key terms:
Hero:
1. in mythology and in legend, a man of great strength
and courage, favored by the gods and in part descended
from them, often regarded as a half-god and worshipped
after his death: as, Aeneas and Hector were heroes to
the ancients;
2. any man admired for his courage, nobility, or exploits,
especially in war: as, Washington is a national hero.
3. any person admired for his qualities or achievements
and regarded as an ideal or model.
4. the central male character in a novel, play, poem,
etc., with whom the reader or audience is supposed to
sympathize; the protagonist: often opposed to villain.
5. the central figure in any important event or period,
honored for outstanding qualities.
Heroic:
1. of or characterized by men of godlike strength and
courage: as, the heroic age.
2. brave, and noble: as heroic conduct.
3. of or about a hero and his deeds; epic: as, a heroic
poem.
4. exalted; eloquent; high-flown: as, heroic words.
5. daring and risky, but often used as a last resort:,
as heroic measures.
6. in art, something larger than life-size but less
than colossal: as, a heroic statue.
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American
Language, college ed.
Myth:
The following definition is provided by The Bedford
Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
A traditional anonymous story, originally religious
in nature, told by a particular cultural group in order
to explain a natural or cosmic phenomenon. Individual
myths are typically part of an interconnected collection
of such tales, also known as a culture's mythology.
Myths generally offer supernatural explanations for
the creation of the world (whether seen as the planet
alone or the universe generally)and humanity, as well
as for death, judgment, and the afterlife. Myths that
explain the origins of humanity often focus on the cultural
group telling the myth; that group may even be portrayed,
as in many Native American myths, as "the people"
or "the true people." Stories chronicling
the adventures of gods and other supernatural forces,
especially stories about their various feuds and encounters
with mortals, are also common fare, as are tales about
the fictional humans who must interact with them. Achilles
is as much a mythic figure as Zeus.
Mr. K's commentary:
A legend is not necessarily the same thing as a myth.
For example, most scholars would assert that a legend
may have some historical overtones, whereas a myth would
be much more rooted in the realm of the spiritual. A
folktale has much more of a localized "feel"
and many folktales are based in oral traditions.
Example: Many people would label the Grail story as
"The Grail Myth," but when referring to King
Arthur, they might refer to it as "The Legend of
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table."
Some scholars might contend that there is a historical
component to the Arthurian legend, citing the Britano-Roman
commander Arthur as a historical king and his uncle
Dubricius as the model for Merlin the magician.
In my mind, a myth represents a small story that is
part of a larger mythos.
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