Introduction: To Unravel the Origins

Le gai sçavoir. Mélanges en hommage à Jean-Loïc Le Quellec. Edité par Julien d’Huy, Frédérique Duquesnoy et Patrice Lajoye. Oxford: Archaeopress. P. 299-308., 2023

Motifs and traditions as analytical units No fixation of a story or a description of cosmological ideas is an exact copy of any other. Even minor differences between variants can become important in light of further research. The mapping of such details in the global, regional or local scale can reveal regularities crucial for understanding of different historical processes.

London : T. Payne, Mews-Gate P. Elmsly, the Strand B. White, Fleet Street J. Walter, Charing-Cross + The New Alexandria Library- originally Published in 1774

This rare book published in 1774 is a comprehensive scholarly work that seeks to unravel and distill the essential truths embedded within the mythologies of various ancient civilizations. The first volume of this work explores the mythological systems of the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Canaanites, and Greek tribes like the Hellenes, Ionians, Leleges, and Dorians. Bryant presents a methodical approach to separate the original truths of ancient myths from later embellishments and transformations. The work covers a broad spectrum of religious, mythological, and cultural figures, emphasizing the fundamental ideas and themes common across these cultures. It also explores the development of these mythologies over time and seeks to uncover their roots. Through detailed analysis, Bryant proposes that ancient myths hold not just symbolic or religious meaning but contain elements of historical truth that, when properly interpreted, can reveal insights into the origins of human culture, religion, and philosophy. The first volume delves into the sacred texts and traditions of these civilizations, examining how their mythologies influenced their social structures, political systems, and daily lives. By comparing different mythological traditions and seeking out the universal themes within them, Bryant aims to restore the "original purity" of ancient myth and provide a clearer understanding of the ideas that shaped early civilizations. This work combines elements of comparative mythology, religion, history, and philology, presenting a scholarly perspective on how mythological stories evolved across different cultures. Bryant's analysis is an attempt to trace back to the "roots" of mythology, considering both historical and linguistic evidence in the context of the ancient world. Tags: Ancient Mythology, Jacob Bryant, Comparative Mythology, Babylonian Myths, Chaldean Myths, Egyptian Myths, Canaanite Myths, Hellenic Myths, Greek Mythology, Ionian Greeks, Dorian Greeks, Leleges, Mythological Deities, Ancient Gods, Religious Myths, Mythological Truths, Heroes in Mythology, Ancient Civilizations, Mesopotamian Mythology, Ancient Religions, Creation Myths, Ancient Gods and Goddesses, Ancient Fables, Sacred Texts, Mythological Heroes, Greek Pantheon, Egyptian Pantheon, Mythological Symbolism, Heroes and Gods, Religious Symbolism, Mythological Studies, Dorian Religion, Ionian Religion, Canaanite Religion, Mythological Themes, Historical Myths, Ancient Truths, Origins of Mythology, Ancient Wisdom, Mythological Origins, Cultural History, Philology, Comparative Studies, Theories of Mythology, Ancient Rituals, Mythological Archetypes, Myth and History, Historical Religion, Anthropology of Myth, Ancient Philosophy, Early Religious Systems, Prehistoric Religions, Sociopolitical Mythology, Deity Worship, Classical Mythology, Ancient Greek History, Early Egyptian Religion, Sumerian Myths, Babylonia’s Influence, Chaldean Deities, Egyptian Theogony, Canaanite Gods, Hellenic Theogony, Dorian Culture, Ionian Myths, Classical Heroes, Greek Religious Practices, Ancient Myth Structures, Mythical Cosmology, Ritualistic Mythology, Origin of Gods, Greek and Egyptian Mythology, Mesopotamian Deities, Egyptian Creation Myths, Babylonian Creation Myths, Genesis of Myths, Ancient Textual Analysis, Mythical Cosmologies, Philological Approaches, Ancient Myths in Culture, Social Structures and Myth, Political Systems in Mythology, Greek Heroic Literature, Mythic Symbolism in History, Comparative Theories of Mythology, Ancient Moral Systems, Mythical Ethics, Heroic Archetypes, Mythological Evolution, Pagan Gods, Pantheon History, Classical Heroes and Gods, Ancient Comparative Religion, Sacred Rituals, Babylonian Mythological Figures, Egyptian Mythological Figures, Greek Myths and Their Meaning, Ancient Hero Myths, Hellenistic Mythology, Mythology and Early Societies, Mythical Themes Across Cultures, Comparative Religious Myths, Egyptian vs. Greek Myths, Canaanite vs. Babylonian Myths, Ancient Origin Stories, Mythological Syncretism, Cultural Exchange in Myths, Early Mediterranean Myths, Origins of Ancient Mythologies, Myth as Social Explanation, The Role of Myth in Ancient Society, Polytheism and Mythology, Mythological Influence on Early Thought, Ancient Philosophical Myths, Sacred Mythologies of Ancient Egypt, Babylonia and Religion, Ancient History of Greece, Mythological Origins in Egypt, Gods of Babylonian Mythology, Role of Heroes in Ancient Myths, Divine Kingship in Mythology, Heroes and Deities in Ancient Greece, Mythical Histories, Old World Myths, Sacred Texts and Their Impact, Rituals in Babylonian Mythology, Religious Influence on Greek Myths, The Role of Creation Myths, Ancient Myths and Modern Interpretations

