Although myths exist in all civilizations and throughout history, they are often belittled and considered naive stories. Auguste Comte, the founder of positivism and sociology, degraded myths to the earliest and most primitive level of intellectual evolution, while French philosopher Lucien Lévy-Bruhl associated myths with a prelogical mentality common in the most primitive stages of humanity. In this modern era, it is assumed that we should have long outgrown this “primitive mentality” and should have discarded everything beyond sensory experience and clear rationality.
So how is it possible that myths still captivate our imagination, that we are still fascinated by elves and dragons, that “The Lord of the Rings” was the second highest-selling book of the 20th century after the Bible, and that J. K. Rowling is the highest-earning author in known history? How do we explain that “Star Wars” has inspired three generations so far, and that the adventures of Harry Potter provide equal enjoyment to children and adults alike?
Both children and adults enjoy it, people are rewatching movies like The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings has attracted incredibly diverse fans of all ages.
The myth is dead – long live the myth!
Mythology is still alive, and it will always be alive. Since ancient times, humans have used symbols and myths to express their experience of reality, which transcends the physical world, and passed it on to future generations. All peoples throughout history have had their own myths, and some of them are still known today: the Epic of Gilgamesh, the myth of Isis and Osiris, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Heike Monogatari, the Iliad, the Odyssey, Plato’s myths, legends of the Saints, the Edda, the Kalevala, the myth of King Arthur and his knights, The Song of Roland, and many others. In the 19th and 20th centuries, myth was persistently revived in literary, musical, and film art: The Ring of the Nibelung, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Matrix, Harry Potter, Dune, to name just a few.
The revival of mythical elements has led to the emergence collection, classification, and interpretation of myths, and finally to the establishment of the study of comparative mythology.
German anthropologist Adolf Bastian (1826-1905) was the first to propose the idea that myths from all over the world contain the same “elementary ideas”.
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) called these elementary ideas “archetypes” because he believed they were integral parts not only of an individual’s unconscious mind, but also of the collective unconscious. Jung believed that all human beings are born with the same basic subconscious archetypes, such as “hero,” “king,” or “explorer.”
In the second half of the 20th century, it became widely accepted that myths are something universal, something that serves a universal function. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) wrote the revolutionary book The Hero with a Thousand Faces in 1949, in which he explains how all stories are essentially the same story, which he called the “hero’s journey” or “monomyth”. In his book, he provides examples from different cultures throughout known history. The East points out to the common underlying premise behind religion and myth. He concludes that all religions are merely containers for the same essential truths and that “all religions are true, but none literally.”
Common universal elements of modern myths
Struggle between good and evil
In many myths, two sides battle against each other. An ancient example is the Bhagavad Gita, where the Pandavas fight against the Kauravas; modern examples include the Fellowship of the Ring fighting against the dark forces of Mordor and Harry Potter battling Voldemort. In The Matrix, human beings fight against machines, and in Star Wars, the forces of the Rebel Alliance fight against the forces of the Death Star.
In all the mentioned examples, the theme is power. The evil ones desire power for themselves (Sauron is revived by “a desire to dominate all life”) and show no respect for individual lives, while the good ones successfully resist the greed for power and their power is based on self-control.
Hero
The hero is the main character of the story and has a special mission to fulfill. They often possess extraordinary abilities or qualities that enable them to overcome obstacles and defeat the forces of evil. Heroes are often regarded as role models and symbols of hope and inspiration.
The seed that needs to be fulfilled. Its nature is both human and special; in Greek mythology, this dual nature was expressed by the hero who was almost always a demigod, the child of a divine and human parent. The “specialness” of Harry Potter, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, Neo, and Paul Atreides means that their destiny is to face many dangers and temptations. During their mission, they often come close to death, but in doing so, they discover their inner strength and develop their inner potential.
The Teacher or Mentor
Examples: Dumbledore, Gandalf, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Morpheus, etc. Every hero has their teacher or mentor. The teacher is aware of the potential in the young hero and takes on the role of their instructor and guide. They prepare the hero for their task and remind them of the virtues they need to develop in order to be successful. The teacher usually knows the truth or knows much more about the wider context of the mission and helps their protégé gradually understand the truth and free themselves from all illusions.
