Fascinating reading myths and fairy tales bring pleasure not only to children, but also to adults. Moreover: their history, content, figurative structure, and poetics are studied by serious scientists, whose works explore the laws of the development of society, the emergence of religions, the rise and fall of civilizations. Myths and fairy tales are an inexhaustible source of information that allows you to penetrate into the secrets of the past and future. Mythical and fairy tales, complementing each other, make it possible to recreate complete picture world and determine man’s place in it.
Myths- these are the most ancient legends that reflected a generalized image of the surrounding world in the collective consciousness. In ancient mythological literature, a special epic genre developed, which made it possible to create an integral system in the form of a figurative narrative mythical heroes, which, according to the ancients, determined the fate of man and the development of historical events.
Our ancestors perceived myths as reality, personifying divine powers and endowing them with the traits of earthly people. Myths described with particular solemnity the deeds of the gods and the exploits of heroes on whom the lives of mere mortals depended. Natural disasters, wars, change of government - everything significant events a simple and convincing explanation was found in myths.
Myth-making was an integral part of the development of most ethnic cultures. This is evidenced by well-known literary monuments"Odyssey", "Iliad", "Mahabharata", "Ramayana", "Edda".
Fairy tale also apply to the oldest species collective folk art. Fairytale fiction is a way to rethink patterns human life and explain the order of things that is determined by the will from above. In fairy tales different nations fragments of ethnic cult rites and pagan rituals were reflected. Associated with them magical transformations heroes, the motive of witchcraft, death and resurrection, the miraculous power of amulets.
If myths tell general ideas about the place of man in the strict hierarchy of earthly and divine forces, then the world of fairy tales is as close as possible to ordinary life. In it you can find interesting details everyday life, family life, customs. Fairy tale characters taken and transferred to a fictional world from ordinary life.
Myths, unlike fairy tales, are populated by gods and heroes. The structure of the myth is based on storyline, which may have multiple repetitions in other stories. The fairy tale has a strictly defined composition. Stable formative elements help preserve it: triple repetitions, situations testing heroes, an abundance of constant epithets.
The style of fairy tales is determined by the usual colloquial speech with the inclusion of proverbs, sayings, riddles. Description of the life of gods and heroes requires solemnity and special rhythmic organization speech.
Myths about Hercules
Conclusions website
- Unlike fairy tales, which convey the idea of our ancestors about the world around us at the everyday level, myths reflect a generalized image of reality as an ordered system of interaction of higher forces.
- The content of fairy tales is perceived as fiction; myths were created as a popular interpretation of actually occurring events.
- In a fairy tale, a person enters into confrontation with the forces of evil in order to achieve what he wants; in a myth, the story is told about gods and heroes who decide the destinies of mere mortals.
- The plots of individual myths are interconnected, but develop freely, without strict narrative canons. Fairy tales maintain a strictly defined composition with stable formative elements.
- The language of fairy tales is as close as possible to the folk language; myths are distinguished by a special solemnity of speech.
In the early stages of development public consciousness ideas about the universe and human nature developed into myths, traditions and legends. On the basis of myth-making, pagan rituals were cultivated, the foundations of religions and philosophical teachings were formed. Myth as a form of oral collective creativity had a wider scope compared to other folklore types art, interpretation. Mythical motifs can also be traced in the legends with which real historical facts or outstanding events.
What is myth and legend
Myth– a reflection in the collective consciousness of ancient people of ideas about the structure of the world, recorded in works of oral folk art and written sources. The mythical narrative asserted the power of the immortal gods over the fate of man and explained all life phenomena as a manifestation of the divine will.
Legend– one of folklore genres, in which real historical events, natural disasters and phenomena public life appear in the form of a symbolic generalization, close to myth-making. Legendary characters are heroes and superhuman beings who personify the forces of nature.
Comparison of myth and legend
What is the difference between myth and legend?
