determines the behavior of a person the more, the less he is perceived by him as an image or a copy of something. Then the image becomes reality, the original, and the copy is the behavior of a person, his life. Mythology just played the role of original samples, or models, according to which human behavior, consciousness and life were built. Mythological images served as representations of qualities or actions that could not be imagined in any other form. Try to imagine the need to fulfill your duty. And if you know the myths about Hercules or about Ilya Muromets, if you understand them and believe them, then you already have an idea of duty as the highest valor of a man. Try to imagine the retaliation that awaits anyone who commits a crime against public order. You can imagine retribution in the form of a prison or a scaffold. Although all these are particulars, and the criminal always hopes to avoid them. But there is an image of Nemesis - the goddess of retribution, from whom it is impossible to hide, since she is in the consciousness of the criminal himself. Nemesis and the idea of retribution will live on as long as the criminal is alive. The gods of mythology are the personification of ideas. It seems that ideas cannot be seen, because they are a product of consciousness itself. But if ideas become images, then they can already be seen. Researchers in the field of mythology distinguish the following functions of myth: - axiological(myth is a means of self-praise and inspiration); - teleological(the goal and meaning of history, human existence are determined in the myth); - praxeological, realized in three planes: prognostic, magical and creative-transformative (here they often recall the idea of NA Berdyaev that history is a "myth being created"); - communicative(myth is the link between eras and generations); - cognitive and explanatory; -compensatory(implementation and satisfaction of needs, which in reality, as a rule, are not feasible). Comparative mythology Interest in mythology increases in modern times in connection with the discovery of America. In the XVIII century. French missionary J.F. Lafito became one of the first researchers of the life of the North American Indians. This made it possible to compare the myths of peoples living in different parts of the world. The content of the myths was no longer perceived as something accidental. Increasingly, attention was drawn to the similarity of myths, the natural nature of their occurrence in antiquity. The Italian philosopher G. Vico deeply researched mythology. In accordance with his concept of history, which we have already talked about, he viewed myths as "divine poetry" and compared it with a child's state of mind. His philosophy of myth contained the beginnings of almost all subsequent directions in the study of mythology. Allegorical and symbolic interpretations of myths The first attempts to rationally interpret myths were associated with understanding them as allegories. In myths, they saw allegories, teachings, assimilations, hints. With such an attitude towards them, the richness of the content of the myths seems truly inexhaustible. A striking example of such an approach was the attitude to the myths of the founder of the methodology of experimental knowledge, F. Bacon. In his treatise On the Wisdom of the Ancients, he outlined many ancient myths and his own understanding of the wisdom hidden in them. He wrote that it seems to him "like a badly squeezed grape thunderstorm, from which, although something has been squeezed out, the best part remains and is not used." In the same way he interpreted the myths of I.G. Herder. His views laid the foundation for the understanding of myths, which is already characteristic of romanticism. The peak of the romantic concept of myths was the teaching of F.V. Schelling. In 1966 we published his book "The Philosophy of Art", in one of the chapters of which ("The Construction of the Matter of Art") Schelling expounds his understanding of mythology. It is one of the most significant contributions to the development of mythology in general. Schelling divided various ways of depicting into three types: schematic (general means special), allegorical (special means general) and symbolic (unity of general and special). He understood mythology precisely symbolically, i.e. not allegorically, not historically and psychologically, when they try to find personifications and animations in myths. For Schelling, if something means something, then it is exactly what it is talking about, in other words, the meaning of myth coincides with being. All the events of myths are not assimilation to something, their truth cannot be established by comparing myths with some supposedly real events. Mythological legends, Schelling believed, should be considered only by themselves, not denoting something, but existing independently. What they are talking about undoubtedly once existed, this makes mythology universal and endless, qualitatively unique and symbolic. Mythology, according to Schelling, is the consciousness of reality. But from such an understanding it follows that myth-making cannot be only a phenomenon of the past. Schelling was convinced that the creative individual creates a mythology for itself from any material. In the future, he believed, there will be a synthesis of science and mythology, which will be created by the era as a whole. Myth and archetype Schelling viewed mythology as a construction or unification of really contemplated ideas that served as the primary matter for art. He noted the rational nature of ancient art and poetry. In modern times, science acts as such a construction, and art and everyday consciousness as extra-scientific forms of spirituality become irrational. Here the myth continues to play its defining role as an archetype, or prototype. According to C. Jung's concept, archetypes organize people's perceptions and ideas about the external world. What is commonly called knowledge, in reality, can be imagination, the origins of which must be sought in archetypes and in their uncontrolled impact on consciousness. Levi-Strauss' structuralist theory of myth Jung viewed the entire history of culture as a transformation of myths, raising them to ever higher levels. Thus, it was recognized that mythological thinking is inherent in properties that bring it closer to scientific: generalization, analysis, classification. K. Levi-Strauss believed that the essence of the myth is not in the style or manner of presentation, but in the story that is being presented. The myth is associated with past events, which form a permanent structure, simultaneous for the past, for the present and the future. Levi-Strauss likened the myth to a crystal "in the world of physical matter", figuratively expressing the idea of the world as a concentration of the properties of culture and the world. Everything that is developed and expanded in the history of culture is collapsed in the myth. This understanding of the role of myth gave Levi-Strauss reason to consider the logic of mythological thinking no less demanding than the logic of scientific thinking. The stone ax, he believed, was made no worse than an ax made of Iron, just iron is better than stone. Semiotics and general theory of myth In domestic science, the general cultural significance of myths has been studied for a long time. Semiotic linguists turned to them when developing problems of semantics. In the works of Viach. Sun. Ivanova, V.N. Toporov presents the experience of reconstruction of ancient Balto-Slavic and Indo-European myths as sign systems. In this case, the Methods of modern semiotics are used. Similar methods are used in the works of E.M. Meletinsky.
