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| Zeus |
I'm an Egyptologist by trade (well, a student of Egyptology anyway) and my main focus is Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology. The whole thing fascinates me; how a person can see something so mundane and ordinary and fabricate the most elaborate reason for it coming into being. For example, the ancient Egyptians saw that dung beetles push balls of dung all day long, then lay their eggs in the ball, which hatch and new life is made. They took this idea and created the sun god Khepri; a scarab that pushed the sundisc through the sky in the morning, bringing life with it as it pushes the sun.
Most scholars attribute such things merely as part of a belief system and nothing more, but they're missing a crucial point. These ideas, whether religious or not, are seen to be the beginnings of fantasy. The best way of seeing this is to look at the work of Tolkien. Middle Earth was heavily based on places in Great Britain, and he amalgamated mythology from all over the world. His work is pure fantasy, but in doing so he created a mythology.
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| Ra |
Am I reading too much into this, or does anyone else see the connections between these little bits of fantasy that history gives to us? The same can be said for superstition and folklore (another historical passion of mine). Whenever I write, I try to base the religion and mythology of the story on something tangible (usually the Celts).
One other thing that I find pretty fascinating: isn't is strange that almost every culture, even those separated by vast distance and time, cultures that have never made contact with eachother, all have some form of mythical belief in dragons. Weird, huh?
I hear ya! I see the connection as well. And yes, I find it very odd that different cultures came up with similar beings. Even dragons. There has to be something deeply rooted in those myths that began as actual fact.
ReplyDeleteEgyptology ::drools:: Oh... sorry let me clean that up.
I love Mythology, I love the Egyptian culture as equally as Celtic and Asian ones.
Great M post!
Wonder what they all saw that eventually became known as 'dragons?'
ReplyDeleteAnd what did you think of Clash of the Titans? I'm sure you read my review.
Ah, your future profession is very intriguing and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask me, the interesting thing that connects the mythologies and history of many cultures are the pyramids. Not only that you have them in Egypt, but also in South America, in Iran, even in my neighboring Bosnia in the middle of Europe.
You should check out The Fourth Kind, starring Milla Jovovich. It's got some amazing cultural/ancient elements thrown in that you might find interesting.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!
I am not sure we have dragons in Hindu/ Indian mythology. Creatures yes, but dragons, I think not.
ReplyDeleteBut what strikes me as amazing is how so many of the Gods have counterparts who are almost exactly the same in other myths. Was it cross pollination, or shared memory?
~ Rayna