Mythology / World Book Encyclopedia
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happen. For example, they have wanted to know why the sun rises and sets
and what causes lightning. They have also wanted to know how the earth was
created and how and where humanity first appeared.
Today, people have scientific answers and theories for many such questions
about the world around them. But in earlier times--and in some parts of the
world today--people lacked the knowledge to provide scientific answers.
They therefore explained natural events in terms of stories about gods,
goddesses, and heroes. For example, the Greeks had a story to explain the
existence of evil and trouble. The Greeks believed that at one time the
world's evils and troubles were trapped in a box. They escaped when the
container was opened by Pandora, the first woman. Such stories are known as
myths, and the study of myths is called mythology.
In early times, every society developed its own myths, which played an
important part in the society's religious life. This religious significance
has always separated myths from similar stories, such as folk tales and
legends. The people of a society may tell folk tales and legends for
amusement, without believing them. But they usually consider their myths
sacred and completely true.
Most myths concern divinities (divine beings). These divinities have
supernatural powers--powers far greater than any human being has. But in
spite of their supernatural powers, many gods, goddesses, and heroes of
mythology have human characteristics. They are guided by such emotions as
love and jealousy, and they experience birth and death. A number of
mythological figures even look like human beings. In many cases, the human
qualities of the divinities reflect a society's ideals. Good gods and
goddesses have the qualities a society admires, and evil ones have the
qualities it dislikes.
By studying myths, we can learn how different societies have answered basic
questions about the world and the individual's place in it. We study myths
to learn how a people developed a particular social system with its many
customs and ways of life. By examining myths, we can better understand the
feelings and values that bind members of society into one group. We can
compare the myths of various cultures to discover how these cultures differ
and how they resemble one another. We can also study myths to try to
understand why people behave as they do.
For thousands of years, mythology has provided material for much of the
world's great art. Myths and mythological characters have inspired
masterpieces of architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture.
MYTHOLOGY/What myths are about
Most myths can be divided into two groups--creation myths and explanatory
myths. Creation myths try to explain the origin of the world, the creation
of human beings, and the birth of gods and goddesses. All early societies
developed creation myths. Explanatory myths try to explain natural
processes or events. The Norse, who lived in medieval Scandinavia, believed
that the god Thor made thunder and lightning by throwing a hammer at his
enemies. The ancient Greeks believed that the lightning bolt was a weapon
used by the god Zeus. Many societies developed myths to explain the
formation and characteristics of geographic features, such as rivers, lakes,
and oceans.
Some explanatory myths deal with illness and death. Many ancient
societies--as well as some primitive present-day societies--believed that a
person dies because of some act by a mythical being. The people of the
Trobriand Islands in the Pacific Ocean believed that men and women were
immortal when the world was new. When people began to age, they swam in a
certain lagoon and shed their skin. They quickly grew new skin, renewing
their youth. One day, a mother returned from the lagoon with her new skin.
But her unexpected youthful appearance frightened her little daughter. To
calm the child, the mother returned to the lagoon, found her old skin, and
put it back on. From then on, according to this myth, death could not be
avoided.
Some myths, through the actions of particular gods and heroes, stress proper
behavior. The ancient Greeks strongly believed in moderation--that nothing
be done in excess. They found this ideal in the behavior of Apollo, the god
of purity, music, and poetry. Myths about national heroes also point up
basic moral values. The story about young George Washington's confession
that he had cut down his father's cherry tree has no basis in fact. Yet
many people like to believe the story because it emphasizes the quality of
honesty.
Mythical beings fall into several groups. Many gods and goddesses resemble
human beings, even though they have supernatural powers. These gods and
goddesses were born, fell in love, fought with one another, and generally
behaved like their human worshipers. These divinities are called
anthropomorphic, from two Greek words meaning in the shape of man. Greek
mythology has many anthropomorphic divinities, including Zeus, who was the
most important Greek god.
Another group of mythical beings includes gods and goddesses who resemble
animals. These characters are called theriomorphic, from two Greek words
meaning in the shape of an animal. Many theriomorphic beings appear in
Egyptian mythology. For example, the Egyptians sometimes represented their
god Anubis as a jackal or a dog.
A third group of mythical beings has no specific name. These beings were
neither completely human nor completely animal. An example is the famous
sphinx of Egypt, which has a human head and a lion's body.
