Myths are stories that narrate feats of supernatural beingslike gods or monsters, and serve to explain certain facts or phenomena.
Legends, on the other hand, are stories of wonderful or imaginary eventsframed in certain Historic moment.
Although they are used as synonyms, they are not always interchangeable.
Below we explain in detail what is myth and what is legend.
Myth Legend Definition Stories about supernatural events, gods or heroes, which explain an aspect of reality in a symbolic way. Narration of fabulous events or fantastic characters located in a real historical context. Chronology of the stories Before the appearance of humanity. Specific historical moment, although it could be distant. Fictional, symbolic characters. Real or based on real characters. Origin of the Metaphysical story. The gods transmit history to humanity. Testimonies of people transmitted orally. Types Cosmogonic myths. Theogonic myths. Anthropogenic myths Foundational myths. moral myths. Etiological myths. eschatological myths. historical legends. Urban legends. rural legends. local legends. Etiological legends. religious legends. eschatological legends.
Differences between myth and legend
The myth lacks a temporal context known, while the legend happens at a specific moment in history. In terms of space, the myth lacks a precise location. Legends, however, take place in a certain place, a country, a town, a city, etc. The purpose of myth is to answer questions such as the origin of the world or the elements. The legend, on the other hand, aims to entertain through an extraordinary event that is associated with a character, moment or place in history. He origin of the myth is based on the need of the human being to find answers about the world around him, it has a philosophical origin. The legend is born from popular tradition, from the will to narrate or extol events and features of a culture.
Similarities between myth and legend
They are part of the cultural tradition, since both have remained thanks to the fact that they have been transmitted orally or in writing. Both are stories that seek explain phenomena, either to understand their origin (myths) or because they are enigmatic or extraordinary (legends). Both myth and legend have common elements such as time, space, characters, etc. Most of the myths and legends have no known author, they are anonymous stories that belong to popular folklore.
What are myths?
Poseidon, the god of the seas, is a figure typical of Greek mythology.
the myths make up the belief system or worldview of a people or culture, because in them are poured the beliefs with which they have traditionally explained to themselves the origin and reason of all things. For this reason they are located outside of historical time.
Taken as a whole, myths make up mythologies and there are different mythologies for each culture. Some examples are Greco-Roman, Nordic, Aztec, Mayan, Inca or Chinese mythology.
In Greek mythology, for example, the origin of the world is explained, how the Earth came to be (Gea) or the birth of the sky (Uranus). Also the so-called “age of the gods”, in which the first deities are created, which are the ones that initiate civilization.
In Mayan mythology there is a series of stories and myths compiled in the Popol Vuh, a book considered sacred in that culture. It describes the emergence of the first gods, the creation of the first men out of wood, then out of clay and finally out of corn, who are the ones who begin to reproduce and populate the world.
Characteristics of the myths
Myths have their own characteristics that differentiate them from other types of stories:
It’s a traditional origin storyThey are transmitted orally from one generation to the next. They have a foundational context: the stories and stories that make up a myth are located in a time before the presence of humanity. They have one religious or spiritual charge (worship of gods, natural phenomena). Are fruit of imagination and creativity. address universal themes: the creation of the universe and of humanity, human conflicts, love, violence, mourning, wars, etc.
Types of myths and examples
The myths can be classified according to their thematic axes:
cosmogonic myths
They are those who explain the origin of the universelike the origin of Gaia, the Earth, in Greek mythology.
The world began with a deep void called Chaos, from which Gaia, the Earth, spontaneously emerged. Gaea engendered Uranus, the firmament, the mountains and Pontus, the indomitable sea. This is the beginning of the so-called “Age of the Gods”, in which the first deities of the Greek pantheon are created, which will give rise to civilization.
Theogonic myths
They explain the origin of the gods. In Japanese culture there is a book called Kojiki, which compiles a series of myths and stories about the origins and deities of Japan.
Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun, born from Izanagi, one of the creator gods in the Shinto religion. After traveling to the realm of the dead to visit his late love, Izanagi set out to take a purifying bath. It was at that moment that Amaterasu sprouted from her left eye, as a deity that illuminates heaven and earth, from which the future emperors of Japan will descend.
anthropogenic myths
They explain the origin of humanitylike the stories of the first men and women of corn, in the Popol Vuh.