The events reflected in the myths covered a significant chronological period and could not be associated with specific individuals who influenced the course of history. The focus of myths is on the life, rivalry, struggle and idleness of almighty gods who lived separately from people: most often, in sacred mountains or in the sky. What is happening on earth in the ancient mythologized consciousness is only a projection of the fateful actions of the rulers of the sky, the firmament and the water element.
Mythical gods patronized agriculture, cattle breeding, trade, navigation - the main and very real activities with which they were associated. The immortality of the gods was contrasted with the frailty of the lives of mere mortals.
Legends describe a single episode of the historical past of an ethnic group or nationality, while myths depict almost all aspects of life.
The gods who inhabit the mythical peaks, the depths of the oceans and the underworld are immortal. Heroes of legends are endowed with incredible strength, intelligence, and abilities, but they cannot live forever. They perform feats with the help of the gods and die like ordinary people.
TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between a myth and a legend is as follows:
The myth refers to epic genres oral folk art; characterized broad generalization symbolic images, reflecting certain level collective consciousness.
Legend is one of the genres folk epic, which is based on real historical events.
Myths tell about the lives of immortal gods. The characters of the legend are mortal heroes who are protected by higher powers.
In myths, the coverage of events is much wider than in legends.
One of the main plotting techniques in a legend is hyperbole. In myths, fantastic exaggeration is perceived as objective reality.
There are many peoples on Earth, and they are all different from each other: they have different color skin, lifestyle, each has its own mythology. And although the myths of different peoples have their own, very special gods and heroes, they are united by the fact that these short or long, funny or cruel, but always poetic stories reflected the beliefs of ancient people, their initial knowledge about the world around them, about life, about the man himself.
Thousands of years ago, people (and some tribes and nationalities even today) not only firmly believed in the events reflected in myths, but also lived and died, constantly communicating with gods, heroes and other mythical creatures.
Fairy tales are a completely different matter. They, too, can be cheerful and sad, heroic and everyday, but when reading or listening to them, we always know that this is not true, fiction, although no less beautiful and poetic than myths. Everyone loves fairy tales - both children and adults, because they make us kinder, more tolerant, wiser.
But my little sister still doesn’t know how to distinguish a fairy tale from reality and believes that Baba Yaga, the little mermaids and Cheburashka really exist. Maybe fairy tales are the real myth for her today?
Folk art of words - heroic epic, fairy tales, myths, legends, songs, proverbs, riddles - are called folklore, which means wisdom, knowledge. Indeed, in all these literary genres contained in a simple, concise and clear form folk wisdom. Works of oral folk art that arose in ancient times accompany us even now, in everyday life. Folk songs, fairy tales, riddles and proverbs are known to both children and adults.
Myths are a type of folklore, old folk tales about gods, fantastic creatures, heroes, demigods, miracles, conveying the ideas of ancient peoples about the origin of the world and natural phenomena.
The tales of the ancient Greeks - myths, which also belong to folk art. In the imagination of the ancient Greeks, gods inhabited not only the earth, but also the air, water and even the underworld. Ancient Greek myths not only talked about the lives of gods and titans, but also glorified the names of the most worthy people who courageously fought for justice, freedom and honor. The gods are perfect people: with enormous physical strength, amazingly beautiful and immortal, able to perform miraculous and inexplicable from the point of view ordinary people actions. Here is the man who brought fire to people - Prometheus. Here is a man of extraordinary strength, who has just accomplished another feat, defeating the terrible hydra - Hercules. But the handsome young man, bending over the mirror surface of the lake, admires his beauty - this is Narcissus. From the following myth you can find out what led to the Trojan War. Reading myths Ancient Greece, you travel to distant countries and learn a lot of unusual things. But often the gods are no different from ordinary people: they also love, suffer, have fun, quarrel with each other, eat and drink, tell legends and stories.
If fairy tales are fictional, invented for a specific purpose, then myths are valid, real ideas of people about the world around them. Our distant ancestors sacredly believed in everything that is said in the myths, hence their deification of all living things, the worship of the gods. Myths are older than fairy tales. They combine people’s beliefs, their initial knowledge about the world around them, about life, as well as religion, science and art.
