<p>What is Myth? Vandigriff September 9, 2015 Directions:  Read over the four definitions of Mythology and underline the statements you most agree with from any author.  Next meet with a partner and discuss what you both agree with and disagree with concerning the opinion of any author.  After your discussion select the one author you most agree with and be able to explain why you chose this selection. Edith Hamilton "Greek mythology is largely made up of stories about gods and goddesses, but it must not be read as a kind of Greek Bible, an account of the Greek religion. According to the most modern idea, a real myth has nothing to do with religion. It is an explanation of something in nature: how, for instance, anything and everything came into existence; men animals, this or that tree or flower . . . Myths are early science, the result of men's first trying to explain what they saw around them. But there are many so-called myths that explain nothing at all. These tales are pure entertainment, the sort of thing people would tell one another on a long winter's evening. . . . But religion is here, too." --Edith Hamilton, Mythology (19) Joseph Campbell “Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life. The experience of life! The mind has to do with meaning. What's the meaning of a flower. There's the Zen story about a sermon of the Buddha in which he simply lifted a flower. There was only one man who gave him a sign with his eyes that he understood what was said. Now, the Buddha himself is called "the one thus come". There's no meaning. What's the meaning of the universe? What's the meaning of a flea? It's just there. We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it's all about.Bill Moyers: How do you get that experience?” Bill Moyers “Myths are the stories of our search through the ages for truth, for meaning, for significance. We all need to tell our story and to understand our story. We all need to understand death and to cope with death, and we all need help in our passages from birth to life and then to death. We need life to signify, to touch the eternal, to understand the mysterious, to find out who we are.” Donna Rosenberg “Myths answer these questions in terms of our relationship to the divine world, and, therefore, they provide us with moral answers. They are the source of our most important attitudes and values, the principles by which we live, and the ideals for which we sacrifice our lives. They create meaning out of nothingness, sense out of nonsense, order out of chaos, and purpose out of aimlessness. Myths meet genuine psychological needs. They make a culture’s spiritual beliefs and values concrete and understandable. They are a spiritual compass that guides us along life’s journey.”</p>