To start looking at more specific mythology, I want to begin with the basics. Stories are, at their heart, about one thing -- making order out of chaos. When we tell about something that happened, we instinctively put it in the form of a story. When you have a wacky dream that jumps all over the place, you'll try to fill in the gaps and make it a story when you tell it to someone else. Human beings have a need for order, for making the insanity of the world in which we live manageable through imposing order on it.

That's the main theme of mythology. In this lesson, you'll look at 2 aspects of mythology -- creation myths, and the hero as the center of myth.

 
REQUIRED READINGS
 
     

Background on the Epic of Gilgamesh & the Mesopotamian gods

 

 

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