We are all in early childhood listened to fairy tales that mothers and grandmothers told us. Fairy tales appeared a long time ago and for many centuries they played the same role in human life. important role, which books are playing now. Fairy tales are a big section ancient literature, folklore narrative works about fictitious persons and events, mainly involving magical, fantastic forces. Fairy tales often feature animals endowed with human characters. Fairy tales are full of life and humor, they ridicule the greed, cowardice and deceit of the rich and praise the hard work, generosity and truthfulness of the common people.
Fairy tales are very diverse: they are both stories about animals and educational ones. short stories about lazy, stubborn or stupid people - social, and fairy tales- entertaining stories about the wonderful adventures of heroes. Each type of fairy tale has a special content, images, and style.
Tales about animals arose in ancient times. For many peoples they are similar in character and content; they contain traces of primitive beliefs and ideas of man. Nowadays, fairy tales about animals are most often perceived as allegorical stories about people: people are hidden behind the images of animals. A cunning fox, a cowardly hare, a stupid and greedy wolf, a royal lion, and a strong bear are constant heroes of fairy tales.
Fairy tales are also very ancient; in my opinion, they are the most interesting. Their action can take place in a miraculous far away kingdom, the thirtieth state, the heroes in them have magical qualities - they fly on magic carpets, walk in walking boots, hide under an invisible hat and miraculously extraordinary palaces and cities are built overnight.
The Russian people created a lot of satirical (social and everyday) tales about stupid, evil or stubborn people, about cruel rich people and greedy priests, ridiculing them negative qualities. All fairy tales reflect people's dream O better life, good always triumphs over evil in them, truth and justice triumph over lies.
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- Exam: Oral folk art In the science of folklore, the view of a fairy tale as a set of all types and forms has long been widespread. After we became acquainted with fairy tales about animals, fairy tales and social fairy tales, it is necessary to remember one more type of them.
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Man's attempts to create a picture of the universe were carried out in the form of myths. For a long time, the myth was considered a fantastic invention, a fairy tale created by ignorant savages. But in this case, it remains unclear why a person, in conditions of a brutal “struggle for existence,” would tell each other fairy tales?
Through the efforts of a whole generation of researchers, the importance of myth for the development of culture has been revealed. What is a myth and how did it appear?
"Myth" is a "word", a "legend". According to N.A.’s definition Berdyaev, myth is the desacralization / removal of holiness, mysticism, “worldliness” / of secret, magical knowledge. This is essentially true, although it sounds somewhat one-sided. Myth is really a word that establishes a connection between real world and the secret, sacred world. However, to say that myth only “secularizes” the sacred means telling half the truth. Bringing higher meanings into the world, myth organizes it, harmonizes it, and makes it manageable.
An entire era of the spiritual life of mankind, the formation and flourishing of ancient civilizations, was the kingdom of myth, created by the imagination of man, this great gift of nature, creative energy. Imagination created the Iliad and the Ramayana, the Legend of Cosmic Thought and the Aeneid; it brought to life the Parthenon and the majestic Egyptian pyramids;, it also satisfied the aesthetic needs of people who were trying to unravel the mysteries of the Universe and the relationship of man with life. Myth thus appears, according to the definition of the Russian philosopher and religious thinker A.F. Losev, as a magic word that reveals the secret essence of the world and allows one to simultaneously influence the world and subjugate it. It is quite natural that ancient man, looking at the space surrounding him, observed huge amount phenomena to which he gave his names. In naming a separate object, a mental act of generalization was carried out. That is, any object outside a person or a thing created by him served as a mirror of the moving human spirit, as in Mandelstam: “My breath, my warmth has already fallen on the glass of eternity...”. It is enough to designate a thing in a cosmological perspective, so necessary in archaic models of the world, embracing the creation of the Universe itself, the Earth, the “primary” conditions of life of plants, animals, the establishment of the principles of material / food, clothing, etc. / and spiritual life / moral law, system of marriage rules and prohibitions: organization diagram social life, the beginning of knowledge, etc./ and arises as a result of the sequential actions of some sacredly marked personality - God, a hero of divine nature, the first man or some impersonal life-creating force. The meaning of this demiurgic activity is not only in creating conditions for a person’s life, but also in teaching a person the very principle of maintaining, developing and improving these conditions in relation to any external and internal changes in the situation. Bringing a person to. a certain boundary line, the divine character-creator, as it were, releases him, transferring his creative function to the person himself in the hope that he has learned the lessons of “creation” not only at the level of principles, but also specifically, practically, in relation to each phenomenon and the subject, which together form a chain of changing conditions of human existence.
