The Enlightenment of the 18th century and positivism of the 19th century will be characterized by the flourishing of science and the general dominance of rational interpretation over intuitive perception of reality. As a result, mythology will be almost completely neglected. For an educated person in Western culture, myths were nothing more than beautiful stories or naive attempts to interpret reality – outdated patterns of thinking typical of primitive stages of human consciousness. In this atmosphere, the belief that myths are unimportant for modern man became prevalent.
However, the science of the 20th century will lead to a new understanding of myths and a new appreciation of humanity’s mythological heritage. One of the greatest advocates for the importance of myths in contemporary culture, Joseph Campbell, speaks of a roadmap of experience drawn by those who have traveled with them. For him, myths are not a negation of the rational aspect of human nature, but rather they teach us how it is possible to overcome dark passions by developing the ability to tied to the control of the irrational wildness within us.
In a social sense, myths offer us life models. Psychologist Rollo May says that there is so much violence in American society because there are no more great myths that would help young people relate to the world or understand the world beyond what is seen.
SYMBOL – ARCHETYPE
The concepts of symbol and archetype are inevitably connected to myths.
A symbol is the only way to express the inexplicable. According to C.G. Jung, a symbol represents an image that can most appropriately signify the vaguely sensed nature of the Spirit. A symbol preserves, retains, and transmits ideas, establishing a relationship between the visible and invisible world. It acts like a channel and enables the transmission of knowledge, remaining to a greater or lesser extent unexplained. The visible is simply the external expression, an appropriate symbolic form through which the hidden power of its inner identity is expressed. As conscious beings, we need to penetrate behind the veil of this appearance. This idea has been present from the beginning. k, ljudski napore pratim, a veza uspostavljena sa simbolima odražava se kroz uspon različitih kultura u povijesti.
Arhetip je božanski uzor, u skladu s kojim se razvija njegova materijalna manifestacija. To je dodir s vječnošću, metafizičko korijenje pojavnih stvari. Arhetip potiče transformaciju, unutarnju promjenu. Sličnost u temeljnim idejama koje prate bogatu mitološku tradiciju međusobno udaljenih kultura prostorno i vremenski ukazuje na važnu činjenicu – da su osnovni arhetipovi, kao temeljni elementi mitova, duboko usađeni u našoj podsvijesti kao drevna sjećanja.
MITOVI O JUNACIMA
Od mnogobrojnih vrsta mitova odabrat ćemo primjerke onih o junacima kako bismo bolje razumjeli temeljne mitološke obrasce koji nam mogu pomoći u razumijevanju života.
Potreba za nadahnućem i prevladavanjem vlastitih ograničenja uvijek je prisutna kod čovjeka, a ideja heroizma ga čarobno privlači u potragu za blagom vlastitog istinskog bića. Za dublje razumijevanje The essence of heroic myths is the fundamental acceptance of the idea of the dual nature of man – animal and divine, which is expressed in myths through the origin of the hero: one of his parents is a deity, and the other a mortal being. Thus, Heracles is the son of Zeus and Queen Alcmene, Theseus the son of Poseidon and Aethra, etc. As a mortal, he is subject to weaknesses, and as an immortal, he possesses immense strength that he must only reveal through encountering his own challenges.
For the ancient Greeks, a hero was a person who became aware of the transience of life and the fate that needed to be fulfilled. In other words, he knows that life cannot be reduced to earthly pleasures alone, but that he needs to take responsibility for his own life, affirm himself and progress. Carol Pearson says that we will not be able to live great lives if we are not willing to make ourselves great and responsible for our lives, thus abandoning the illusion of powerlessness.
Life itself represents an adventure, a turbulent journey for the hero through which he is tested. They sew together his abilities and awaken inner qualities. On the path of ascent, he is followed by falls, crises, doubts, and fears because – one becomes a hero.
An old Brahmin saying goes: Man is actually unborn. He is born through sacrifice. As a path of inner search, the heroic journey is solitary. But it is not physical solitude, nor separation from others, but intimate solitude. However, having friends and companions on the journey is one of the essential characteristics of a hero.
HEROIC JOURNEY
There are three typical phases of the heroic journey: preparation, the journey itself, and the return. During the preparation, the hero discovers his abilities and learns how to use them. He is “forced” to do so because he is left to himself. During the journey, his true identity awakens. Through facing difficult trials, he overcomes the dark side of his being. The conflict ends in victory, resulting in internal transformation and the awakening of previously unknown qualities that will become a source of benefit for the whole society. That is why the hero returns and participates. The hero is in the organization of the world. He acts for the common good, in the name of a goal that transcends his personal interest. A similar idea is emphasized by J. Campbell when he says that a hero is someone who has given their life to something greater than themselves.
MYTH AND INITIATION
The fascination with heroes and their righteous struggle is not just a feeble attempt to escape from sterile everyday life. It contains something much deeper and more important – a subconscious need for an initiatory experience, a need for life to gain direction and meaning.
All ancient peoples understood this need. Thus, in ancient civilizations, initiation existed as a cultural institution, with the purpose of enabling integration into the universe and the revival of one’s heroic role. The initiation ceremony itself always had a mythical character. The young neophyte had to symbolically experience the fate of the hero: he had to die for one dimension of existence, descend into the underworld, confront his own Minotaur, and ultimately emerge from the inner depths. the labyrinth as reborn into a new, higher dimension of reality.
ENCOUNTER WITH DEATH – TRAGIC DIMENSION OF MYTH
Greek theater is an example of a sublime artistic form that conveyed deep life truths to people through simple but succinct action. Tragedy, a theatrical work in which fate and gods govern human action, held a special place. Through the rich iconography of gods, humans, heroes, and supernatural beings, the audience had the opportunity to become acquainted with a level of existence that is above human but never separate from it. Tragedy connected life and death, the enduring and the transient, the sacred and the profane. Its essence was not about causing painful feelings due to suffering, loss, and misfortune, but about confronting and triumphing over death, with the pedagogical dimension being the message that everyone must go through the pains of childbirth and give birth to their own heroic nature.
Given the presence of fear, a person can escape their own destiny by refusing to confront death and accepting by surrendering to its own instinctive nature. On the other hand, one can engage in a heroic struggle in which they will be forced to remove all false supports that are not part of the true nature of the soul. The laws of fate will lead them into the underworld, they will become acquainted with the secret of hell and paradise, and after numerous difficulties, they will emerge reborn, changed, self-aware from within, connected in the visible and invisible, filled with new and noble inner restlessness.
If we briefly consider the role of myth in today’s time, we will notice that myths are not only a matter of the past. Planetary successes of books and movies with mythological themes constantly show how inherent it is to human nature to transcend everyday, often banal, survival, and to indirectly experience the fate of ancient heroes through literary and film characters.
Modern film sagas like Excalibur, The Lord of the Rings, The Lion King, Star Wars, The Matrix, and others revive courage and dignity in a new form. Courage, honor, and justice, by placing the man-hero in service to the noble ideal for which it is worth living and dying.