CLAS104 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Hermaphroditus, Hylas, Vladimir Propp

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: CLAS104
• Professor: P

Document Summary

A myth is impossible to define or classify universally due to the variety of traditional tales, their origins, and their significance. Myth comes from greek mythos meaning word , speech , tale , or. Myth (or myth proper) comprehensive term for stories primarily concerned with the gods. Saga (or legend) has a perceptible relationship to history, Folktales tales of adventure, sometimes with fantastic beings, has roots in historical fact purpose of entertainment. Fairytales subset of folktales, short, imaginative, traditional tales with a high moral and magical content . The criteria for definition is often ambiguous (e. g. legends of odysseus or. Argonauts contain elements of history but are full of stories that could be considered mythos and/or folktales) A myth is a many-faceted personal and cultural phenomenon created to provide a reality and a unity to what is transit and fragmented in the world that we experience.