using the learning resources, choose an event in Indian history and explain its significance to one of their myths. Comment on the relation between myth and history in your analysis. Describe

Myth and History

Myths in Historical Writings

Since the time of Plato, myth has acquired the meaning of fiction, or poetical lie, and as such, is opposed to historical writings that are supposed to tell true stories. These two types of texts thus seem to contradict each other. However, the distinction that seems clear in theory is sometimes difficult to make if we study living cultures. People who believe in myths never think there is anything wrong with these texts. Instead, they believe that myths form the sacred foundations of their society and even define the identity of its members.

Myths relate the origins of the world, its phenomena and institutions. So, too, does historical writing that aims at telling the truth about the past. Thus, it often happens that the history of different nations, kingdoms, and cities gets intertwined with mythology and that historical writing starts from myths.

Ancient Rome

The foundation of Rome is discussed in the myth about the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, sons of the war god Mars. They were suckled by a she¬-wolf, who later became the symbol of Rome, and when the boys grew up, they founded the city. In the conflict between the two brothers, Remus was killed and Romulus became the ruler. We can note a connection between the name of the city and its mythical founder.

Ancient India

In the oldest chronicles and epics, myth and history often intertwine. In ancient India, there was no interest in recording historical events in chronicles, so one of the earliest documents for historical research is the epic Mahabharata, where history is blended with myth. Separating the two is far from easy. Thus, among other events, the epic vividly depicts the great battle and massacre at Kurukshetra, located not far from the capital, New Delhi. Comparative research on mythology has confirmed that the description of the battle in the epic cannot be viewed as historically accurate but must be regarded as a piece of fiction. It is a version of ancient myths about cosmic conflicts between supernatural forces. However, the myth has been historicized in the epic, and many people believe it depicts a real event.

The other great Indian epic, the Ramayana, tells the story of King Rama, one of the incarnations of the god Vishnu. Rama, as a mythical ruler with a perfect kingdom, became a divine model for many earthly rulers of India. Again, we can note how myth and historical reality are intertwined in a complex way. Myth becomes a power that influences the life of the whole society.

Early Danes

Many nations have mythical stories about the beginning of their state and its symbols. Thus, early Danish chroniclers write of a miraculous event, when a red flag with a white cross fell from the heavens during a fierce battle, when the Danish warriors were surrounded by the pagan Estonians in the early thirteenth century. This miracle encouraged the Danes, who were then able to defeat their enemies. This story thus relates the origin of the Danish flag.

Myth vs. Historical Writing

One of the great differences between myths and historical writings lies in their concept of time. Time in myths is cyclical, being viewed as an "eternal return" to the beginnings (as poetically formulated by Mircea Eliade). Among several traditional and ancient cultures, the New Year celebrations also mark the recreation of the world. People tell cosmogonic myths in songs and rituals. Thus, the powers of chaos are overcome, and the world order is reestablished.

In historical thinking, time becomes linear, and all events are unique; they cannot be repeated, and the time cannot be reversed. This concept of time is well known to us, but actually it seems relatively recent, if we look back at the millennia of human history. In Western culture, the idea about time as a constant flow, as a linear process, is connected with the doctrine of Christianity. The birth of the Savior marked the beginning of new era and separated the two ages: before and after Christ. The incarnation of God as a mortal human being, who was crucified, died, and resurrected from the dead, was a unique, miraculous event that occurred only once. This story changed human history and the Western understanding of time.

Mircea Eliade has shown that among the cultures that share mythical worldviews, cosmogonic myths are told as sacred, primordial histories. Every community knows about the beginning of the world and about its own origin. Modern nations also know about certain historical events that are regarded as crucial in their formation. They are retold in schoolbooks, depicted in art, and spread in multiple versions in different kind of texts, oral and written. Historical narratives thus perform mythical functions, and some historical persons may acquire the status of culture heroes or divine creators.

In the Soviet Union, for example, the biography of Vladimir Lenin was mystified, and he acquired the status of a mythical hero, whose life was a constant fight against social injustice. Lenin was depicted as a savior, who liberated working people from oppression. The story of the communist revolution, called the Great Socialist October Revolution, was narrated as a myth of the sacred origin of a new state. In official ideology, it marked the beginning of a new era, because the whole world order was supposed to be changed by the global communist revolution.

Such narratives can justly be compared with cosmogonic myths. Accordingly, the cult of Lenin and other Soviet leaders developed. Lenin's body was mummified and displayed in a mausoleum in Red Square in Moscow, the imagined center of the world. The great military parades and carefully choreographed mass demonstrations, where people paid homage to their political leaders and the symbols of communism, took the form of great religious rituals, which, as we know, are a counterpart of myths.

Questions to Think About

• Can you give examples of historical events that have become stories of the birth of a nation? How do such historical narratives differ from myths? Which traits make these stories mythical?

• Euhemerism explains gods as deified human beings. Can you think of some cases in recent history, where this theory can be applied?

References

Eliade, Mircea. 1991. The Myth of the Eternal Return or, Cosmos and History. Bollingen Series, vol. XLVI. Princeton: Princeton University Press.