On early stages development public consciousness ideas about the universe and human nature evolved into myths, traditions and legends. On the basis of myth-making, pagan rituals were cultivated, the foundations of religions and philosophical teachings were formed. The myth as a form of oral collective creativity had a broader, in comparison with other folklore views art, interpretation. Mythical motifs can also be traced in the legends, which in ancient times were associated with real historical facts or major events.
What is myth and legend
Myth- reflection in the collective consciousness of ancient people of ideas about the structure of the world, recorded in the works of oral folk art and written sources. The mythical narrative affirmed the power of the immortal gods over the fate of man and explained all life phenomena as a manifestation of the divine will.
Legend- one of the folklore genres in which real historical events, natural disasters and phenomena public life appear in the form of a symbolic generalization close to myth-making. The characters of the legends are heroes and superhuman entities that personify the forces of nature.
Comparison of myth and legend
What is the difference between myth and legend?
The events reflected in the myths covered a significant chronological period and could not be associated with specific individuals who influenced the course of history. The focus of myths is the life, rivalry, struggle and idleness of the almighty gods who lived separately from people: most often, in sacred mountains or in the sky. What is happening on earth in the ancient mythologized consciousness is only a projection of the fateful actions of the rulers of the sky, the firmament and the water element.
The mythical gods patronized agriculture, cattle breeding, trade, navigation - the main and quite real activities with which they were associated. The immortality of the gods was opposed to the frailty of the life of mere mortals.
Legends describe a single episode of the historical past ethnic group or nationality, while myths depict almost all aspects of life.
The gods who inhabit the mythical peaks, the depths of the oceans and underworld, are immortal. The heroes of legends are endowed incredible strength, mind, abilities, but they cannot live forever. They perform feats with the help of the gods and die like ordinary people.
TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between a myth and a legend is as follows:
Myth refers to the epic genres of oral folk art; characterized by broad generalization symbolic images reflecting a certain level of collective consciousness.
Legend is one of the genres folk epic based on real historical events.
The myths tell about the life of the immortal gods. The characters of the legend are mortal heroes who are patronized by higher powers.
In myths, the coverage of events is much wider than in legends.
One of the main methods of constructing a plot in a legend is hyperbole. In myths, fantastic exaggeration is perceived as an objective reality.
Quite often you can observe the following: many people confuse the concepts of "myth" and "legend". So what is their fundamental difference? Myth is certain literary genre, conveying a person's understanding of the origin of the world, and natural phenomena and the place of man himself in this world.
The legend is epic story about what happened in time immemorial, as a rule, most of the legends are based on real events, although they are sometimes endowed, fiction, and events they are exaggerated, but all this does not in the least detract from the dignity and advantage of legends.
The essence of myth and legend, in principle, is the same, but has a significant difference in time frames.
In the most early period development of mankind (Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece), when the order of chronology was only in its infancy, myth was the main thing in the human worldview. It was thanks to myths that people explained to themselves the most important human issues.
Gradually, with the development of mankind and the emergence of monotheistic religions (where there is only one creator God, and not several), legends appeared - more realistic stories that help describe not the entire universe as a whole, but some of its individual elements.
The concept of a legend was rethought, and now we also call people and events that have become world famous as a "legend". For example, rock legends are The Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and the legends of domestic show business - Alla Pugacheva, the group "VIA Gra" and others.
In the early stages of the development of social consciousness, ideas about the universe and human nature took shape in myths, traditions and legends. On the basis of myth-making, pagan rituals were cultivated, the foundations of religions and philosophical teachings were formed. The myth as a form of oral collective creativity had a broader interpretation compared to other folklore art forms. Mythical motifs can also be traced in legends, which in ancient times were associated with real historical facts or outstanding events.
Definition
Myth- reflection in the collective consciousness of ancient people of ideas about the structure of the world, recorded in the works of oral folk art and written sources. The mythical narrative affirmed the power of the immortal gods over the fate of man and explained all life phenomena as a manifestation of the divine will.
Legend- one of the folklore genres in which real historical events, natural disasters and phenomena of public life appear in the form of a symbolic generalization, close to myth-making. The characters of the legends are heroes and superhuman entities that personify the forces of nature.
