We no longer believe in the Greek Pantheon of gods yet they’re as popular as ever in literature like in Rick Riordon’s Percy Jackson and the Olympian’s series. But who draws that line? Who determines when an idea crosses that line? And does it matter? Is it any less compelling? I think not. Apply it to books and we call it world building.Īnd perhaps that is the difference – scholars will argue that because what writers create isn’t part of the everyday, ordinary belief systems for people, then it isn’t legitimate myth. How was life created? How do the gods and people interact? What are the rules for interaction? Apply it to everyday life and we can call it religion. Humbug! Myth is a way for people to reconcile the paradoxes of life – the things that don’t make sense to us. There are those who argue that because myth is defined as being of the distant past, that it has its own cultural criteria and that it requires organic growth in a culture, that it can’t be instantly created. In Tolkien’s books, the fantasy world received a new mythology Middle Earth and that lore, that mythology, is still embraced by people today. This is newly created mythology has been embraced by generations of readers. ![]() Today, we understand the social action and values for vampires, werewolves and zombies. When Bram Stoker penned Dracula, he took an obscure legend, gave it its own rules and a new mythology was born. ![]() Creating your own mythology – how cool! And loads of fun! We write in an era where readers embrace modern and new myth.
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