God and Gender, 2017

Origin myths are found in most cultures and often relate the creation of the world (cosmogony) by a deity or deities. They also provide accounts of how and why social arrangements are set in place ‘‘in the beginning’’ in terms that make those arrangements appear natural, inevitable, and/or god-ordained. Origin myths thus have a legitimating function: when social structures and relationships are narrated as fixed and unquestionable because of divine origination, the forms of power that underwrite those relationships and structures may also be presented as natural and inevitable. Pointing to a divine origin obscures the fact that social hierarchies are ‘‘man made.’’ In other words, communities mobilize origin myths in order to authorize (or challenge) social arrangements in the present, either by suggesting that some social structure or rule is beyond question because it is divinely ordained or by implying that an existing system is a distortion of or departure from an original state to which a community should return in order to restore order. Origin myths, as this chapter shows, are often preoccupied with gender, both conveying and in significant ways constructing and sanctioning values assigned to men and women and their positions in society. With striking regularity, a number of ancient cosmogonies narrate male gods as progenitors, as sole creators of the world and initiators of temporal orders; that is, they set up the instruments—celestial bodies or seasonal arrangements, for example—by which the passing of time can be marked, and they establish this-worldly structures of governance and power. Three such cosmogonies are considered in this chapter: the Babylonian Enuma Elish ¯ , the Hebrew creation story in the book of Genesis, and the ancient Greek poet Hesiod’s Theogony and the Oresteia of Aeschylus. Each myth portrays creation in terms of male parthenogenesis (asexual or monogenetic reproduction), using metaphors of birth-giving that appropriate or overturn female birth-giving capacities and setting up gods and thus origins and creation as paternal in nature. As this chapter shows, male procreation in these cosmogonies legitimizes social structures that emphasize the priority and primacy of male relationships (for example, father-son or fraternal bonds) and activities. In turn, the myths represent femaleness as passive, secondary to, dependent on, or vanquished by the male. Further, the characteristics of human maleness are implicitly connected to those of a divine male progenitor, linking God and man in a direct line of succession. This chapter explores how such figurations of male creative power create temporal (that is, relating both to concepts of time and to this-worldly affairs), social, and gendered orders. The relationship between origin myths, gender structures, and the social outworking of patrilineal orders is examined in order to demonstrate the pivotal role that male creator gods play in legitimating and naturalizing male-dominated power formations. The first section outlines the methodological principles by which myths in general and origin myths in particular may be understood to legitimize certain social arrangements and power formations and override others. The next sections provide three examples of origin myths from the ancient Near East and Greece that narrate creation through male parthenogenesis and the subsequent social order underpinned by patrilineal authority. The subsequent section identifies how the gendered motifs and structures they promote and naturalize enable both restrictive gender valuations and top-down social organization, which in turn direct a wide range of social formations that operate on principles of inclusion and exclusion.

Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia (Russian-language)., 2018

Data on the areal distribution of motifs extracted from ca 25,000 traditional narratives were computed with the purpose of revealing a chronology of the emergence of particular mythological themes. The statistical processing of this material allowed selection of sets of motifs that probably correspond to the routes of major prehistoric migrations known thanks to archaeology and population genetics. Our conclusions are largely based on the comparison of similar sets of motifs in the Old and New Worlds, the time of the peopling of America and its particular episodes being more or less known (initial peopling by Pacifi c and then by continental Siberian groups). Thanks to the methods applied, the epochal dynamics of the development of mythology were for the fi rst time reconstructed by using systematized data, and not by proceeding from general assumptions. The earliest complex, which is related to the explanation of the mortal nature of man and the loss of the easy life, corresponds to the southern route by which humans of the modern type moved from Africa to the Indo-Pacifi c borderlands of Asia. These motifs are abundant in sub-Saharan Africa, the southern part of Eurasia, Oceania and America (especially South America), but rare in northern Eurasia and the American Arctic and Subarctic. Motifs relating to the origin of man, human anatomy, and relations between the sexes are most typical of the Circum-Pacifi c world. This theme probably fi rst developed in Southeast Asia among the people who came from Africa, but before the time when their earliest groups reached America. The geographic distribution of motifs relating to cosmogony and cosmology, and to the etiology of natural phenomena, plants, and animals suggests that many of the corresponding motifs initially appeared in southern Eurasia, were then brought to Siberia, and from there brought to the New World (this movement could be explained by the gradual northward displacement of population after the Late Glacial Maximum). The ideas relating to the interpretation of celestial objects were the last to develop. Corresponding motifs are only abundant in Northern Eurasia, from where many of them were brought to North America but not to South America. Interpretations of celestial objects in European cosmonymy mostly date to the Bronze Age, if not to Iron Age technology, while some are related to the spread of world religions.

1. Mythology is a tree with its trunk in Africa and its branches throughout the world. 2. In Australia and the Americas, new branches of mythology formed, but kept the trunk. 3. The Paleo-Indians brought the myth of Turtle Island from Asia to the Americas. 4. The Paleo-Indians also brought many other myths from Asia to the Americas. 5. To understand mythology, the metaphors and symbols of mythology must be learned. 6. Mythology is primarily about cosmology, astronomy, cyclic time, and natural history. 7. Myths about the Precession of the Equinoxes are very common throughout the world. 8. Mythology was a conscious process, and not a product of “subconscious archetypes”.

This presentation discusses how, as part of the emergence of “modern mythology,” the concept ‘myth’ acquired a new temporalizing signification during the 18th century, which connected the ancient with the primitive – two hitherto separate categories.

Antae, 2019

This paper argues that Müller combines the comparative etymological method in a scientific spirit conjoined with Romantic Idealism to trace Greek mythology—and, by extension, primitive mythology—back to its origin: personified narration of natural phenomena, especially solar phenomena that evoke religious reverence for higher powers. With the evolution of language and thought in history, this origin later grows (that is, decays) into fully-grown myths of gods, owing to fundamental misunderstandings of originally personified language. In Müller’s term, mythology is a ‘disease of language’; while thus disease of language encroaches humans’ understanding of religious reverence for higher powers, it presupposes a healthy, religious substratum—a ‘perception of the infinite’ intimated by nature and embodied in personified language. With all its flaws, Müller’s theory of Mythology maintains and develops its above theses, forwarding multi-faceted contributions to British Mythography. In the 1850s and 1860s, it played a pioneering and liberating role. In the early 1870s, with the rise of Cultural Anthropology, his Comparative Mythology reaches its zenith and starts to descend in academic popularity. However, it is worth noting Müller’s cautious open-mindedness to anthropological materials and alternative approaches to primitive myths. In the 1890s, Müller’s Comparative Mythology arrived at its tragic ending, eclipsed by the anthropological study of mythology. Müller is generally portrayed as a defeated enemy of Victorian anthropologists, but Müller’s insightful responses to anthropological conjectures are overlooked. In the finale of Müller’s Science of Mythology, there are the beginnings of a reconsideration of Victorian anthropology in the future. 78