Comparison
The events reflected in the myths covered a significant chronological period and could not be associated with specific individuals who influenced the course of history. The focus of myths is the life, rivalry, struggle and idleness of the almighty gods, who lived separately from people: most often, in the sacred mountains or in the sky. What is happening on earth in the ancient mythologized consciousness is only a projection of the fateful actions of the rulers of the sky, the firmament and the water element.
The mythical gods patronized agriculture, cattle breeding, trade, navigation - the main and quite real activities with which they were associated. The immortality of the gods was opposed to the frailty of the life of mere mortals.
Legends describe a single episode of the historical past of an ethnic group or nationality, while myths depict almost all aspects of life.
The gods who inhabit the mythical peaks, the depths of the oceans and the underworld are immortal. The heroes of legends are endowed with incredible strength, intelligence, abilities, but they cannot live forever. They perform feats with the help of the gods and die like ordinary people.
Findings site
- Myth refers to the epic genres of oral folk art; characterized by a broad generalization of symbolic images that reflect a certain level of collective consciousness.
- The legend is one of the genres of the folk epic, which is based on real historical events.
- The myths tell about the life of the immortal gods. The characters of the legend are mortal heroes who are patronized by higher powers.
- In myths, the coverage of events is much wider than in legends.
- One of the main methods of constructing a plot in a legend is hyperbole. In myths, fantastic exaggeration is perceived as an objective reality.
What is the difference between myth and legend?
A legend is a description of real events that, for lack of writing, were passed from mouth to mouth. For this reason, reality could be embellished a little by adding some fictional elements. For example, when talking about the exploits of a legendary conqueror, the storytellers could exaggerate his invulnerability or lethality. In our time, a legend means someone very popular in the recent past: legendary singers, rock bands, boxers, etc.
Myth is a genre literary creativity, which was used in antiquity to explain incomprehensible natural phenomena. In myths, the main characters were the gods who created the earth, fought among themselves and the Atlanteans. In general, all modern religions arose on the basis of myths invented by our ancestors.
After reviewing the content of the terms myth and legend in dictionaries, I realized that the difference between them is not clear. in different cultural traditions they may overlap, or they may differ significantly.
Most likely, a myth is fabrications, reflections and assumptions of ancient people about the FOUNDATIONS of nature and society, about the laws of nature, and how they could appear.
As a rule, myths act fantasy creatures, incomprehensible images that no one has ever seen.
Legend is a more mundane concept. This, one might say, is also fiction, but connected with lower phenomena in human life: the origin of local names, the appearance of some tribes, the formation of cities.
In legends, as a rule, there are persons whose image is understandable and traditional for human perception. It's just that the events themselves with the participation of these characters take place quite wonderfully, unusually, fabulously.
In addition, I can take the liberty of suggesting that myths are much older than legend. Myths could create and completely wild people. Legends are already the result of creativity civilized man, who, after trying to understand the world as a whole, decided to take up the explanation of local phenomena or events in the history of his people.
I think that the main difference between legend and myth is the original fantasy of the second and the primary historicity of the first. That is the legend real story about some event that struck the author's imagination and he described it with artistic exaggeration. The following retellers added something of their own, and as a result, a story is obtained in which only the names of the characters remain from the original story. However, the basis is still a real event. Myth is an attempt to explain the incomprehensible with the involvement of religion and miracles. Myths explain the origin of something that could not be explained scientifically. For example, the appearance of a person. Myths are most often based on the theological ideas of the people.
The legend is usually associated with some historical event that happened within a certain historical period time. And with regard to myths, there is no evidence or timeline to prove that the people were real or that the events described in the myth actually happened.
Many people confuse the concepts of myth and legend, believing that they are practically the same thing. In fact, this is not so, there is a fundamental difference between them.
Myth is a literary genre in which an understanding of the world, natural phenomena and the place of man in the world is conveyed. For example, in ancient myths, the main actors there were gods who created and changed the world.
Legend is a story of epic content based on distant but real events. And although the legend seems to be fiction, it is still based on events that once took place in people's lives. The legends describe not the whole universe, but its specific individual elements.
Myth is fictional story or invented that does not have specific reliable facts, is not described in any literature.
A legend is an old story that is not invented, has evidence and is mentioned in literature or passed down from generation to generation.
Let's start with the fact that myth is a word Greek origin, means in the original tradition, legend, legend - a Latin word meaning a collection (of legends, legends). In modern Russian, the differences between them are rather arbitrary, although the legend also has additional meanings, such as: 1. an explanatory caption for the image, 2. an invented story of a scout.
