Mythology Vocabulary

mythology The body of myths from a particular

culture

myth A traditional or legendary story,

usually concerning a hero or event with or without a determinable basis of fact, and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature

legend A nonhistorical or unverifiable story

handed down by tradition and popularly accepted as historical

“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” - from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

archetype A model image, personage, or theme

that recurs in stories and myths throughout history and literature

epic hero A brave and noble character in an

epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by great events

hero’s tasks A convention in myths and epic tales

in which the hero embarks on a journey and must complete a series of tests or challenges along the way

epic poem A long narrative poem, usually

chronicling the deeds of a folk hero and written using both dramatic and narrative literary techniques

allegory A story that has both a literal and

symbolic meaning

In this type of story characters or objects often embody abstract ideas

fable A short tale to teach a moral lesson,

often with animals or inanimate objects as characters

oral tradition A community’s cultural and historical

traditions passed down by word of mouth or example from one generation to another without written instruction

in media res From the Latin meaning, “in the midst

of things” ; a story telling device where the work begins in the midst of the action

deus ex machina From the Latin meaning, “god from

the machine” ; in a Greek or Roman drama this is a god introduced into a play or story to resolve the entanglements of the plot

Also, any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot

omen Anything perceived or happening that

is believe to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future

Muse Any of a number of sister goddesses

who were daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne and presided over various arts by providing inspiration for creation