man's psychological need for myth:answering elsuive questions
...ns, and phantoms. Those journeying to the “otherworld” were rewarded with the delights of Tir na nOc only if they were worthy in the eyes of the Gods. These myths are quite similar to that of the Judeo-Christian tradition, wherein after death those who lived moral lives are sent to heaven and those that did not are tormented in hell . Myths like these serve two main functions. Firstly, they provide answers to the question: What happens to us when we die? By explaining the ultimate fate that befalls people after death, man’s psychological fear of death in life is diminished. These myths give people’s death certainty, as one only has to live a moral life to be ensured the rewards of afterlife. Also, these myths help people to cope with evil or immorality. For example, imagine a Greek thief stealing some wine from a merchant. The merchant might ask: Why has this man stolen from me? What justice is there for this crime? The myth of Hades can help answer these questions. If the merchant accepts the myth of Hades as truth, he believes that justice will be done. The thief will receive his punishment in Tartarus. In this way, myth can help people to deal with often-unexplainable evil in the world. The second function of these afterlife myths is a practical one. Any person that believes his or her soul will be judged after death, and based on this judgment sent to a paradise or a place of eternal torment, will be strongly motivated to live a moral life. This is because those that are moral will receive their reward in the afterlife. Morality, in turn, enables people to live in community with one another. These myths make morality sacred, as moral conduct will earn spiritual rewards. The Judeo-Christian Creation story is recounted in Biblical Scripture. In this myth, God creates the earth from darkness and provides light. Then he makes the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, in his own image and places them in a garden of paradise. The first human beings disobey God’s one law, to refrain from eating a forbidden fruit, when a serpent tempts them. As a result of this crime, men and women are forced to lead lives of suffering and toil . The Bassari people of Western Africa have a similar creation story. In this myth, a god named Unumbotte creates man, antelope, snake, and all other animals. Unumbotte gives them seeds to plant, which grow into fruiting trees. Eventually, snake wonders why all the animals must go hungry. Man eats some of the fruit and angers Unumbotte, who then puts pain on the earth . These creation myths, and the seemingly endless creation myths of other world cultures, seek to answer the question: Where do human beings come from? Although in modern times we might say that human beings come from the evolution of primates, others in the past could not. People existed long before Darwinian thought did, and these people used creation myths to explain the origin of the world and people. Again we see man’s efforts to cope with suffering in these myths. In both the Judeo-Christian and Bassari creation myths, God gives pain or suffering to all people. This punishment is the result of an initial crime against God. In this way, suffering is made divine and universal. Those who believe in these particular creation myths would come to accept the suffering in their lives. In the creation story of the Pima Indians, the earth is created and all people are trapped in its center. An unnamed savior-figure leads everyone out of the ground to earth. When they come above ground, the people fall on the savior-figure and pulverize him. When he returns to life, they kill him again. This pattern is repeated several times until the savior-figure finally escapes all the men. He retreats to the mountains and escapes his pursuers by losing them in a labyrinth of paths . In Chartres Cathedral, a Roman Catholic place of worship, there is an intricate labyrinth inset in the floor. Pilgrims to Chartres walk along a path through the labyrinth while praying, believing that this would give them spiritual advancement. In Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante becomes lost in the middle of a dangerous forest. In the woods, three animals that symbolize pride, desire, and fear threat to trap him. Virgil, an infamous poet, then appears to Dante and ushers him through what he calls “the labyrinth of hell. ” In these three myths, we see the symbol of the labyrinth appear. The Christ-like savior of the Pima Indians retreats from constant death into a mountainous labyrinth. Pilgrims to Chartres Cathedral walk through a labyrinth while praying for spiritual insight. Dante is saved from fear, pride, and desire and being trapped in the labyrinth of Hell by Virgil. Here, the labyrinth becomes connected to man’s spiritual quest. The path through the labyrinth is a difficult path where one can be impeded. If one is to path through the labyrinth, he will find his goal: a savior, escape from hell, and spiritual insight. Further connections between the “journey through the labyrinth” and long journeys can be made. For example, Homer’s mythical Odyssey follows Odysseus in his decade long quest to return home to his family. He encounters constant obstacles in his path including powerful witches, terrible monsters, and even suitors for his wife. In the end, he returns home to the ones that he loves . In this way, the mythical ...