Myths are regarded as stories that may or may not be true. Myths are often regarded as History without evidence. Sometimes, Mythology is treated as religious texts or moral stories. Myths that, however, have historical evidence are termed "Itihash"
The famous city of Troy is an example of Mythology culminating in History. Everyone regarded Homer's Iliad and Odyssey as mere mythical stories. The discovery of the archaeological sites of Troy, exactly resembling the original stories, proved the Trojan War to be historical rather than mythical. I believe every myth has a historical source. Stories across the world cannot have the same versions everywhere if they are just made up for entertainment purposes.
- Creation:
God created the world.
In the Biblical Psalm 104, the Bhagavat Gita and the Hymns to Aten written by Akhenaten, it is mentioned that it is
" He alone who made the Earth according to His will."
Every myth talks of the creation of the world. A generalised version is there, and I am putting it forward as a short story.
Life first formed in water. There were fish-like creatures that God created. Then came the amphibians, and then the terrestrial plants and animals. This is a representation of the actual scientific analysis of how life came into being from water in the form of unicellular organisms. Evolution happened from Invertebrates to fish, amphibians, and so on, till Humans.
- The First Humans:
Most myths refer to a man and a woman as the first humans on Earth. Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese Myths and Adam and Eve in Biblical versions are described as the first man and woman. In Hindu Mythology, the first source of life is Adi Shakti, the symbol of femininity and nature merged, and from her emerged the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Human Life came from Brahma's son, Manu. All these stories are meant to establish the fact that all humans are related to one another.
- The Gods and Kings:
Strangely, more than one form of mythology refers to a God-King who is the God of thunder, lightning, rain or storm. This proves that agriculture is the primary source of life and is dependent on rain. He is Indra in India, Baal in Ugarit Myths of North Syria, So in Benin myths of West Africa, and Zeus in Greek Mythology. Most of these gods are portrayed as arrogant, lusty, or insecure about their position. Yet he is a valiant warrior leading the army of gods against many demons. The significance of a king figure shows that society was a monarchical one.
The God of Death is described in Indian and Egyptian myths as the first person to die on Earth. In India, he is also related to Yamuna, his sister, the water goddess. In the Ugarit myth, the water god is Yamm, much similar to Yaam of Hindu mythology. In Ugarit, he is the brother of Baal, and in Hindu Mythology, he is the cousin. There is also a similar description of a war between the thunder god and the god of death over kingship in both mythologies. Some cultures have a Goddess of Death, like Mot in Egypt.
The Sun god is the second primary god in every myth. He is often described as the creator god in Egyptian myths. The Amun-Ra and Aten are described as the sun god and the sun himself. Surya in Hinduism is the god and Father of many Valiant warriors. Jupiter, in Greek mythology, is the leader of the council of gods and is the source of all energies. This signifies that the sun is the source of energy and creates life.
The people in many myths are related to the Sun and Moon clans. The Incas worshipped the sun as their forefather. They believed that they were children of the sun. In India, there are also kings from the Surya Vansh and Chandra Vansh according to their rules and principles. This trend is prevalent in many other cultures of the ancient world.
The Egyptians worshipped their Pharaohs as Gods. This signifies the fact that Kings or people of supreme power were worshipped by the commoners. Thus, gods in temporary cultures were kings and significant people of the court. It is also a common description that gods live atop mountains. Even in medieval times, palaces and forts were built atop cliffs and plateaus. This is so that the palace guards could see the whole city up to its walls for security reasons.
The Goddess of war in various cultures is described as a fierce warrior, angry and ambitious in many cultures. She also has another form or avatar as the goddess of love and fertility. This dual quality in a female deity shows the fact that women are tolerant and loving and producers of life. But when required, there is a violent, destructive side of her to protect herself and her children. In Ugarit Myths, Anath, the goddess of war, is the sister of the King. She invited her enemies to her palace, killed them and bathed in their Blood. She wore their heads as a garland. This is similar to the incident in Hinduism where Kali, the goddess, kills Raktabij and wears the heads of villagers she slaughters.
Half-human and half-animal deities are other common things in every myth. The Greeks, the Egyptians and the Indians had deities who are half human and half animal, as well as those who are of animal forms but can talk like humans. Anubis is half jackal and half human, the Sphinx is lion-bodied with a human head, and the goddess of fertility has cow ears in Egyptian Myths. Nu was a snake god with a female head and a snake body in Chinese Mythology. The Garuda is a human-bird in India and ancient Indonesia. He is the mount of Vishnu, the supreme god. In Ramayana, some monkeys and birds can talk and act like humans. The raven is an Eagle who has human brains in American myths, much like Jatayu in the Ramayana.
- The Great Flood:
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| Noah |
Every major myth in the world describes a huge flood. Before the beginning of civilisation, God appeared in the dream of a man and told him to build a ship and take a couple of each animal with him on it to save them from the flood and hence save life on earth. In Mesopotamia, this man is Utnapishtim, Noah in the Bible and Manu in the Vishnu Purana. Vishnu is described as having taken the form of Matsya, or a fish, to help Manu save a life. Manu is thus regarded as the father of mankind. Also, there is proof of such a flood that changed the maps on Earth from the time Dinosaurs roamed the lands millions of years ago. Maybe these myths refer to such an incident from the Ice Age.
- Conclusions:
The Myths occurring all over the world must have a true source. Stories formed on different ends of the world at that time can not be so similar unless they're from one true incident. There must be some truth to these stories, with a few things changing over time in the different versions of the same incident. All epics are considered history by their writers, and the places referred to in each are true. Historical ruins of old cities from 4000 to 5000 years ago prove that civilisation, metallurgy and weapons were very advanced in those days. Hence, mythology is nothing but history from a long time ago.