Longmans, Green and CO. 39 Paternnoster Row , London + New York and Bombay, 1897

CONTENTS CHAPTER I: Retrospect The Beginnings of Comparative Mythology, Mr. Herbert Spencer, &c. Story of Tuna from Mangaia. Proper Use of the Mythology of Uncivilized Peoples. Dr. Codrington on Totems. Meaning of ‘Primitive.’ Kronos and his Children. Fontenelle. Comparative Mythology founded. Names. Gervinus and Haupt. Controversies. Fermentation of Mythology. Study of Savage Tribes. My Defenders. Canizzaro. Sir Henry Maine. Mr. Horatio Hale. Professor Tiele. Kronos and Polynesian Folklore. M. Gaidoz. Influence of Language on Mythology. How Gender influences Mythology. The Moon. The Sun. Ideas fixed by Words. Importance of Mythology and Philosophy. Differences of Opinion Natural. Importance of Names. Help derived from Gender. Dual or Correlative Character of Deities. The Asvins and Helena. Many-sidedness of Ancient Gods. Etymology uncertain. Mythological and Historical Elements. Herakles, Alexander, Charlemagne. Mythology Anomalous. Stages of Mythology. Anomalous Names. Vedic Names. Folk-etymologies. Words without any Etymology. Study of Mythology changed. CHAPTER II: On the Problems and Methods of the Science of Mythology Three Schools of Mythological Study. Myth and History. Heroes. True Problem of Mythology. Our True Interest in Mythology. Disease of Language. Iroquois Stories. Mythology as a Psychological Problem. The Hyponoia of Mythology. Greek Views on the Meaning of Mythology. Gods as representing the Prominent Phenomena of Nature. The Weather and the Seasons. Saws about Weather. Historical Traditions. Enigmatic Language of Mythology. Gods with Intelligible Names. Helios and Selene. The Boat and the Herds of Helios. Selene. Apollon and Artemis. Gods with many Epithets, Hermes. Enigmatic Phase of Mythology. The Golden Apples. Montenegro Song of the Golden Apples. Sezjanian Riddles and Myths. Mordvinian Riddles and Greek Mythology. Mythology, no System. Mythographi. The Brothers Grimm, Schwartz, Castren. Had Gods and Heroes a Common Origin? Naturalia non sunt turpia. Heroes parallel with Gods. Helena both Goddess and Heroine. Dr. Hahn on Märchen. Beginnings of Mythology Lost. Schelling. Original Elements of Mythology. Male and Female Agents. Common Epithets of Physical Agents. What are the Devas? True Meaning of Deva. Mitra and Varuna. Names of the Devas in Modern Sanskrit or in Zend. Complementary Devas. Mitra and Varuna. How to compare Vedic and Greek Gods. The brilliant Haritas. Agni, Fire, Light, Sun. Indra. Ushas. Devas not restricted to one single Phenomenon. CHAPTER III: The Study of Specific Deities and Folklore Children of the Sun, Moon, &c. Eclipses of the Moon. Koi (Koit), the Dawn. Luonnotar. Water Deities. Earth Deities. Haltias. Abstract Deities. Subterrestrial Gods, and Ancestral Spirits. Castren’s Summing Up. Castren. Foreign Influences. The Mundane Egg. Physical Basis of the Ugro-Finnic Mythologies. CHAPTER IV: Psychological School of Comparative Mythology Ethno-psychological Studies. Dr. Gruppe. Sense of Shame. Discovery of Motives. Abstract Ideas among Savages. CHAPTER V: Phonetics Phonetic Rules, General and Special. Discovery of Phonetic Rules. Restricted Evidence for Phonetic Rules. Discussions about θεός. Comparative Philology at Leipzig in 1838. Bopp, Pott, Grimm. Grimm’s Law. Exceptions