The Prophecy
p>In many myths, there is a prophecy concerning the hero. It is a prophecy that helps identify the hero, as in the myth of King Arthur, where the person capable of pulling the sword out of the stone is destined to become the future king. Or the prophecy reveals the hero’s mission and destiny. In Star Wars, it is said that Luke will overthrow the ruler. In The Matrix, the prophecy states that Morpheus will find “The One” who will be able to free humanity and that Trinity will fall in love with him. Harry Potter gradually discovers the prophecy about his connection to Voldemort. In the movie Dune, the Bene Gesserit have a prophecy about the Kwisatz Haderach, a person who will “jump forward” in the evolution of humanity, and the Fremen have a prophecy about a new messiah.
Mission
The hero always has a task to complete a dangerous mission that affects the fate of all humanity. In modern myths, it is always about overcoming evil in one way or another. Frodo needs to destroy the “one ring to rule them all”, Harry Potter must defeat Voldemort. a, Luke Skywalker must overthrow the evil emperor from the throne, and Neo must pave the way for the liberation of others from enslavement to machines.
Temptation
One of the tests that a hero must endure is temptation. Luke is seduced by the dark side, Frodo is tempted by the power of the ring, Harry Potter is tempted to use magic in the non-magical world, and Cypher (the fallen messiah in The Matrix) succumbs to a world of pleasant illusions.
Mastery of oneself, character building, development of virtues
All heroic characters must learn to master themselves. Young heroes need to learn how to control their nature and their actions. They must also learn to overcome fear. A great example of this can be seen in the movie Dune where Paul Atreides must control his fear of pain while his fingers are burning in a box, and at the same time, poisonous needles are placed near his neck that will prick him at the slightest flinch of fear. The hero must also learn to master their mind: Luke Skywalker needs to master his mind in order to master the Force, Harry Potter needs to undergo training in Occlumency. In order to prevent Voldemort from reading his mind. All heroes must develop courage, perseverance, hope, love, empathy, spirit of unity, focus, prudence, intuition, because those are their only real “weapons” in the fight against dark forces.
All these elements have been present in stories for thousands of years. What keeps them alive is, on one hand, the universal truth that shines through them, and on the other, their reinterpretation and recontextualization. Often, the modern myth actually represents the revival of a much older myth, as we will see in the following examples.
Matrix – a modern version of Plato’s Cave Allegory
The cult film Matrix (excluding its two sequels) is in many ways a modern version of Plato’s Cave Allegory and the Eastern concept of maya. The film depicts a future time in which science has succeeded in creating highly intelligent machines that wage war against humans and almost obliterate the entire human race. All cities are now controlled by these machines, while humans are enslaved and live in a simulated reality, unaware of their true existence. The protagonist, Neo, gradually comes to realize the truth and is chosen to lead the resistance against the machines. Through his journey, Neo questions the nature of reality and seeks to free humanity from its chains.
We on Earth have been completely devastated, and a few survivors take shelter in an underground city called Zion. The war has destroyed the entire biosphere, and the only way for the machines to survive is by using the bioenergy produced by human bodies. Therefore, they cultivate humans as crops and “plug” their minds into a massive, computer-generated virtual reality called the Matrix, so that humans are comfortably deceived into believing that everything is like it was centuries ago (i.e. in the year 2001).
In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, written two thousand four hundred years ago in his famous book The Republic, he describes a man trapped in a cave who believes that the shadows he sees in front of him and the sounds he hears are the true reality. This concept of “what the eyes see is not real” also echoes the Eastern concept of maya, the illusion that constructs our ever-changing physical world and prevents human beings from understanding the eternal truth. In the movie, this matrix (computer-generated virtual reality) is maya, illusion. enslaved. We are in her clutches, unaware of our captivity.
In both cases, the Allegory of the Cave and The Matrix, there is someone who breaks free from these chains and is able to see through the deceptive world. They then take on the mission of showing the truth to others and attempting to free the human race.
In the movie The Matrix, there is a group of people who have recognized the truth about the Matrix, and the leader of this group is Morpheus. He is searching for a person with exceptional abilities who will pave the way for the liberation of all. He believes that person is Neo, who is completely unaware of his potential and this task. The entire first part of The Matrix describes Morpheus’ discovery of Neo and his effort to convince him of his abilities before the great battle against the forces of the illusory world. Morpheus is the teacher or guru, and Neo is his student. The teacher’s task is to guide the student and prepare him for the realization of the truth. In one scene, Morpheus says to Neo: “I’m trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it… You need to free yourself from all of it, Neo.” free your mind of fear, doubt, and disbelief.