So, for example, a fire broke out! From a lightning strike, lights glowing in the night and other phenomena of “fiery power” received the name “Hephaestus”. The word was born, the myth of Hephaestus with all further consequences, since the mental act is directly connected with sensory perception, fiction, depicting the origin of fiery power, is generalized by life experience.
Looking at a ripening ear, at a stem breaking through the turf, at green grass or blossoming fruit trees, the ancient man summed up all these growth phenomena in one word - Demeter, that is, mother Earth, the one who gives birth, grows, feeds. Hence the complexity and entertaining biography Demeter, grieving for her daughter, rejoicing at her appearance, which is accompanied either by the impoverishment of nature in dry times or in winter, or by a bountiful harvest in the fall.
In order to create a culture, a person had to acquire a certain gift, the ability to create something that was not fixed in his species program. This unexpected discovery is expressed in the myth of Prometheus, who became the embodiment of courage and perseverance, proud resistance to the old order, love for freedom and people. Few mythical heroes have received such attention as Prometheus. For more than two and a half thousand years it continues to live in the works of thinkers and poets. Of course, everyone interpreted this image in their own way and in accordance with their time. However, its main features, unchanged in any image, have become the “common property of mankind.” Prometheus breathed hope into people and gave them a powerful weapon - fire from the sacred hearth on Olympus, which helped people survive. They stopped depending on the weather, learned to smelt metals, work, count and write. Prometheus brought man out of his natural wild state, teaching him to think and act rationally, for which he was doomed to eternal torment.
What meaning can be drawn from this myth? First of all, it should be emphasized: culture is supranatural - it is a gift from above.
So, man becomes a creator, and the creation of everything necessary for own existence and survival is a currently unfolding stage. A person not only sees and experiences it, but also, being inside this ethan, testifies to it by acting as a creator.
The idea preceded the thing, and the thing, having arisen, gave birth to ideas.
Myth and fairy tale... At first glance they are similar, but if you look more closely, you can find differences, although both are fiction.
It makes more sense to start with space, artistic space, in which they take place important events. In myth it is the Universe, the macrocosm. A completely life-like space: people live and act on Earth, above is the sky, Olympus, etc. - the gods, and in the lower tier of the multi-stage structure of the world, under the Earth - the kingdom of the dead. Key Feature of the magical space, it is the magical, and not the everyday fairy tale, that is compared with the glyph and its structure / fairy tale consists solely in the fact that it is not likened to the real and, on the contrary, more or less obviously and persistently emphasizes its fundamental unreality. For example, the hero of a fairy tale must make his way through a forest in which there is a forest house, a magical creature, and Baba Yaga's hut. At the same time, the hero does not touch the branches that could scratch him. So, Marya, following Finist, must wear out 3 pairs / 6, 12 pairs / of iron shoes on her way, and we do not know the state of her legs in this situation, we will not find any mention of fatigue, thirst, etc. The dreamlike space creates no resistance; and the mythological is filled with all sorts of obstacles, which the material environment should provide. The same applies to the time of action - it simply doesn’t exist in the fairy tale, meaning real time, in which a person does not change and grows old. In myths it is long-lasting: the gods live for centuries, millennia, although “twilight” sets in for them; and mortal people go at the end of life to afterlife.
