Legends and Myths

Discuss the November 2016 Book of the Month, Roan: The Tales Of Conor Archer by E. R. Barr.
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Heidi M Simone
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Re: Legends and Myths

Post by Heidi M Simone »

greenstripedgiraffe wrote:It was interesting to see Catholicism mixed in with all the legends. I found that most curious in Roan.
Yes, it was interesting. I actually didn't realize that the author is a priest as well as a writer. This probably played a lot into Catholicism being mixed in.
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Post by Christine_B »

I love myths! I took a greek mythology class in university and loved it! I love when a book is a retelling or based off of a known myth. I also like when authors create myths in their book worlds.
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Post by gali »

hsimone wrote:
greenstripedgiraffe wrote:It was interesting to see Catholicism mixed in with all the legends. I found that most curious in Roan.
Yes, it was interesting. I actually didn't realize that the author is a priest as well as a writer. This probably played a lot into Catholicism being mixed in.
Indeed it was. It made sense after I read about the background of the author.
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Post by Janetleighgreen »

gali wrote:
hsimone wrote:
greenstripedgiraffe wrote:It was interesting to see Catholicism mixed in with all the legends. I found that most curious in Roan.
Yes, it was interesting. I actually didn't realize that the author is a priest as well as a writer. This probably played a lot into Catholicism being mixed in.
Indeed it was. It made sense after I read about the background of the author.
I thoroughly enjoyed the interview; and I was so happy when he joined the discussions.
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Post by Sharon_Dsouza »

I love reading about myths and legends! There is just something really fascinating about them. My favourite legend is that of King Arthur, though I personally hope it is true!
When it comes to myths I think the Greek and Roman, the nordic, Indian and Egyptian myths are all quite enchanting. I haven't read about any other.

What I like about legends and myths is the way they have shaped cultures and places they originate from.
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Post by emsticilation »

If anyone is interested in reading about legends or myths then I would definitely recommend the Percy Jackson and heroes of Olympus book series. By reading fiction I learnt way more knowledge on Greek Mythology by reading 6 books than by studying it for 6 years at primary school! With these books there is a story line with some kids who are children of the gods who go on quests to save the world but stumble across ancient monsters from mythology and have to battle them. It's very exciting and I would 100% recommend! :D
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Post by Silvermoon »

The city of Troy in Greece was a myth that came from ancient Greek literature and was the basis of Homer's Iliad. It was found in the late eighteen hundreds and was proven to be the ancient city lost in the mists of time and legend.
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Post by twitsken »

In high school, I was required to take mythology and world religions. After reading the different stories, I came to my personal conclusion that ALL of the stories have to be true to some of extent. There are so many archetypes and recurring themes and motifs that legends have to be true. There are sightings and stories in so many cultures that it would be foolish to believe that legends and myths don't have some truth behind them.
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Post by Viviana Pitino »

I love mythology.
I don't think there's any factual truth to much of it, but I'm sure there's some teaching in them.
My favorites are ancient greek and roman mythology.
Lately, though, I fiund myself leaning more on legend and folklore tales, the such of Ireland's and Scotland's. Northern Europe has some of that, too. Maybe it's because I'm playing with the idea of weaving some magic in one of my story.
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

emsticilation wrote:If anyone is interested in reading about legends or myths then I would definitely recommend the Percy Jackson and heroes of Olympus book series. By reading fiction I learnt way more knowledge on Greek Mythology by reading 6 books than by studying it for 6 years at primary school! With these books there is a story line with some kids who are children of the gods who go on quests to save the world but stumble across ancient monsters from mythology and have to battle them. It's very exciting and I would 100% recommend! :D
That's a really one! I haven't read Percy Jackson in a while, but I remember enjoying the amount of information I learned about Greek Mythology, too. Thank you for reminding me of it! :)
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Post by Mune »

I adore legends and myths. Many have a particular reason for existing. Sometimes it is a morality tale or a way to make a lesson seem as part of something more significant. Sometimes they are just grandiose fables created around a dinner table or campfire to entertain. I think some people put too much credit into them, without doing proper research or understanding them. This is reflected most often in religious situations. Many authors have found ways to retell them into new and more modern stories, with remnants of familiar tales. In all, I think they are quite enjoyable.

My favorite is the story that the movie Lady Hawke was based on. Two lovers, one cursed to live as a hawk by day and the other cursed to live as a wolf at night. The curse is only broken when they can kiss in human form. In the movie, this is during an eclipse. I barely remember the original tale from when I was a child, but it was always a neat idea to me. Of course I had not known love or the pain of separation. When I did learn of those, the story took a darker and more humbling place in my mind.
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Post by jessejaiden94 »

People of the earlier world had their form of psychology and we call it "Myth".
I absolutely believe that myth is necessary not only to understand the world around us, but to understand the world inside us.

The myth itself, upon first inspection, usually seems to have some moral lesson relating to the outside world. But many consider these myths to be much too fantastic or unbelievable, and therefor discredit them as having any value to a modern culture.

"well, everyone knows that you should treat others like you want to be treated. I didn't need a big colorful tale to understand that."

These are the sorts of things I am constantly hearing out of the mouths of people who refuse to look at the myth on any level other than surface. These critiques are understandable, but they are indicative of a reader who has gotten so wrapped up in the content that the true meaning is lost.

As a Zen Buddhist might say "The finger that points at the moon is not the moon."

As I might say "The thing the myth is trying to convey is not the myth."

The creator of the myth tries to use words to describe that which is indescribable. They try to contain smoke and water in their bare hands. The result is something which is many times wild and fantastic.

Try to describe the color red to someone who has never seen it and you would get a similar effect, but isn't the color red just so beautiful and worth trying to describe?

My favorite myth is the that of Ma Durga in the Devi Mahatmyam. It describes how the great goddess Durga comes and slays legions of demons because the gods are not powerful enough. Now one might say "well, demons aren't real that's ridiculous." and while that statement may be true it doesn't invalidate the beauty of the scripture. The scripture is trying to tell you how to kill your own inner demons. How to have the grand religious experience because you're free of your own neurosis.

Myth is beautiful and I personally think that it's very important to our existence as human beings.
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Post by Roxye396 »

Ive decided to go with a more relatable approach to this question. Simply putting it, before there were facebook quotes to convey an important message, there were stories and legends. Many of which, taught morals and traditional values. Certain inspiration was drawn from many of these legends and that's generally what kept them alive. For example, in the hispanic culture, there's a legend of a woman called La Llorona (the weeping woman), the story tells of a beautiful woman who was quite conservative until one day a handsome man comes into her life and sweeps her off her feet. Shortly after their marriage, this man leaves the beautiful woman to be with another. In a fit of jealousy and rage, the woman gathers her two children and drowns them in a near by river. When she realises the severity of her actions, she quickly repents and is absolutely devasted by what she had done. She lingered by the river many years, in hopes that her childrens spirits would somehow return to her. Many hispanic mothers would pass this story around their small villages known as "Pueblos." Soon, the story became a legend and was used to scare children into coming home early, and to warn young women to wait and get to know a man before marrying him.
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Post by Dr frankenstein »

Myths and legend are the in thing for me when reading a book. From the way it makes you think to the feelings of I wish this were real, I really do love them. My favourite myth is that of Odessus.
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

We have that in abundance in my country :) I'm not really sure if other people still believe in them, but I think they are told to keep small children quiet, to amuse guests, to warn fearless young people, but I think it's more on keeping with the tradition and in the case of other people to explain some things they don't fully understand.
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