Myths and legends

The concept of myths and legends is not very clear to many people. A myth may refer to:

• a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to have their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. In saying that a myth is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it. Use of the term by scholars does not imply that the narrative 1 is either true or false;

• something that is widely believed but false. This popular use, which is often pejorative, arose from labeling the religious stories and beliefs of other cultures as being incorrect, but it has spread to cover non-religious beliefs as well. Because of this usage, many people take offense when the religious narratives they believe to be true are called myths.

A legend, on the other hand, is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale the appearance of being real. A legend, for its active and passive participants, includes only happenings that are within the limits of possibility, defined by a highly flexible set of parameters, which may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened, within the specific tradition of indoctrination where the legend arises, and within which it may be transformed over time, in order to keep it fresh and vital, and realistic.

In conclusion, a legend is a story which is told as if it were a historical event, rather than as an explanation for something or a symbolic narrative. Thus, examples of legends are the stories about Robin Hood, which are set in a definite period, the reign of Richard I of England (1189-99), or about King Arthur.

¹scholars – people who study a particular subject and know a lot about it, especially a subject that is not scientific.

Internet: <en.wikipedia.org> (adapted

Pandora was the first woman, fashioned by Zeus as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus’ theft of the secret of fire.

The titan Epimetheus was responsible for giving a positive trait to each and every animal. However, when it was time to give man a positive trait, there was nothing left. Prometheus, his brother, felt that because man was superior to all other animals, man should have a gift no other animal possessed. So Prometheus set forth to steal fire from Zeus and gave it to man.

Zeus was extremely angry and decided to punish both Prometheus and his creation: mankind. To punish Prometheus, Zeus put his feet in unbreakable chains and set an eagle over him to eat his liver each day. To punish mankind, Zeus ordered the other gods to make Pandora as a poisoned gift for man. Pandora was given several traits from the different gods: Aphrodite gave her beauty; Apollo gave her musical talent and a gift for healing; Zeus made her lazy, mischievous1, and foolish; Hera gave her curiosity; Hermes gave her cunning, boldness and charm.

The most significant of these gifts, however, was a box, given to Pandora either by Hermes or Zeus. Before he was chained to the rock, Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to take any gifts from the gods. Epimetheus did not listen to his brother, however, and when Pandora arrived, he fell in love with her. Hermes told him that Pandora was a gift to the titan from Zeus, and he warned Epimetheus not to open the box.

Until then, mankind had lived a life in a paradise without worry. Epimetheus told Pandora never to open the box she had received from Zeus. However, Pandora’s curiosity got the better of her and when she opened the box, all the misfortunes of mankind (plague, sorrow, poverty, crime, despair, greed etc.) quickly came out of it. She immediately closed it in time to keep one thing in it: hope. The world remained extremely unpleasant, hopeless, lacking in warmth or kindliness for an unspecified interval, until Pandora’s curiosity made her open the box again, at which point hope left the box. Thus, mankind always has hope in times of evil.

¹mischievous – somebody who enjoys having fun by causing trouble.
²cunning – the use of clever methods to get what you want, especially methods that involve tricking or cheating people.
³boldness – confident and not afraid.

Internet: <en.wikipedia.org> (adapted).