Human beings play an important part in mythology. Many myths deal with the
relationships between mortals and divinities. Some mythical mortals have a
divine father and a mortal mother. These human characters are called
heroes, though they do not always act heroically in the modern sense. Most
stories about heroes are called epics rather than myths, but the difference
between the two is not always clear.
Mythical places. Many myths describe places where demons, gods and
goddesses, or the souls of the dead live. Most of these places are in the
sky or on top of a high mountain. The people believed that the divinities
could see everything, and so they located them in a place higher than
mortals could reach.
Mythical places exist in the mythologies of most peoples. Perhaps the most
sacred place in Japanese mythology is Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in
Japan. During part of their history, the Greeks believed their divinities
lived on a mythical Mount Olympus that was separate from the visible Mount
Olympus in northern Greece.
The Greeks also believed in mythical places beneath the ground, such as
Hades, where the souls of the dead lived. The Norse believed in Hel, an
underground home for the souls of all dead persons, except those killed in
battle. The souls of slain warriors went to Valhalla, which was a great
hall in the sky. The Inuit (sometimes called Eskimos) believe that their
sea goddess, Sedna, lives in a world under the ocean.
Mythical symbols. In their mythologies, people used many symbols to help
explain the world. The Greeks symbolized the sun as the god Helios driving
a flaming chariot across the sky. The Egyptians represented the sun as a
boat.
Animals, human beings, and plants have all stood for ideas and events. Some
peoples adopted the serpent as a symbol of health because they believed that
by shedding its skin, the serpent became young and well again. The Greeks
portrayed Asclepius, the god of healing, holding a staff with a serpent
coiled around it. The staff is often confused with the caduceus of the god
Mercury, which has two snakes coiled around it. Today, both symbols are
used as emblems of the medical profession. In Babylonian mythology, the
hero Gilgamesh searched for a special herb that made anyone who ate it
immortal. Plants can also have opposite meanings. In the Bible, Adam and
Eve ate the forbidden fruit and lost their immortality.
Comparing myths. We study the similar myths of various societies by
comparing them to one another. We can compare these myths on the basis of
their generic, genetic, or historical relationships.
Generic relationships among myths are based on the way people react to
common features in their environment. For example, the Maori of New Zealand
and the ancient Greeks both had myths that described how the earth became
separated from the sky.
Genetic relationships. A large society may develop a particular myth.
Then, for some reason, the society breaks up into several separate
societies, each of which develops its own version of the myth. These myths
have a genetic relationship.
Myths about the Greek god Zeus and the ancient Indian god Indra have a
genetic relationship. The two gods resemble each other in many ways. For
example, each is a sky god, and each uses a lightning bolt as his chief
weapon. These similarities can be explained by the fact that the ancient
Greeks and the people of ancient India descended from a common culture, the
Indo-European community. The Indo-Europeans lived several thousand years
ago in the area north of the Black Sea, in southeastern Europe. This
culture worshiped a warrior god who ruled the sky. One group of
Indo-Europeans migrated westward to what is now Greece. There, they
developed a sky god who became known as Zeus. Another group of
Indo-Europeans, the Aryans, migrated southward into northern India. They
developed the warlike sky god Indra.
Historical relationships appear when similar myths develop among cultures
that do not share a common origin. For instance, many ancient Near and
Middle Eastern societies had a myth in which several generations of sons
overthrew their fathers, who ruled as gods or kings. Variations of this
myth appeared in Greece and Iran, among the Hittites in what is now Turkey,
and among the Phoenicians, who lived mainly in what is now Lebanon. Many
scholars believe all versions of the myth came from a Babylonian myth dating
from about 2000 B.C.
In the 700's B.C., the Greek poet Hesiod wrote a long poem called the
Theogony. In this poem, Hesiod described the origin of the world and the
history of the gods. The Theogony contains Greek myths that have generic,
genetic, and historical relationships with myths of other cultures. For
example, Hesiod describes how the earth became separated from the sky. This
myth is generically related to a similar Maori myth. Zeus, a major figure
in the Theogony, genetically resembles the Indian god Indra. Hesiod also
wrote about successive generations of Greek gods being overthrown by their
sons. This myth is historically related to similar myths in other cultures
of the ancient Near and Middle East.
MYTHOLOGY/Egyptian mythology
The Nile River plays an important part in Egyptian mythology. As the Nile
flows northward through Egypt, it creates a narrow ribbon of fertile land in
the midst of a great desert. The sharp contrast between the fertility along
the Nile and the wasteland of the desert became a basic theme of Egyptian
mythology. The creatures that live in the Nile or along its banks became
linked with many gods and goddesses.