The hero of the fairy tale also goes to the afterlife. However, if this happens in mythology, then exit from the kingdom of Hades is impossible. For example, Orpheus could not get Eurydice out of there. And in fact, no one has ever returned from there, at least, history does not remember such cases. A fairy-tale character, moving into the sphere of action of other world forces and laws, there is everything “the very best”: the firebird, the golden-maned horse, the treasure sword, Vasilisa the Beautiful, evidence of which is burials, mounds - the “other world” where they were sent Having equipped a person for a long time into an unknown life, he tries to do everything to return. He solves “difficult problems” there, thus fighting forces unknown to him: he steals, spies, eavesdrops, helps the local king “bathe” in boiling water, etc. The fact is that fairy tales grew out of myths, and people wanted to live as long as the gods, and for this it is necessary to defeat death. And there's no question moral guidelines- all means are good. After all, the purpose of the fairy tale is contained in the words: “And they lived happily ever after,” having at the same time acquired the firebird, and the horse, and the beautiful maiden, and the royal throne. This is a significant difference between a fairy tale and a myth, although the interest in both is equally great.
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale is not obvious. For modern man Both types of narrative tell of miracles, the adventures of heroes (humans, animals or gods) endowed with supernatural qualities. However, if you look closely, the difference between a myth and a fairy tale is not so difficult. It concerns and can be called the progenitor of both genres. Each of them has something from their ancestor, but both the fairy tale and the legend differ from it in a whole set of features.
Source
Myth is the result of people’s rethinking of all the phenomena that occur before their eyes, that determine or accompany life. Initially, it performed functions that science has taken over today. The myth explained what, where and why it comes from, what rules the Universe lives by, how it all began. Today we perceive it as a beautiful story about cosmic processes or a somewhat naive idea of our ancestors about the etiology (origin) of individual objects and phenomena. In ancient times, myths acted as a concentration of worldview truths, opposed to everyday understanding.
Subjects
Myths of different peoples always tell about distant, prehistoric times. One of their most important functions is to explain the origin of things, living beings and natural phenomena. The most common mythological subjects are the origin of the world, gods and heroes, the appearance of the first people, and so on.
The reality of the events described in the myth was not questioned. An illustrative example in this sense is the works of ancient philosophers. For Herodotus, Titus Livy and other ancient historians, it was myths that served as the main source of information about the past.
The plots are based on the close relationship between the real and invisible worlds. Moreover, the second is almost always determined by the first. Myths tell about otherworldly creatures, their characteristics and ways of interacting with them. They explain how to worship the gods, how they can be appeased or angered.
Successor
The similarities and differences between myths and fairy tales, at least their essence, become intuitively clear after identifying the more ancient component of this pair as a concentrated form of the worldview and basic thoughts of distant ancestors modern peoples. Let us designate them more specifically.
Tales from myth grow. This position is supported by the majority of researchers on the issue. They borrow many plots and some heroes. Fairy tales always have a magical, fantastic component. This is their similarity with their “ancestor”.
Fact and fable
In order to understand how to distinguish a myth from a fairy tale, it is necessary to pay attention to the content of the story, as well as its purpose. If you remember Cinderella, the Little Match Girl, or any story involving Baba Yaga, you will not be able to find an explanation of natural or cosmic processes in any of the examples. Fairy tales do not describe the structure of the world and do not tell about the origin of living beings or objects. Moreover, even in the most ancient times, they did not seem to anyone, with the exception of very young children, to be a story about real events. The difference between a myth and a fairy tale is that the events described in the first were not questioned. The fairy tale was initially defined by both the narrator and the listener as fiction.
A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it
One of the purposes of the existence of the well-known stories about Little Red Riding Hood or Ivan the Fool is to entertain listeners. However, the role of fairy tales in our lives does not end there. They do not describe cosmic laws, but explain many social, family, tribal, community principles and norms. A common plot is the oppression of the heroine by her stepmother and her daughters. Researchers often interpret it as a narrative about the likely consequences of marrying into a tribe too distant.
