The Great Mythology Thread

[ashleeoh]

Jun 3, 2011 13:38:06 GMT -5 Marina said:

Josefine, that's really cool, I always wanted to take a class that studied the Biblical stories, but not necessarily from Biblical point of view.

Do you guys know of any modern books that have Mythical themes that are actually good. I've read a YA genre the Goddess Test, and I was a bit disappointed with how the Gods were handled. But something along the lines of Till We Have Faces, that was a wonderful book (he messed with the myths a little, but not enough to make me mad).

I'm not familiar with Till We Have Faces, but I have heard excellent things about Gods Behaving Badly.

[Marina]

Till We Have Faces was written by C.S. Lewis and it's a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, as told from the point of view of her sister. I though it was great.

[ashleeoh]

I'll definitely have to check into that. It's with great guilt that I will admit that I couldn't make it through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Never tried him since.

[Marina]

I had trouble with that too, but I gave Till We Have Faces a try, it's not filled with Christian symbolism like his other works are, it's more pagan.

[KatjevanLoon]

Jun 1, 2011 9:05:35 GMT -5 Olive said:

Discuss your favorite mythologies (Norse? Classical? Native American?), your favorite myths, your favorite re-tellings and interpretations.

Honestly not sure if I would classify First Nations culture as mythology -- not because "mythology" is pejorative (it's not), but because their stories are...well, it's complicated, but basically the stories that come out of First Nations cultures are still oral histories, and can't really be separated, or studied academically the way Greek or Norse or Celtic myth can.

The stories are living, and stories about one's Cree grandmother are just as much part of First Nations myth as stories about the Coast Salish creator, Xeel's. The stories have not died, they're still being told and retold and are still part of the fabric of First Nations cultures.

(And I'm going to say the same thing applies with Mayan myth, at least in the towns I visited in Guatemala, and Hawaiian myth, to a slightly lesser extent.)

*puts away First Nations Studies major hat*

That said, if you want to read up on First Nations/Native American stories, the theory behind them, etc, Julie Cruikshank is the one of the leading authorities on the stories of Yukon Elders -- check out Life Lived Like a Story. Freda Ahenakew revolutionized the study of First Nations stories when she published Cree stories in both Cree and English, side by side on the page. One of her books is called Our Grandmothers' Lives As Told In Their Own Words.

Ellen White, or Kwulasulwut, is one of the Elders at my program. She put together a bunch of Coast Salish traditional tales into a book called Xeel's: The Creator.

Personally I'm partial to Cherokee stories (it's my heritage). There's a good list of them here. My favourites are The Origin of Disease and Medicine, the First Strawberries, and Dancing Drum (which is not on there as I know it, but as Daughter of the Sun).


I'm also a fan of Celtic myth (and by fan of, I mean I am a pagan who worships Brighid, Morrigan, and Manannan) and I'm fairly well-versed in Greek myth. Theoi.com is a good source for the latter.

[oaki]

I was into Greek mythology as a child. My mum read me all about the gods [kinda skipped the heroes volume, tho'], and I knew the myths by heart. I still know most of them now. They have a recording of me on a casette where I tell all the stories I knew by heart, and keep talking for a couple of hours.
My favourite god was Hermes, and my favourite goddess Artemis.
Now that I think about it, considering how much JK Rowling involved mythology in her Potter series, it makes sense why I love it so much.


On a random note, has anyone read "the secret of the immortal nicholas flamel" by Michael Scott? He majored in mythology so his books involve lots of it. Also, he's Irish, so rich myth culture there!

[cyanea]

Jun 3, 2011 13:38:06 GMT -5 Marina said:

Josefine, that's really cool, I always wanted to take a class that studied the Biblical stories, but not necessarily from Biblical point of view.

Do you guys know of any modern books that have Mythical themes that are actually good. I've read a YA genre the Goddess Test, and I was a bit disappointed with how the Gods were handled. But something along the lines of Till We Have Faces, that was a wonderful book (he messed with the myths a little, but not enough to make me mad).

I'd recommend American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It deals with what happens to gods and legends and folklore in the modern day. It's quite entertaining.

[Dodger Thirteen]

I heartily second American Gods. It's a fascinating take on mythology in modern times, with "minor" commentary on religion.

[onlyaworkingtitle]

Jun 12, 2011 16:54:57 GMT -5 Dodger Thirteen said:

I heartily second American Gods. It's a fascinating take on mythology in modern times, with "minor" commentary on religion.

THIS: www.slashfilm.com/american-gods/
WE SO EXCITED

PS: So sorry for the Rebecca Black reference; it popped into my head and then out through my fingers and then it was too late to take back.

[Dodger Thirteen]

What's everyone's take on "modernized mythology", like American Gods? I imagine a few of you are for it, but sometimes I think they take it too far.

That being said, if you like Gaiman and haven't read Norse Code yet, I suggest you give it a try.

[inarikins]

I think modernizing mythology can make it easier to relate to. It won't ever replace the true mythology, but it can get people interested. It is a delicate balancing act, though. I think Neil Gaiman does it fantastically well, but it's so easy to get wrong.

Also, high-five for being pagan. -am also pagan-

[Dodger Thirteen]

Jun 16, 2011 16:17:58 GMT -5 inarikins said:

Also, high-five for being pagan. -am also pagan-

We seem to have a few here.

...I'm starting a thread.

[Marina]

Jun 16, 2011 12:43:58 GMT -5 Dodger Thirteen said:

What's everyone's take on "modernized mythology", like American Gods? I imagine a few of you are for it, but sometimes I think they take it too far.

I just did a research paper on the modernizing of the Hades and Persephone myth. My opinion is that that myth in particular should not be touched with a ten-foot pole. My biggest problem with them was the introduction of romance into the myth--which just doesn't work, at all. It's my opinion that the myth is not supposed to be romantic. But authors change main elements like rape, kidnapping or Demeter's reaction to fit the modern standards; and again, it's my opinion, but I think changing the main elements ruins the myth.

Of course there's the right way to do it and the wrong way to do it. I just don't think there was a right modernization of the H&P myth, and I don't think there's going to be one.

I'd rather read Gaiman instead, he does it the right way.

[onlyaworkingtitle]

Soooo Dodger just reblogged this: dodgerthirteen.tumblr.com/post/17477288816/estherparker-retailavenger85-is-that-sean#note-container -- photoset of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades from the Percy Jackson movie. Which reminded me of said movie. Aaaaaand it sent me into fits of rage.

WHY DOES THE MEDIA ALWAYS VILLAINIZE HADES.

Seriously, all the time. From the aforementioned Percy Jackson to Disney's [/i]Hercules[/i]. And they're pulling the stereotype out of their asses, because it's certainly not coming from the original myths. Yes, he's the god of death and hell and all that unpleasantness, but a) he's only in charge of that because Zeus made him and b) he's also the god of little things like JUSTICE and MONEY. Which aren't exactly evil concepts.

SO ARGH. MEDIA. I HATE YOU.

Commiseration plzkthx?

[KatjevanLoon]

Total agreement here. I've also got a friend whose patron is Hades and she cannot stand the media villainization (sp?) of Him either.

It's definitely getting old.