Source: Karen Armstrong, 2005, A Short History Of Myth, First published in Great Britain in 2005, by Canongate Books Ltd, digital edition first published in 2008.
This podcast explores the profound and enduring role of mythology in human history, arguing that humans have always been meaning-seeking creatures who use myths to navigate the complexities of life, particularly the fear of death and the search for transcendence. From early Neanderthal burial practices suggesting belief in an afterlife to the elaborate narratives of ancient civilizations and the philosophical inquiries of the Axial Age, myths, often intertwined with ritual, have provided a framework for understanding existence and guiding human action. The text emphasizes that myth is not an inferior or false mode of thought, but rather a crucial complement to logos (rational thought), helping people to confront the unknown and live more fully, even in a seemingly chaotic world.
1. What is the fundamental purpose of myth in human existence, according to the source?
Myth is not simply a false story or a primitive form of history; rather, it is a core aspect of the human experience that helps us confront existential challenges, particularly death and the fear of extinction. Myth allows us to create counter-narratives to our mortality, giving life meaning and value by placing our individual lives in a larger, underlying pattern. Mythology, inseparable from ritual, guides behavior, provides a spiritual or psychological posture for action, and speaks of a powerful, invisible reality that supports our world, enabling us to live more intensely within our mundane existence. It is an art form that points to the timeless in human existence and helps us grasp the core of reality beyond chaotic events.
2. How is myth connected to human imagination and transcendence?
The human mind possesses the ability to have ideas and experiences beyond rational explanation, a faculty called imagination. This imagination is the very faculty that produces religion and mythology. Mythology is designed to help us cope with the problematic human predicament, enabling us to find our place and true orientation in the world. It helps explain the experience of transcendence – those sublime moments when we feel transported beyond ordinary concerns. Mythology gives explicit shape to an intuitively sensed reality, telling us how the divine behaves not for entertainment, but to enable us to imitate these powerful beings and experience divinity ourselves.
3. What is the "perennial philosophy" and how does it relate to mythology?
The "perennial philosophy" is a basic theme of mythology that informed mythology, ritual, and social organization in all pre-scientific societies and continues to influence more traditional ones. It posits that everything in the visible, material world has a richer, stronger, and more enduring counterpart in the divine realm. Every earthly reality is seen as a pale shadow of its archetypal, original pattern. According to this philosophy, only by participating in this divine life can fragile human beings fulfill their potential. Mythology provided explicit form to this reality, guiding people on how to imitate the divine and experience it themselves.
4. How did the understanding of the divine evolve from the Palaeolithic period to the Axial Age?
In the Palaeolithic period, the divine was often encountered in the natural world, with phenomena like the sky, stones, and trees seen as epiphanies of a hidden force. There was no significant ontological gulf between the world of the gods and the world of humans; gods were often seen as aspects of the mundane or powerful human emotions. However, as societies evolved, particularly during the Early Civilizations and especially in the Axial Age, the divine began to seem more remote and separate from the human realm. Gods were increasingly viewed as distinct supernatural beings. This shift, though not universal across all Axial traditions, marked a movement away from the direct participation and immediate presence of the divine felt in earlier periods.
5. What were some key mythological developments in the Neolithic period, particularly concerning the Mother Goddess?
The Neolithic period, marked by the invention of agriculture, brought a new spiritual awakening centered on the earth as an inexhaustible source of nourishment. Farming was viewed sacramentally, with rituals designed to replenish the earth's sacred power. A holistic vision emerged where gods, humans, animals, and plants shared the same nature. The maternal role of women led to the earth often taking on a female, nurturing character, personified as the Mother Goddess. However, this goddess was not solely gentle; she retained frightening characteristics, symbolizing the violent struggle inherent in agriculture against death and destructive forces. Myths of dying and rising consorts, like Baal and Osiris, mirrored the cycle of crops, highlighting the inseparable nature of life and death.