The Great Ennead. The earliest information we have about Egyptian mythology
comes from hieroglyphics (picture writings) on the walls of tombs, such as
the burial chambers in pyramids. These "pyramid texts" and other documents
tell us that from about 3200 to 2250 B.C. the Egyptians believed in a family
of nine gods. This family became known as the Great Ennead, from the Greek
word ennea, meaning nine. The nine gods of the Great Ennead were Atum, Shu
and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and Horus.
The term Ennead later came to include other deities as well. One of these
deities was Nun, who symbolized a great ocean that existed before the
creation of the earth and the heavens. Another of these deities was the sun
god, called Re or Ra. The Egyptians considered Re both the ruler of the
world and the first divine pharaoh.
The first god of the Great Ennead was Atum. He was sometimes identified
with the setting sun. Atum also represented the source of all gods and all
living things. Re created a pair of twins, Shu and his sister, Tefnut. Shu
was god of the air, which existed between the sky and the earth. Tefnut was
goddess of the dew. Shu and Tefnut married and also produced twins, Geb and
his sister, Nut. Geb was the earth god and the pharaoh of Egypt. Nut
represented the heavens. Geb and Nut married, but the sun god Re opposed
the match and ordered their father, Shu, to raise Nut away from Geb into the
sky. Shu's action separated the heavens from the earth. Nut had speckles
on her body, and the speckles became the stars.
The Osiris myth. In spite of their separation, Geb and Nut had several
children. These included three of the most important divinities in Egyptian
mythology--Osiris, Isis, and Seth.
Originally, Osiris may have been god of vegetation, especially of the plants
that grew on the rich land along the Nile. The goddess Isis may have
represented female fertility. Seth was god of the desert, where vegetation
withers and dies from lack of water.
Geb retired to heaven. Osiris then became pharaoh and took Isis as his
queen. Seth grew jealous of Osiris' position and killed him. In some
versions of this myth, Seth cut Osiris' body into pieces, stuffed the pieces
into a box, and set the box afloat on the Nile. Isis refused to accept her
husband's death as final. She searched for Osiris' remains with the aid of
her sister Nephthys and several other gods and goddesses. Isis finally
found the remains of Osiris. With the help of other divinities, she put the
body together, restoring Osiris to life. Osiris then became god of the
afterlife.
Seth had become pharaoh of Egypt after killing Osiris. But Horus, son of
Osiris and Isis, then overthrew Seth and became pharaoh. Thus, the forces
of vegetation and creation--symbolized by Osiris, Isis, and Horus--triumphed
over the evil forces of the desert, symbolized by Seth. But more important,
Osiris had cheated death. The Egyptians believed that if Osiris could
triumph over death, so could human beings.
Other Egyptian divinities included Hathor, Horus' wife; Anubis; Ptah; and
Thoth. Hathor became the protector of everything feminine. Anubis escorted
the dead to the entrance of the afterworld and helped restore Osiris to
life. The Egyptians also believed that Anubis invented their elaborate
funeral rituals and burial procedures. Ptah invented the arts. Thoth
invented writing and magical rituals. He also helped bring Osiris back to
life.
Many animals appear in Egyptian mythology. The falcon and the scarab, or
dung beetle, were two animals that symbolized the sun god (see SCARAB). The
Egyptians considered both the cat and the crocodile as divine.
Between 1554 and 1070 B.C., various local divinities became well known
throughout ancient Egypt. Some of them became as important as the gods and
goddesses of the Ennead. The greatest of these gods was Amon. His cult
(group of worshipers) originally centered in Thebes. In time, Amon became
identified with Re, and was frequently known as Amon-Re. Amon-Re became
perhaps the most important Egyptian divinity.
The influence of Egyptian mythology. The divinities of ancient Egypt and
the myths about them had great influence on the mythologies of many later
civilizations. Egyptian religious ideas may also have strongly affected the
development of Judaism and Christianity.
During the 1300's B.C., the pharaoh Amenhotep IV chose Aton as the only god
of Egypt. Aton had been a little-known god worshiped in Thebes. Amenhotep
was so devoted to the worship of Aton that he changed his own name to
Akhenaton. The Egyptians stopped worshiping Aton after Akhenaton died.