to Grimm’s Law. Lottner, Grassmann. Verner’s Law. Threefold Differentiation of Roots. Change of Place. Schleicher’s Ursprache. Dialects antecedent to Classical Speech. Aryan Vowels. Correspondence of Aryan Vowels. Unchangeability of Phonetic Laws. Analogy. Importance of Sanskrit. The Vedic Accent. Weak and Strong Terminations. Explanation of the Ablaut. Weakening and Strengthening of the Base. True Value of Phonetics. The Becoming of Letters. Aryan Vowels and their Legitimate Changes. The Accent. Ablaut. Instances. Assimilation (J. Schmidt). Consonants. Two Kinds of Palatals. Two Kinds of Gutturals. Application of Phonetic Rules to Proper Names. Local Names. Loss of Meaning entails Change of Form. Christian Names. Proper Names in Greek. Proper Names of Gods and Heroes. Dialectic Varieties of Proper Names. New Etymologies by Prof. Bechtel (Dionysos, Kerberos, Varvara, Zeus). θεός = Ushas. Dioskouroi = Divas putrasa. Trito and Tritogeneia. Helios, Mene, and Hestia. Erinys = Sarawyu. Helios. Athene. Poseidon. Hermes. Hera. Phoibos. Apollon. Ares. Artemis. Aphrodite. Anomalous Words of a more Ancient Stratum. Words with Different Etymologies. Prapides. Analogy and its Limits. Loss of Letters. Freedom in analyzing Mythological Names. Local Influence. Dialectic Varieties of Mythological Names. Aspirates, Sonant, and Surd. Mythological Names, Prehistoric. Daphne. Athene. Evidence necessarily limited. Gawapaçça. Briseis. Night and Clouds. Varuna. Orthros. Recapitulation. This rare and awe-inspiring book offers an in-depth exploration of the vast Collection of global mythology, blending scholarship with captivating storytelling. It traces the origins and evolution of mythological narratives from the dawn of civilization, revealing how humanity's earliest beliefs were shaped by a profound connection to nature, the cosmos, and the divine. Delving into the myths of ancient Egypt, Sumeria, Greece, and Rome, as well as lesser-known stories from Polynesia, Vedic traditions, and indigenous peoples, the book brings to life the gods, goddesses, and heroes who personified the forces of creation, destruction, and renewal. From the cosmic battles of Kronos and his children to the symbolic significance of the sun, moon, and seasons, each chapter sheds light on how myths functioned as both spiritual allegory and historical record. The work also uncovers the psychological and linguistic underpinnings of mythology, exploring how language itself influenced the formation of gods and sacred stories. It delves into the role of totems, primal symbols, and the enigmatic nature of deities who embody multiple, often contradictory, aspects of existence. With rich analysis on the effects of myth on both ancient and modern consciousness, it also offers insight into how mythology continues to shape philosophy, art, and religious thought today. Encompassing everything from the study of savage tribes and their gods to the sophisticated epics of classical antiquity, this book is not merely a scholarly work but a profound exploration of the shared human experience. It is a treasure trove of wisdom and cultural heritage for anyone fascinated by the mysteries of the past, the sacred, and the origins of human belief. tags- • Ancient Mythology, 2. Comparative Religion, 3. Mythological Symbols, 4. Deities in Folklore, 5. Gods and Heroes, 