Do Myths Matter

To believe or not to believe?

Canadian International School
Mrs. Bellavance
4/20/2011
Hamas
This essay will discuss about if myths matter or not from a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. This is a thesis essay discussing about myths and why do not matter to us.

The word myth comes from the Greek word mythos, which in turn “means a story, tale or fiction”. Typical myths deal with supernatural beings and things that might not be real. Myths are stories that are written or told to people, passed down from generation to generation. Some believe in it; some read or listen to myths just because it is entertaining. One would wonder where myths came from; were they just stories that parents tell their children? Many people grow up believing in these myths simply because their parents told them they are true. Some people believe in myths to feel better because it answers the more pressing questions that they have. However, myths do not matter; they were created at a time when there was no way to explain the questions that the people of that time could not answer. Myths have been passed on from generations so people might have exaggerated the stories to make the hero look better. Even if there is evidence to prove that these myths are true, they usually turn out to be hoaxes.
This issue is highly debatable because many people disagree on what the definition on a myth constitutes. What may seem as true to a group of people may be dismissed as merely a myth by another. For example, some people will only believe in a God if his existence can be proved empirically (that is, using their senses). However many Christians believe that this is not enough and that faith (believing in things that cannot be seen) is needed as well in order to believe in such a God.
People believe in myths because it helps them believe that they have the power to avoid disasters and curses. The people in ancient China were frequent victims of floods and earthquakes. Since they had no power to stop this from happening, they believed that there must be gods who had the power to control nature. That is why they offered sacrifices to them to make them happy and stop the disasters from happening. Some people also believe in myths because it helps them to answer questions that they cannot explain. They make up myths because they do not have the knowledge to explain what is happening around them.
*** Topic Sentence?? In Hindu mythology the world was believed to rest on four elephants that stand on the shell of a turtle. Now, however, science has helped us to discover that the earth is held in space by gravitational forces and that it is one of many planets in our solar system. This myth was created in the time when there were no instruments that could prove that earth was in space and so they came up with this myth to solve these mysteries. However, myths do not matter now because we now have advanced technology to prove that these myths are false. Satellites which are sent in outer space take pictures every second of things in space and these pictures are transmitted to us. All this knowledge and information about this world clearly proves that, nowadays, myths are irrelevant.
Myths have been passed on from generation to generation and through time the subject of the myths may have been exaggerated to a point where it seems unreal. The stories are most likely about a hero saving the day using miraculous powers beyond imagination. In ancient times, the easiest way to pass down knowledge was through verbal communication. However, people tend to slightly exaggerate their stories because it makes their audience show more interest in the story. Over generations, the story might be exaggerated so much that it is nothing like the original. Romulus and Remus were brothers who were known to have founded Rome. They were abandoned to die when they were young but were suddenly found by a female wolf which nurtured them. Firstly, wolves are capable of tearing a human apart, so it is very hard to believe that a wolf would for no reason find and nurse two newborn babies without attacking them. Secondly, this myth is unbelievable because it is not humanly possible for a newborn baby to be fed by a wolf. This suggests that these types of myths are made for the hero to be extraordinary compared to the rest of the people. These myths do not matter to us anymore because they are inaccurate and exaggerated.
Lastly, even if myths do have evidence for them to be real they still might not be true. A crop circle is a pattern which flattens the crops. There was a myth about the crop circles about a greedy farmer who refused to pay a mower for his work. The mower told the farmer that he would rather have the Devil mow his cops. That night, the farmer’s crops were set on fire and the next morning he found his crops harvested in such a manner that no human could do over night. The crops were rounded circles and each crop had the exact size as every other crop. Eventually, two professional pranksters, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley showed it was possible to make the same crop circles in an hour using simple tools. This proves that this myth was a hoax. This is also another testament that myths do not matter because even if they do have evidence they are not always real.
Most myths are kept and preserved because they are a valuable part of history and they tell us what the people were thinking at that point in time. They are also entertaining as stories that we can read about. In spite of all this, they still do not matter in modern society because they are irrelevant and have been proven to be false by science. We should focus on the future, and on answering the harder questions of life using logical reasoning and scientific evidence rather than having to rely on stories that have no basis whatsoever.

Works Cited: 1) "Mythology and Religion." 123HelpMe.com. 23 May 2011 <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=128898>. 2) Heaton, Chris. "Romulus and Remus." UNRV History - Roman Empire. 05 May 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.unrv.com/culture/romulus-and-remus.php>. 3) "Indian Mythology - Hindu Mythology Articles, Facts @ Indian Divinity.com." Webonautics: Web Design & Web Development | Information | Online Resources. Jan.-Feb. 2005. Web. <http://www.webonautics.com/mythology/>. 4) Michael, John. "World Mysteries - The Crop Circles." World-Mysteries.com. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_14.htm>.

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[ 2 ]. "Indian Mythology - Hindu Mythology Articles, Facts @ Indian Divinity.com." webonautics: Web Design & Web Development | Information | Online Resources Jan,-Feb, 2005, Web, .
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[ 4 ]. John Michael, "World Mysteries - The Crop Circles", World-Mysteries.com, Web, 25 Apr, 2011, .

Cited: 1) "Mythology and Religion." 123HelpMe.com. 23 May 2011      &lt;http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=128898&gt;. 2) Heaton, Chris. "Romulus and Remus." UNRV History - Roman Empire. 05 May 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. &lt;http://www.unrv.com/culture/romulus-and-remus.php&gt;. 3) "Indian Mythology - Hindu Mythology Articles, Facts @ Indian Divinity.com." Webonautics: Web Design &amp; Web Development | Information | Online Resources. Jan.-Feb. 2005. Web. &lt;http://www.webonautics.com/mythology/&gt;. 4) Michael, John. "World Mysteries - The Crop Circles." World-Mysteries.com. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. &lt;http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_14.htm&gt;. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. "Mythology and Religion", 123HelpMe.com, 23 May 2011 . [ 2 ]. "Indian Mythology - Hindu Mythology Articles, Facts @ Indian Divinity.com." webonautics: Web Design & Web Development | Information | Online Resources Jan,-Feb, 2005, Web, . [ 3 ]. Heaton, Chris, "Romulus and Remus", UNRV History - Roman Empire, 05 May 2008, web, 25 Apr, 2011, . [ 4 ]. John Michael, "World Mysteries - The Crop Circles", World-Mysteries.com, Web, 25 Apr, 2011, .