In the movie, there is a dialogue where Morpheus explains the Matrix to Neo:
Morpheus: Do you want to know what IT is? The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot taste or touch or smell. A prison for your mind…
In another scene, Morpheus’ words remind us of a classic idea found in several philosophical texts of the East and the West: that our world is like a dream, and only through awakening can we see the real world: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you couldn’t wake up from that dream? How would you Do you know the difference between the world of dreams and the real world? On another occasion, Morpheus says to Neo, “What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then reality is just electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” In order to see reality as it truly is, Neo must go through the process of disconnecting the wires attached to his body. These wires are similar to the senses that show us only a small window into reality and trap our minds. Plato also describes the process of gradually confronting the truth as a painful one. Therefore, Neo’s reaction when faced with the truth is understandable: “No. I don’t believe it. It’s not possible.” Morpheus replies, “I didn’t say it would be easy, Neo. I said it would be the truth.” It’s interesting to see how both stories describe a similar human reaction when confronted with the truth. We are so accustomed to our familiar sensory world that unreality appears as reality. We have a deep-seated fear of awakening, and furthermore, we are willing to fight to protect our false beliefs. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he describes what happens to a philosopher who, successfully freeing himself from the chains, exits the cave and discovers the truth, then returns to the cave to free his fellow prisoners. Plato writes that they do not believe the philosopher and mock him, and if they could reach him, they would kill him. The Matrix describes a similar situation: Morpheus says, “The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. When you’re inside, look around. What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. It is the minds of people that we are trying to save. But until we succeed, these people are still part of that system, and that makes them our enemies. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.” It is a (and likely will continue to be) drama of philosophers. The list of those mocked, expelled, tortured, or killed for speaking the truth is truly long in history.
It is understandable why The Matrix is such a successful film. It addresses the questions that have preoccupied the minds of the greatest thinkers in history, contains all the elements of myth, and is in many ways a sci-fi version of a much older and well-known myth.
The value of myths
Myths are universal and have several universal functions. One of Joseph Campbell’s messages is that the “mythical structure” is more than an archetype of a good story: myth teaches us how to live well. Tolkien wrote that myth and fairy tale (two terms he uses synonymously) are the best way to convey morality and prepare the reader for the same heroic journey through their own life.
Bruno Bettelheim, in his classic study of children’s literature, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, says that “it deals with people’s inner problems and the correct solutions to their predicaments.” “We can learn more from fairy tales than from any other type of story within a child’s reach.”
Mircea Eliade, a renowned historian of religions, wrote that “every custom, every myth, every belief… reflects the experience of the sacred and therefore implies an understanding of existence, meaning, and truth.”
During a lecture, Jorge Angel Livraga said, “When the Greeks created their myths, they were not telling lies… They were creating psychological tools for the development of the human inner being… Myths are not lies, they contain metahistorical realities…”
What are these metahistorical realities? Among other things, they are the inner forces that drive human actions, such as greed, thirst for power, selfishness, but also love, compassion, and the need to fulfill our inner potential. As long as these forces exist, there will be a struggle between good and evil within ourselves.
We also carry archetypes within us, expressed through myths and symbols. Therefore, all myths carry a message and teach us how to navigate through life. The hero in myths is an example for us, because we always need examples in every area of life. An example is a reference point that indicates the direction, like a star in the sky. This model carries within it the identity we want to acquire and enables us to project ourselves into the future. Thus, the hero model is a fundamental key to human evolution and, as J. A. Livraga says, a psychological tool for the development of our inner being.
The message of the hero is that we can succeed, and it awakens our intuitive sense that there are still unrealized potentials within us.
Opportunities to discover deeper strengths within ourselves come in moments of the greatest life challenges.
Joseph Campbell
The need for modern myths
Joseph Campbell noticed that each generation must recontextualize myth to adapt it to their time and create their own guidelines on how to fit into the world. He often emphasized that the lack of a modern myth is an irreplaceable loss for our culture.
J. R. R. Tolkien was also Aware of this, with his book The Lord of the Rings, he wanted to create a modern myth. J.A. Livraga believed that without myths, heroes, beauty, and the sacred, humanity would turn into humanoids and lose the ability to project their hopes into the future and to create cultural forms that enable a meaningful life. Myths are maps of reality and contain immense power to awaken human potential. Without myths, we would lack this precious map of reality and great inspiration for discovering our inner potential. The great attraction of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and other works precisely shows this: we need mythical heroes to inspire and motivate us.