Many fairy tales tell about the ups and downs of heroes who are at low levels of the social ladder (and this is another difference between a myth and a fairy tale: in the first, the heroes often initially have a number of advantages in relation to other characters). Ivanushka the Fool, orphans, offended and deprived in the course of history, after trials and meetings with wonderful helpers, receive wealth, a princess and half a kingdom in addition. Many stories that describe events in a particular family actually tell about processes on a tribal or national scale. Some present the listener with a personal story, from which everyone can extract something useful for themselves.
The profane and the sacred
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale can be briefly formulated as follows:
- a fairy tale is fiction, a myth is reality for our distant ancestors;
- a fairy tale is created, read and listened to for entertainment, a myth belongs to the realm of the sacred, in some cases not even everyone was allowed to know it;
- a fairy tale tells about the personal grief or happiness of the characters, family or tribal history, in the myth the focus is on global events, its heroes are always endowed with superhuman properties;
- the fairy tale teaches, describes social processes, myth explains the structure of the world.
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale is quite easy to see using the examples of stories told by the Brothers Grimm and ancient stories. However, this is not always the case. Archaic fairy tales, which appeared first, grow directly from myth and often borrow characters and plot logic from it. But even in this case, upon closer examination, one can identify elements that turn the sacred narrative into simply interesting story with meaning.
Legend
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale lies in the timing of the events described. The first one tells about ancient era. The plot of a fairy tale, as a rule, is timeless: it is almost impossible to determine when certain events took place. The same applies to the location. A characteristic feature of a legend - another genre that in the minds of many is identical to myth - is precisely time. The events described occur at a certain historical era. The accuracy of dating is rarely in doubt. And here lies the similarity between myths and legends: they are thought of as a description real events. What the two genres have in common is the presence of a fantastic component.
The difference between myth and legend and fairy tale lies in the plot. The first, as already mentioned, tells about the deeds of heroes and gods, which are reflected throughout the Universe and explain certain of its laws. The legend describes historical events that happened to people, and often actually took place in reality. They are often embellished and supplemented with spectacular details, mystical and fantastic elements.
Legends
A legend, like a fairy tale, loses the element of sacredness. Its heroes act at a later time than in the myth. Often their existence in reality is proven by many other sources. At the same time, in European tradition legends told about the deeds of characters sacred history. Narrations about the events of worldly life were called legends. Often such a description was not accompanied by fantastic additions.
Traditions and legends are not distinguishable from each other in all cultures. The boundary between them can only be drawn in a society where the early mythological systems have been replaced by a new, unified religion (Christianity or Islam).
Mythology and religion
If the difference between a myth and a fairy tale in literature is not obvious to many, then the boundary separating myth and religion is even more invisible to an inexperienced person in the matter. Throughout history, many scientists have studied this topic. Some tried to cleanse religion of the admixture of mythology, others extolled the second and were distrustful of the first. Today, the deep connection between these two concepts and systems is obvious to researchers.
As already mentioned, myths act as an equivalent modern science at a certain stage of human development. They explain the structure of the world and in this function they are far from religion. At the same time, myths justify norms of behavior and customs. They substantiate the immutability of many social rituals and prohibitions and endow them with sacredness. This is how religious customs grow from myths. The sequence of ritual actions and the need for prohibitions are due to the fact that this is exactly what the gods or heroes depicted in myth did. However, religion cannot be called a secondary education. For many followers of one or another cult, mythology had no of great importance. There was no need to believe her stories. Worship of the gods and knowledge of ritual were considered important. Thus, religion and mythology retained a certain independence from each other in the early stages of social development. And in most cases it is impossible to determine the primacy of one in relation to the other.
The difference between myth and fairy tale and religion, from legend and tradition becomes clear only after a detailed consideration of each category separately. Myth can be called the ancestor of almost all literary genres and even the art of storytelling itself. The situation is somewhat different with religion. Mythology is closely related to it, but is not its source. It explains many religious rituals, but often turns out to be an unnecessary, aggravating component.