However, some scholars believe the worship of this one divinity lingered
among the people of Israel, who had settled in Egypt, and became an
important part of the religion that was developed by the Israelite leader
Moses. These scholars have suggested that the Jewish and Christian belief
in one God may come from the cult of Aton. See AKHENATON.
MYTHOLOGY/Greek mythology
The earliest record of Greek mythology comes from clay tablets dating back
to the Mycenaean civilization, which reached its peak between 1400 and 1200
B.C. This civilization consisted of several cities in Greece, including
Mycenae. The clay tablets describe the chief Mycenaean god as Poseidon. He
reappeared in later Greek mythology as a major figure. The god Zeus, who
later became the chief god in Greek mythology, played a lesser part in
Mycenaean myths.
About 1200 B.C., the Mycenaean civilization fell. During the 1100's B.C.,
Dorians from northwestern Greece moved into lands that had been held by the
Mycenaeans. In the next 400 years, known as the Dark Age of ancient Greece,
the Dorian and Mycenaean mythologies combined, helping form classical Greek
mythology. See DORIANS.
The basic sources for classical Greek mythology are three works that date
from about the 700's B.C.: the Theogony by Hesiod and the Iliad and the
Odyssey, attributed to Homer. Hesiod and Homer rank among the greatest
poets of ancient Greece. The Theogony and the Iliad and Odyssey contain
most of the basic characters and themes of Greek mythology.
The creation myth. The Theogony includes the most important Greek myth--the
myth that describes the origin and history of the gods. According to the
Theogony, the universe began in a state of emptiness called Chaos. The
divinity Gaea, or Earth, arose out of Chaos. She immediately gave birth to
Uranus, who became king of the sky. Gaea mated with Uranus, producing
children who were called the Titans.
Uranus feared his children and confined them within the huge body of Gaea.
Gaea resented the imprisonment of her children. With Cronus, the youngest
Titan, she plotted revenge. Using a sickle provided by Gaea, Cronus
attacked Uranus and made him impotent (unable to breed children). Cronus
then freed the Titans from inside Gaea and became king of the gods. During
his reign, the work of creating the world continued. Thousands of
divinities were born, including the gods or goddesses of death, night, the
rainbow, the rivers, and sleep.
Cronus married his sister Rhea, who bore him three daughters and three sons.
But Cronus feared that he, like Uranus, would be deposed by his children.
He therefore swallowed his first five children as soon as they were born.
To save her sixth child, Zeus, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone
wrapped in baby clothes. Rhea then hid the infant on the island of Crete.
After Zeus grew up, he returned to challenge his father. He tricked Cronus
into drinking a substance that made him vomit his children. The children
had grown into adults while inside their father. Zeus then led his brothers
and sisters in a war against Cronus and the other Titans. Zeus and his
followers won the war. They exiled the Titans in chains to Tartarus, a dark
region deep within the earth. The victorious gods and goddesses chose Zeus
as their ruler and agreed to live with him on Mount Olympus. The divinities
who lived on Olympus became known as Olympians.
Greek divinities can be divided into several groups. The earliest group was
the Titans, led by Cronus. The most powerful group was the Olympians.
Several ranks of divinities existed among the Olympians. The top rank
consisted of six gods and six goddesses. The gods were Zeus, ruler of all
divinities; Apollo, god of music, poetry, and purity; Ares, god of war;
Hephaestus, blacksmith for the gods; Hermes, messenger for the gods; and
Poseidon, god of earthquakes and the ocean. The goddesses were Athena,
goddess of wisdom and war; Aphrodite, goddess of love; Artemis, the twin
sister of Apollo and goddess of hunting; Demeter, goddess of fertility;
Hera, sister and wife of Zeus; and Hestia, goddess of the hearth.
Three important gods became associated with the 12 Olympians. They were
Hades, ruler of the underworld and brother of Zeus; Dionysus, god of wine
and wild behavior; and Pan, god of the forest and pastures.
There were several groups of minor divinities in Greek mythology. Beautiful
maidens called nymphs guarded various parts of nature. Nymphs called dryads
lived in the forest, and nymphs called Nereids lived in the sea. Three
goddesses called Fates controlled the destiny of every man. The Muses were
nine goddesses of various arts and sciences. All these divinities became
the subjects of specific myths and folk tales.
Greek mythology also has a number of partly mortal, partly divine beings
called demigods. Heracles (called Hercules by the Romans) probably ranked
as the most important demigod. Heracles symbolized strength and physical
endurance. Another demigod, Orpheus, became known for his beautiful
singing.