6. Primitive Beliefs, 7. Religious Philosophy, 8. Vedic Traditions, 9. Greek Mythology, 10. Roman Deities, 11. Egyptian Gods, 12. Sumerian Texts, 13. Totemism, 14. Polynesian Folklore, 15. Kronos Myths, 16. Cultural Anthropology, 17. Mythic Archetypes, 18. Ancient Rites, 19. Sacred Rituals, 20. Creation Myths, 21. Sun Worship, 22. Moon Deities, 23. Totem Symbols, 24. Nature Worship, 25. Heroic Legends, 26. Divine Myths, 27. Linguistic Anthropology, 28. Mythic Symbolism, 29. Sacred Texts, 30. Epic Heroes, 31. Ancestral Spirits, 32. Ethno-religion, 33. Gender in Mythology, 34. Earth Gods, 35. Fire Worship, 36. Water Deities, 37. Air Spirits, 38. Solar Deities, 39. Lunar Myths, 40. Seasonal Myths, 41. Agricultural Deities, 42. Mythological Dualism, 43. Folk Etymology, 44. Sacred Geography, 45. Animal Totems, 46. Mythic Heroes, 47. Cosmic Deities, 48. Storm Gods, 49. War Deities, 50. Fertility Myths, 51. Death and Rebirth, 52. Afterlife Beliefs, 53. Funerary Rites, 54. Ancestor Worship, 55. Creation Legends, 56. Sacred Mountains, 57. Divine Kingship, 58. Magical Beings, 59. Supernatural Powers, 60. Mythical Creatures, 61. Dragons in Mythology, 62. Legendary Beasts, 63. Gods of Wisdom, 64. Goddesses of Fertility, 65. Sacred Feminine, 66. Mythic Kings, 67. Divine Queens, 68. Underworld Deities, 69. Sky Gods, 70. Weather Spirits, 71. Nature Myths, 72. Sacred Numbers, 73. Religious Symbols, 74. Tribal Mythology, 75. Epic Tales, 76. Divine Twins, 77. Archetypal Myths, 78. Mythological Cycles, 79. Pantheon of Gods, 80. Holy Beings, 81. Prophetic Legends, 82. Astral Mythology, 83. Divine Messengers, 84. Mythological Beings, 85. Heroic Journeys, 86. Trickster Gods, 87. Animal Spirits, 88. Healing Gods, 89. Shamanic Myths, 90. Mystical Experiences, 91. Visionary Myths, 92. Dream Interpretation, 93. Divine Visions, 94. Heavenly Realms, 95. Ethereal Beings, 96. Divine Emblems, 97. Goddesses of War, 98. Battle Deities, 99. Death Gods, 100. River Deities, 101. Mountain Spirits, 102. Sacred Trees, 103. Mythical Trees, 104. World Trees, 105. Creation Eggs, 106. Ocean Deities, 107. Sea Gods, 108. Sky Myths, 109. Stellar Deities, 110. Mythic Serpents, 111. Phoenix Myths, 112. Eternal Life, 113. Immortality Myths, 114. Chaos and Order, 115. Cosmic Battles, 116. Light and Dark, 117. Good vs Evil, 118. Mythical Time, 119. Sacred Calendars, 120. Heroic Sagas, 121. Divine Justice, 122. Lawgiver Gods, 123. Fate and Destiny, 124. Goddess of Fate, 125. Mythical Journeys, 126. Sacred Quests, 127. Legendary Warriors, 128. Divine Warriors, 129. Mythic Weapons, 130. Divine Fire, 131. Sacred Waters, 132. Ritual Purification, 133. Divine Punishment, 134. Celestial Beings, 135. Divine Intervention, 136. Miraculous Events, 137. Mythical Healing, 138. Oracles in Mythology, 139. Divine Prophecy, 140. Sacred Oracles, 141. Divine Inspiration, 142. Mythical Heroes, 143. Sacred Challenges, 144. Heroic Deeds, 145. Divine Tests, 146. Sacred Temples, 147. Religious Architecture, 148. Divine Relics, 149. Sacred Icons, 150. Holy Artifacts, 151. Mythical Artifacts, 152. Divine Healers, 153. Sacred Illnesses, 154. Divine Retribution, 155. Divine Transformation, 156. Animal Metamorphosis, 157. Godly Sacrifices, 158. Blood Sacrifices, 159. Mythic Resurrection, 160. Life and Death, 161. Rebirth Myths, 162. Creation of Man, 163. Divine Origins, 164....

2003