Myths are ancient legends about nature, the Earth, natural phenomena. They reflected people's ideas about the structure of the world. Legends - short stories, more like the truth, gods and goddesses usually do not appear there.
Let's first understand what is a myth, and what is a legend. A myth is something fantastic about legendary heroes. A legend is a story based on historical events.
Legend, tradition, fairy tale?
LEGEND(from lat. legenda, letters. - what should be read) - in medieval writing - the life of a saint and a religious and moral story, a parable; traditional folk story about the miraculous, perceived by the narrator and listener as reliable (the legend of the "golden age"); V latest literature any work that is distinguished by poetic fiction, but claims to be some kind of authenticity in the past ( Legend – wonderful tale of the past ).
TRADITION- oral story, which contains information about historical persons, events, areas, passed down from generation to generation. Arising often from an eyewitness account, the legend is subjected to free poetic interpretation during transmission ( Tradition – oral history passed down from generation to generation ).
MYTH(from the Greek mythos - legend, legend) - a story about gods, spirits, deified heroes and ancestors that arose in primitive society. The myths intertwine the early elements of religion, philosophy, science, and art ( myths – stories of gods and heroes ).
FAIRY TALE- one of the main genres of folklore, epic, mainly prose work magical, adventurous or everyday nature with an installation for fiction ( Fairy tale – invention, invention ).
should be distinguished myth And mythology.
MYTHOLOGY (from Greek mythos - legend, legend and logos - word, teaching), a set of myths of a people, as well as a science that studies myths (their origin, content, distribution).
What are the myths?
Myths different peoples similar and recurring themes and motifs are inherent. The most typical myths about the origin of the world, the universe (cosmogonic myths) And about the origin of man (anthropogonic myths); oh sun (solar myths), moon (selenary myths), stars(astral myths);animal myths; calendar myths and others. myths about the origin and introduction of cultural goods(mining fire, invention crafts, agriculture), as well as the establishment of certain social institutions, marriage rules, customs and rituals.
Some of the myths and legends over time were presented in poetic form and performed to music. These historical-heroic songs called epic. In Rus' they were also called epics.
EPIC (oldies) - Russian folk epic songs-tales . They arose in the 9th-13th centuries, in the process of existence they absorbed the events of later times. They tell mainly about the heroes - the defenders of the motherland; reflected moral and social ideals people. Northern epics (Novgorod) are performed in one voice, southern epics (Kyiv) are choral.
Legends, traditions, epics of the peoples of the Volga region.
Oral folk art- one of constituent parts folklore of the peoples of the Mari region. Even in ancient times, wonderful legends, traditions and epics about heroes arose. The memory of the people accumulated priceless creations and carefully passed them from mouth to mouth. Traditions and legends- this is a centuries-old repository of the memory of the people (Mar. - "Toshtymari shomak" "Toshtymary Shay" - "the word of the ancestors", Tat. - "dastan" - "story", Udm. - "Vyzhykyl" - "tales of the ancestors of the family"). Traditions illuminate the origin of a particular people. Usually we are talking about some ancestor-bogatyr, the ancestor, with whom the name of a tribe or people is associated. Bogatyrs. The word "bogatyr" is first encountered in the story of the Tatar governors. Bogatyr - tatat. - "batyr", Udmurt. - "batyr", mary. - "Patyr", Chuvash. - "pattar". IN Old Russian the concept of a hero corresponded to the words - "horobr", "brave", "rezvez", "dared".
Alpamsha
Giants. To designate a giant in the language of all peoples, there have long been special words. For the Russian people, this is a "polonik", close to today's "giant". The mighty and just giants were called "alips" by the Tatars. Mighty and just giants Chuvash people- "smile." Udmurt giants were called "alangasars". In the Mari legends, giant warriors, giants are called "onar".
Alyp is a fabulous giant, the hero of Tatar folklore. Images of alyps in Tatar dastans - Alpamsha (Alpamysh), Ak Kubek. According to legend, Alpamsha grew up strong and powerful. Throughout the district, he earned himself the glory of a true batyr: he steps on the ground - water breaks through, sits on a stone - the stone crumbles under him, and rests against the mountain - the mountain collapses under his hand. And the fact that he was also a successful hunter, marksman, further strengthened his fame. The image of Alpamsh embodied the best human qualities Keywords: selfless courage, chivalry, selflessness, strength.