Nearly all the Greek gods, goddesses, demigods, and other divinities became
the subjects of cults. Many cults became associated with cities. People of
Delphi, famous for its oracle (prophet), especially worshiped Apollo (see
DELPHI). People of Athens looked to Athena as their protector. Ephesus
became the center of the cult of Artemis. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus
was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (see SEVEN WONDERS OF THE
ANCIENT WORLD).
Greek heroes became almost as important as the divinities in Greek
mythology. Heroes were largely or entirely mortal. They were born, grew
old, and died. But they still associated with the divinities. Many heroes
claimed gods as their ancestors.
Most Greek heroes and heroines can be divided into two main groups. The
first group came before the Trojan War, and the second group fought in the
war.
The most famous heroes before the Trojan War include Jason, Theseus, and
Oedipus. Jason led a band of heroes called the Argonauts on a search for
the fabulous Golden Fleece, the pure gold wool of a sacred ram. Theseus
killed the Minotaur, a monster with the body of a man and the head of a
bull. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, unknowingly killed his father and
married his mother. Oedipus' story has been popular with artists and
writers for more than 2,000 years.
The Trojan War was fought between Greece and the city of Troy. The war
began after Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, fled to Troy with Paris, son
of the Trojan king. The Greeks organized an army to attack Troy and bring
Helen back to Greece. Our knowledge of the war comes chiefly from the Iliad
and Odyssey.
The Greek heroes who participated in the Trojan War included Agamemnon, the
commander in chief; Menelaus, Helen's husband; and Odysseus (Ulysses in
Latin), the clever general who formed a plan that finally led to Troy's
defeat. Achilles was the most famous Greek warrior, and the major Trojan
heroes were Hector and Paris. The gods and goddesses participated in the
war almost as much as the heroes. Nearly all the divinities sided with the
Greeks. The major exception was the goddess of love, Aphrodite.
MYTHOLOGY/Roman mythology
To many people, Roman mythology largely seems a copy of Greek mythology.
The Romans had come into contact with Greek culture during the 700's B.C.,
and afterward some of their divinities began to reflect the qualities of
Greek gods and goddesses. But before that time, the Romans had developed
their own mythology. In fact, many of the basic similarities between Roman
and Greek mythology can be traced to the common Indo-European heritage
shared by Rome and Greece.
Roman divinities. Before the Romans came into contact with Greek culture,
they worshiped three major gods--Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. These gods
are known as the archaic triad, meaning old group of three. Jupiter ruled
as god of the heavens and came to be identified with Zeus. Mars was god of
war. He occupied a much more important place in Roman mythology than did
Ares, the war god in Greek mythology. Quirinus apparently represented the
common people. The Greeks had no similar god.
By the late 500's B.C., the Romans began to replace the archaic triad with
the Capitoline triad--Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. The triad's name came
from the Capitoline Hill in Rome, on which stood the main temple of Jupiter.
In the new triad, Jupiter remained the Romans' chief god. They identified
Juno with the Greek goddess Hera and Minerva with Athena.
Between the 500's and 100's B.C., additional Roman mythological figures
appeared, nearly all based on Greek divinities. These Roman divinities,
with their Greek names in parentheses, included Bacchus (Dionysus), Ceres
(Demeter), Diana (Artemis), Mercury (Hermes), Neptune (Poseidon), Pluto
(Hades), Venus (Aphrodite), and Vulcan (Hephaestus).
In addition to Greek-inspired divinities, the Romans worshiped many native
gods and goddesses. These included Faunus, a nature spirit; Februus, a god
of the underworld; Pomona, goddess of fruits and trees; Terminus, god of
boundaries; and Tiberinus, god of the Tiber River.
Romulus and Remus. In their mythology, the Romans--unlike the Greeks--tried
to explain the founding and history of their nation. Thus, the Romans came
to consider their divinities as historical persons. The best example of
this historical emphasis is the story of Romulus and Remus, the mythical
founders of Rome.
The ancient Romans believed that Romulus and Remus were twins born of a
mortal mother and the war god, Mars. Soon after their birth, they were set
afloat in a basket on the Tiber River. A she-wolf found the babies and cared
for them. Finally, a shepherd discovered the twins and raised them to
adulthood.
