Semiotics and Communication Theory

Introduction

We live in a culture, which means moving beyond the myth; we think we can ignore the mythical representation because the objective representation of modern science has freed us. Claude Levi-Strauss writes in this sense: for millennia, the myth was a way of building intellectual. But in our civilization, a time which is around the seventeenth century, with the beginning of scientific thought-Bacon, Descartes and others-the myth is dead or, at least, he spent the background as a kind of intellectual construction. "

Discussion and Analysis

Myths are culturally derived narratives or legends that are shared by the members of a society. Mythopoeia, the making and perpetuating of these myths, were generally done by, or with the support of, secular and or religious leaders. Mythopoeia can be understood as products of the imagination of those members of society, especially the secular and religious leaders, with power and influence. These leaders sought to enhance conditions that were favorable to governing and expanding their societies. Myths created a structure that gave an enhanced meaning to people's lives and provided benefits for everyday living. Myths also provided a context for individuals to explore their own identities and define their own existence within a particular society. Myths are cultural universals that emerge in different cultures at historical periods to fulfill basic emotional, spiritual, and physical needs. It is generally accepted that all societies have myths, and the evidence of their existence dates from antiquity to pre-literacy and finally to Common Era (CE). In antiquity, myths survived and were passed on through cave paintings, other forms of mythography, masks, totems, and orality. Later in Greek, Roman, and other European societies, as literacy developed and spread, myths became an integral part of their literary traditions. And today, in non-literate societies, as well as among citizens who are not literate but live in literate cultures, myths continue to exist as part of the oral traditions. Currently, in literate societies, especially those that now use science as the lens through which to view their social and physical environment, myths have been reinterpreted as fiction, old wives' tales, stories that have been lost in their retelling, or just plain superstitions (Wolfgang ,Pp 221-230).

Myths and Mythology

The original Greek meaning of the word mythology was the telling of stories. Some of the oldest and well known myths are Greek and Roman, but mythology pervades all cultures and other mythologies include: Jewish, Norse, Indian, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian. Myths may consist of fables (which instruct), etiological tales (which explain), and folktales (which entertain). However, the larger role of myth may be to lend explanation to a culture's construction of time or its history. Myth differs from history in that history is based on recent, documented happenings, and myths are often located in an imagined past without time. Myths tell the stories that explain the origins of people, animals, and plants; they may incorporate magic or supernatural elements (Sergio, Pp 134-145).

Cultural myths may cover many topics. Creation myths, for example, range from an ...