
One theory claims that myths are distorted accounts of real historical events. According to this theory, storytellers repeatedly elaborate upon historical accounts until the figures in those accounts ultimately gain the status of GODS!
For example, the myth of the wind-god Aeolus may have evolved from a historical account of a king who taught his people to use sails and interpret the wind.
Herodotus (fifth-century BCE) and Prodicus made claims of this kind. This theory is named euhemerism after mythologist Euhemerus (c. 320 BCE), who suggested that Greek gods developed from legends about human beings…
Sometimes separating what might be legend from history becomes rather like solving a series of riddles. Then you discover the legends may exist in different areas and each story has linked the local history to the legend. In a world before books and long before radio and television we have to remember that story telling was important and tales of Gods and Goddesses a way of accounting for much they did not understand.
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Very interesting. I think that myths and legends can be a window into a culture and a place in time.
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Agreed, I suggest you read up the history of Y Ddraig Goch, the red dragon on the Flag of Wales.
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Reblogged this on Nelsapy.
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