Ulyp
Ulyp is a mighty and just giant of the Chuvash people. From generation to generation, from generation to generation, legends about the good giant Ulyp were passed on among the Chuvash. Land of Ulypa - this is how the Chuvash called their ancient land. Ulyp is a fabulous hero who possessed remarkable strength, kind and hardworking. Legends about the hero Ulyp brought up love for native land. Udmurt giants were called "alangasars". They were very tall, exorbitant strength and independent character. Alangasars performed their exploits in the struggle among themselves. Heroes of legends - mighty people having supernatural power: their step is several fathoms, they shot from a bow for many miles, they could turn into animals. They led a warlike lifestyle and lived in fortified settlements (udm. "kar" - "nest", "city"). If there was no suitable place for building a fortress, the heroes of legends took the earth with their hands and pulled it up, creating a hill. In peacetime, they judged the people, and in war they led the army. Ordinary people obeyed the bogatyrs, paid tribute to them, bowed before their strength and wisdom, and after death they established the custom of making systematic sacrifices to them.
She R. According to folk legends, Onar was the leader of the Mari, possessed great strength and huge inhuman growth. He was so huge that he almost did not get a rainbow with his head. The rainbow in ancient legends is called the gates of Onar. The hero Onar had a heroic step - seven miles. He walked without any roads, right through the forests - mighty oaks and pines stepped over, like a small bush. The swamps did not stop him either: the biggest swamp for him was like a puddle. Where Onar sat down to rest, the earth sagged, his footprints became lakes. Where he shook out the sand that had accumulated in bast shoes, mounds appeared. He traveled all over the world in one day. Once Onar was walking along the banks of the Volga, and sand got into his bast shoes. Onar took off his shoes, shook out the sand. Since then, mounds and sandy hills have remained on the banks of the Volga. About many hills and lakes in the Mari region, people say that these are traces ancient giant. The Mari call their land the land of the hero Onar. Many legends are connected with other well-known people heroes- Chotkar, Chumbylat.
Last Onar. S.Chavain
We are told by old epics,
What is in every corner of the native land
Brave Onars - giants
They grew higher than century-old oaks.
But then, playing with dense foliage,
Trees propped up the sky.
Now there are such people in our Mari region
No one will find it if they want to.
Over the years, people have become shorter,
Yes, and the forest suffered a blow of fate ...
I just did not know then the trouble-sadness,
Only Onar has not changed.
He walked through the fields one morning,
Alley, the circle of the sun grew above them.
Onar pulled oaks with his hands
And he brought an armful to his mother:
- Look, mom, what hemp
I picked in the field for you
Like a frequent grove, like a thick shadow,
I just forgot to separate.
Oh my son! You are really unlucky
You did not pull out hemp, but forests! -
And clouded with a combustible tear
Her big clear eyes.
Onar was very surprised at the answer.
He stood and walked on.
And suddenly I noticed a plowman-Mari,
That raised the land for sowing.
- What a bug is crawling in front of me! -
The walking giant thought aloud.
He is a plowman with a horse and plow
In his vast pocket he put.
Then Onar saw in the clearing,
How a man worked with an ax
And in this Onar pocket
The lumberjack became the plowman's neighbor.
Onar wandered all day in the expanses of the local,
And in the evening he said, seeing his mother:
- Here, mom, I'm funny bugs for you
Brought on purpose to show!
One dug, stirred up the earth,
The other must have been sawing wood.
- Oh, son, my son! Yes, these are people.
Or have you already forgotten about them ...
They will always be like this now.
Onaram only growth did not change!
Son, having unearthly power,
Don't be arrogant, don't offend!
... Onar sits last and grieves,
And his mother looks at him sadly.
And the big world is still bubbling
Seething waves, birds singing,
And the sun rising from the night
Rays flood the sky.
Exercise 1:
1. Write in notebooks (briefly): what is a legend, tradition, myth, fairy tale, epic, mythology?
2. What are astral, solar, selenary, cosmogonic and anthropogonic myths?
Task 2:
1. What are the names of the heroes of different peoples of the Volga region: Tatars, Udmurts, Mari, Chuvash, Russians?
2. What are the names of giants among different peoples of the Volga region: Tatars, Udmurts, Mari, Chuvash, Russians?
3. Read S. Chavain's poem "The Last Onar" and write out multiple lines, showing the growth and strength of Onar.
