Mythology Is Defined As the Term Paper

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..." The hymn also follows the general creation myth of Genesis, a staple in the Judeo mythology. Like the Genesis story, in the Hymn of Aton, the myth states that God is the one who gave speech, races, land and people. In essence, according to the hymn, the sun is the giver of all life, which makes sense as it is the sun's light that gives the means to sustaining life.

Historically, many scholars view this hymn as one of the earliest known examples of monotheistic mythology. In fact, the Pharaoh's thoughts were eventually found heretical by his own people and were quickly reverted to the more traditional polytheism of Egyptian mythology. However, this fact of both monotheism and atonement found in this hymn serve as an example of how mythology is passed on, as many scholoars argue that this hymn is an indication that Egyptians were the original source of Judaism and thus, the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Thus, moving to the mythology of Judaism, we first look at the book of Exodus, in particular Chapter 20. Exodus is the second book of the Torah and follows Genesis with the story of the Israelites in Egypt, where they are oppressed by the Pharaoh. It is also the story of Moses, who is sent to Egypt by God in order to liberate the Israelites and return them to the promised land.

Exodus Chapter 20 is the issuing of the Ten Commandments by Moses. According to Judaism, the Ten Commandments are a covenant made between the Jews and God that dictate what it is they must do to worship and please God. Of particular importance to our discussion is that it is in the Ten Commandments that the concept of monotheism is grounded, thus marking the official split between traditional Egyptian polytheism and modern Judeo-Christian monotheistic mythology. According to the Ten Commandments, the Jewish God proclaims, "I, the Lord, am your God...You shall not have other gods besides me." Thus, the mythological tradition of monotheism is created.

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Furthermore, the Ten Commandments not only seem to take from Egyptian monotheism, but also exhibit concepts of antonism in that the Commandments essentially say "if you do this, I will forgive you and protect you," thus establishing the Jewish tradition of atonism.

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapters 6 and 13, tells of the three sermons delivered by Moses to the Israelites at the end of the Israelites wanderings through the desert. Within these sermons, the covenant between God and his people is further detailed, thus further engraving the Judeo mythology into humanity's collective conscious.

Finally, in Isaiah, Chapters 1 and 2, God punishes his people for not following the covenant and thus sinning, stating, "a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers...." Here the myth of atonism is established, clearly stating what must be done in order to win back the favor of God.

Similar to the Hymn of Aton and the covenants of the Jews is the Gathas of Zarathustra. The Gathas are a collection of seventeen hymns that, like the other mentioned myths, summarize the mythology of Zarathustra. The hymns focus on how to have happiness, good spirit, good dominion and be beloved.

Many of the hymns contain ideas similar to the covenants of the Jews, such as "I ask you, O Ahura, about the punishment for the evil-doer..." Further more, the Gathas also preach to a single God, Ahura, and thus demonstrate the spreading of the monotheistic mythology from the Judeo-Christian tradition into the Islamic tradition.

As can be seen by this overview of mythology, it can be concluded that mythology is a set of stories that have grown with the growth of civilization and thus has reflected the historical changes of the world's dominant cultures. From the ancient polytheistic mythology history grew into a generally monotheistic culture with a common mythology that focuses on forgiveness and finding ways to become a better human being......

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