http://www.countries.ru/library/mif/mifol.htm
Myths of the peoples of the world
Vedic mythology
Germanic-Scandinavian mythology
Scytho-Sarmatian mythology
Buddhist mythology
Vedic mythology
West Semitic mythology
Lamaist mythology
Manchu mythology
Ossetian mythology
Polynesian mythology
Thai mythology
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Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology- the polytheistic mythology of the Celts, the people who inhabited the British Isles in antiquity, as well as part of continental Europe, the current territory of France.
The Celts lived according to the laws of a tribal society. Their culture was very rich in legends and legends, which were passed from mouth to mouth for centuries and, as a rule, survived in several versions, as, indeed, the Celtic names and names themselves. Archaeological excavations carried out recently have helped to replenish knowledge about the way of life and traditions of the people. Just like most of the ancient peoples, the Celts believed in an afterlife, and during burial they left with the deceased many household items: plates, dishes, tools, weapons, jewelry, up to carts and carts with horses.
The central role in mythology was occupied by the belief in the transmigration of souls, which reduced the fear of death, and during the wars supported courage and dedication.
In the most difficult life situations, such as war, illness or other danger, human sacrifices were also made.
Celtic mythology has had a huge impact on English literature.
Celtic deities Esus (Eze) and Tarvos Trigaranus- A bull with three cranes depicted on the so-called "Monument to the Parisian Boatmen" (1st century AD). The motif of the three sacred cranes and the bull is also found in Irish mythology.
Among the written sources, an important role is played by the message of Julius Caesar ( "Notes on the Gallic War", VI.16-18), giving a relatively complete list of the ancient Celtic gods according to their functions. However, he does not name Ihgalic names, but completely identifies them with representatives of the Roman pantheon. “Of the gods they worship Mercury the most. He has the largest number of images, the Gauls consider him the inventor of all arts and the guide of all roads and paths, and they believe that he has the greatest power in relation to the acquisition of wealth and trade. After him (revered) Apollo, Mars, Jupiter and Minerva. In relation to these deities, Gauls have almost the same ideas as other peoples: Apollo drives away diseases, Minerva teaches the basics of art and craftsmanship, Jupiter rules the heavens, Mars is in charge of military affairs. "
Here Caesar mentions the "Dispater", from whom, according to the Druids, the Gauls originated. This classification must be taken seriously, remembering that Celtic and Italian-Greek mythologies are deeply related. After the conquest of Gaul and its Romanization, the process of merging both pantheons unfolded, and it was of a meaningful nature. The Gauls chose Roman names for their gods on the basis of the correspondence between iconography and functions (just as centuries later, pagans throughout Europe identified mythological characters with Christian saints). To Caesar's credit, he was able to single out almost all the main mythological types from the multitude of Celtic images, which, under the Roman names designated by him, were later revered by the Gallo-Romans. Something, of course, he missed. In addition, direct identification emasculates interesting features of Celtic mythology.
So, speaking about the ancient Celtic (Gaulish and, to a lesser extent, British) deities, the following names are usually called: Taranis, Cernunnos, Jesus, Teutat, Lug, Belenus, Ogmios, Brigantia.
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Totemism, primitive mythology and primitive religion
There is no doubt that almost all, if not all, peoples of primitive society had mythology. Most scholars believe that myths are manifestations of religion, or at least are closely related to it. But again, there is not a word about them in these articles.
The answer is simple. Contrary to popular belief, totemism in its original form was not a religion. Myths, too, originally arose out of any connection with religion, were not religious. Before us is a completely independent line of evolution of one of the spheres of the spiritual life of people of primitive (and then later) society, which only later intersected with the line of development of religious ideas and seriously affected it.
Totemism in its original form was a deep, unmistakable belief in the complete identity of the members of one or another human collective (initially - an ancestral community, later - a genus) with individuals of one particular species of animals (bears, wolves, deer, etc.). This kind of animals, and thus every animal of this kind, was the totem of this group of people, and thus any of its members. In its essence, totemism was nothing more than an awareness of the real unity of the human collective, the fundamental community of all its members and, at the same time, their equally fundamental difference from the members of all other human collectives existing on earth. If all the forms of religion considered in the above articles, excluding polytheism, were a reflection of the domination of the blind necessity of nature over people, then totemism was a reflection of the domination of the forces of social development over man, a reflection of not natural, but social being. And this is a reflection, as well as a reflection in magic, omenalism, etc. the domination of objective natural forces over people was not adequate, but illusory, fantastic. Therefore, totemism, like magic, omenalism, fetishism, etc., was faith. All this gave reason to interpret totemism as one of the forms of religion. However, one cannot agree with this understanding of totemism.
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