vocabulary and examples

myth: an explanation or rationalization of natural phenomena, that can be tied to religious or ethical belief.
example: the story of Hercules, the strongest man to ever live

hero:a human who goes above and beyond to help people, facing challenges with great courage and persistence.
example: Perseus's journey which ends in the The death of Medusa .

hero journey:the events and path that brings a hero from the call to adventure to the ultimate battle.
example:the odyssey which tells of the challenges Odysseus must overcome in order to return home after war.

universal: the largest plane in which to perceive reality or one size fits all.
example: all heroes are human in some way or another.

archetype: kind/ model original
example: ouranos is the first god in greek mythology.

cyclical: circle or one end a beginning one beginning an end.
example: yin and yang are the oriental symbol for ever cycling life as well as good and evil.

duality: an object or symbol that has dual or corresponding meanings
example: the ankh in egypyion mythology is the symbol of immortality, and life in general.

creation: an idea, or explanation, that justifies how the world was created.
example: in greek mythology, there was nothing then, there was darkness, then light, then mother earth, and all that exist followed.

cosmology: study of the universe and its creation.
example:

life from death: how death supports life.
example: the death of cronus, father of the gods, leads to the birth of Aphrodite.

matriarchal: society with a female power authority.
example: in greek mythology the earth was concidered a mother, her name was geia.

patriarchal: a society ruled by men.
example: in egyption mythology, marduk was deemed god of all gods by his peers.

sacrifice: giving something up for a greater cause.
example: the story of promethius, he give fire to man, and is then punished by zeus for it.