Romulus and Remus decided to build a city at the spot on the Tiber where the
wolf had found them. In a quarrel, Romulus or one of Romulus' followers
killed Remus. Romulus then founded Rome, supposedly in 753 B.C. The Romans
believed that Romulus became the city's first king and established most of
the Roman political institutions.
The seven kings. According to Roman mythology, Romulus was the first of
seven kings who ruled Rome from its founding until the early 500's B.C. The
kings after Romulus were Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius,
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.
The seven kings became known for various achievements. For example, Numa
started many of Rome's basic religious institutions. Tullus Hostilius was a
warlike king who conquered the Albans, an Italian tribe that lived southeast
of Rome.
There is little evidence that the seven early kings of Rome ever existed or
that any of the events connected with their reigns ever took place. Some
scholars believe these kings probably originated as divinities, whom the
Romans converted into historical figures. The kings and the gods have many
similarities. For example, Romulus resembles Jupiter because both were
primarily rulers, not military leaders. Tullus Hostilius resembles Mars.
The Aeneid. During the 200's B.C., the Romans tried to relate the origins
of their divinities to Greek myths. About the time of the birth of Christ,
the Roman poet Virgil wrote an epic poem called the Aeneid. Virgil modeled
the Aeneid on the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. Virgil tried to connect
the origins of Rome to the events that followed the fiery destruction of
Troy by the Greeks.
The Aeneid traces the wanderings of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who escaped
unharmed from the burning city. He stopped for a time in the city of
Carthage in northern Africa. There, he rejected the love of Dido, queen of
Carthage. He then sailed for Italy and, in time, landed near the mouth of
the Tiber River. After many adventures, Aeneas founded a town. Aeneas' son,
Ascanius, later moved the town to Alba Longa, where Romulus and Remus were
born. Virgil thus connected the founding of Rome with the Trojan War, a
significant event in Greek mythology. See AENEID.
MYTHOLOGY/Mythology of the Pacific Islands
Many thousands of islands lie scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean. A
rich tradition of myths and mythological figures flourished among the
numerous cultures of the islands until the late 1800's, when many of the
people became Christians. Some non-Christian cultures have retained their
traditional mythologies. In addition, some Christians have kept parts of
their native mythologies. See PACIFIC ISLANDS.
Creation myths. Some cultures of the Pacific Islands believed that heaven
and the earth always existed. These cultures therefore developed no myths
about the creation of the world. Many cultures also assumed that the ocean,
which plays such a vital part in Pacific Islands life, always existed.
Some island cultures believed that gods created the world. Other cultures
thought the world developed slowly from a great emptiness. According to
this myth, the earth and the sky first existed close together and then
separated. Several versions of the myth explain how this separation
occurred. One example comes from the Maori of New Zealand. The Maori have
a myth in which the sky, Rangi, loved the earth, Papa. Rangi and Papa gave
birth to many gods, who became crushed in the embrace of their parents. In
order to survive, the gods separated the earth and the sky, so that life
could exist between them.
Pacific Islands divinities. Many similarities existed among the major
divinities of the Pacific Islands cultures. Many islanders worshiped a god
called Tangaroa. In the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), he and another divinity
ruled the world jointly. In Tahiti, he was a human being who became a
divinity.
The most famous demigod among the islands of Polynesia was Maui. According
to some myths, Maui created the Hawaiian Islands by fishing them up from the
ocean. One of the Hawaiian Islands is named after him. The Polynesians
also credited this demigod with teaching human beings how to make fire and
do other useful things.
The people of the Pacific Islands believed in the existence of little people
similar to the dwarfs and elves of European folklore. The Hawaiians called
these people the menehune. Pacific Islanders believed the menehune were
responsible for events that could not otherwise be explained. For example,
if a worker finished a job faster than expected, the menehune was given the
credit for the worker's unexplainable speed. If a wall was so old that
nobody could remember who built it, the people decided the menehune must
have put it up.
Mana and taboo. The idea of mana was important in Pacific Islands
mythology. The islanders considered mana an impersonal, supernatural force
that flowed through objects, persons, and places. A person who succeeded at
a difficult task had a large amount of mana. However, a warrior's defeat in
battle showed that the warrior had lost mana. The islanders believed
certain animals, persons, and religious objects had so much mana that
contact with them was dangerous for ordinary people. These mana-filled
beings and objects were thus declared taboo (forbidden to touch). The
islanders believed a person who touched a taboo object would suffer injury
or even death. See TABOO.
End of Part One / Mythology /World Book Encyclopedia