Behold, the substance that was to enter the flesh of the constructed man, of the formed man, was finally achieved. This was his blood, this became the blood of man, this ear finally entered man through the Procreators, through the Begetters. […] Food was introduced into the meat, it gave birth to fatness, fat, it became the essence of the arms, of the muscles of man.
Raynaud, G., Asturias, MA, & González, . MJM (1983). Popol-vuh or Council Book of the Quiché Indians. Buenos Aires: Editorial Losada.
founding myths
They describe the creation of towns or cities at the hands of a superior entity. In Roman mythology, the founding of Rome by two twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, is narrated.
From her union with the god Mars, Rhea Silvia gave birth to two children, Rómulo and Remo, who were abandoned to prevent their uncle Amulio from murdering them. They were raised and nursed by the wolf Luperca, until they were adults and took revenge on Amulio.
They decided to found a new city in which to rule. Romulus wanted to found Rome on the slopes of the Palatine Hill; Remo, for his part, chose the Aventine Hill to establish Remoria. This conflict between brothers caused a fight that ended the life of Remus and led to the founding of Rome in the year 753 BC.
moral myths
In them is represented the fight of good and evil, or other contrary concepts. In Greek mythology there are many examples of this type of myth.
Antigone, one of Oedipus’s daughters, faces a difficult decision. She, on the one hand, must respect the law of men, leaving her brother Polynices, accused of treason, without a burial or funeral honors. On the other, she needs to be merciful to her brother, disobeying the laws of the city and dishonoring the memory of her other brother, Eteocles, who died at the hands of the former.
Antigone acts according to her pious instinct and is punished by Creon to be buried alive.
etiological myths
They explain the origin of things, for example, how plants and animals arose. Aztec, or Mexicá, mythology narrates the origin of the maguey, also known as agave.
Mayahuel is the goddess of drunkenness, fertility and maguey. Her grandmother kept her captive, away from the rest of the gods because she possessed a very powerful plant. The gods, who wanted men to enjoy the benefits of this plant, sent Quetzalcóatl to convince the goddess to visit the underworld. During her flight, Mayahuel was seduced by the god, but the romance was interrupted by the goddess’s brothers, sent by her grandmother to return her home.
The goddess and her lover took the form of the miraculous plant, but the brothers recognized it and destroyed the plant that camouflaged Mayahuel. Quetzalcóatl recovered the pieces of his beloved to replant them, and from there a maguey plant sprouted, in which Mayahuel was forever represented.
eschatological myths
announce World’s End, usually through natural catastrophes that will end civilization. In Norse mythology it is known by the name of Ragnarök.
Ragnarök, also known as the fate of the gods, is the final battle between order and chaos, ending the world of the nine realms. The loss of values and a series of climatic phenomena announce the arrival of the end. On the battlefield, Odin and Thror lead the army of Asgard against the troops that accompany Loki, in a fight that will bring destruction for all.
What are legends?
The legends, for their part, They are also stories that can include fantastic or wonderful elements., but they usually have a certain more or less recognizable historical basis, which, unlike myth, gives it a certain credibility. A classic example of legend are the stories of Robin Hood.
Today, in addition, there is an urban legend, which is based on topics of popular knowledge about whose reasons or motives there is speculation. Urban legends would be, for example, the freezing of Walt Disney or the investigation on extraterrestrial lives in Area 51, in the United States.
Legends Features
They help explain what is difficult to understand for a social group, but has at least one real trait or element.
They take place in a contexteasily recognizable space, or time.
They can be composed of a series of stories that revolve around the same character or event.as is the case with all stories about the Cid Campeador either Robin Hood.
Types of legends and examples
historical legends
explain Events occurred during warlike conflicts, such as wars or conquest processes.
In Spain, there is a legend of a nobleman called Guzmán el Bueno, who let the Moroccan invaders murder his son so as not to hand over the castle he had been entrusted with defending. This made him worthy of the lordship of Sanlúcar by King Sancho IV, as a sign of loyalty.
Urban legends
They are part of contemporary folklore and, generally, they take place in a city context. Social networks have helped to feed or create new legends of this type, since they are media in which information is shared very quickly.
In the United States there is an urban legend about an arcade game called Polybius. Supposedly, it existed in the eighties and left physical scars on those who played it. With the massification of the internet and the culture of video games, the legend returned to…