Since prehistory, human beings have tried to give a find meaning in everything that happens in the world Based on what we know and experience, we are able to try to develop explanations of why things are the way they are, where we come from and where we are going.
Different peoples and cultures have been establishing different stories for this purpose, in many cases inserting religious and supernatural elements. Many of them have ended up forming myths and legends. Nowadays these two concepts are often confused, so in this article you can find 5 differences between myth and legend
Myth and legend: what are they and how are they similar?
When interpreting the way in which human beings have been constructing cultural elements and ways of explaining reality from a non-scientific perspective, it is common to come up with concepts that are very similar to each other.
Ultimately, all ways of explaining something through narratives have many things in common, and their structure is usually the same: beginning, middle and end. However, if we put a magnifying glass on the way in which different societies and civilizations have tried to describe what has been happening in the world over the centuries, it is possible to find distinctions. This also applies to knowing the differences between myth and legend, two very common types of narration, which were the default explanation for everything that human beings saw and that at that time escaped rationality.
When we talk about myths and legends, we are talking about forms of narrative expression that are part of the collective imagination of a people with the intention of trying to explain an aspect of reality for which at the time of the story’s birth there was still no explanation, or whose origin has been attempted to be magnified. These are stories that have been transmitted orally through generations, many of them reaching the present day. But what do we understand by myth and what by legend?
A myth is considered to be that narrative that is located outside real space-time and that usually has divine or supernatural entities as protagonists, or great heroes who perform incredible deeds and whose figure has not existed in the real world. In general They aim to explain abstract concepts whose origin is uncertain, like the world, life, love or hate. Its main function is to try to make sense of things, using analogies between what we do not understand and elements present in our lives.
A legend, although it is also a story in the form of a narrative that is transmitted through generations and that usually has supernatural and fictional elements, generally tries to give an explanation of a specific historical fact. They are usually based on real historical events, although they incorporate fantastic elements that alter, modify or give a different meaning to the story. Its function is to highlight the characteristics of a real character or people, not so much trying to give meaning to reality but rather to promote specific social values and ideologies.
Five fundamental differences between myth and legend
Observing how we have defined each of them already It is possible to establish a differentiation between myth and legend Even so, in order to facilitate the understanding of their differences, we can find that 5 of the main differences between one and the other are the following.
1. What they are based on
One of the most identifiable differences from the given definitions is what each type of story is based on. The legend is based on a real historical event subject to direct observation which subsequently becomes enriched and deformed over time.
The myth, however, is a fictitious elaboration created directly from fantasy based on analogies between reality and symbolic elements.
2. What do they intend to explain?
As we have seen, legends and myths have traditionally had a different objective despite being similar in the way they are presented. Legends usually aim to show, promote or enrich a real value, historical event or character, having a rather educational purpose. As far as the myth goes, It is an attempt to explain reality in a mystical way trying to understand the why and origin of things.
3. Temporal/spatial situation
One of the most visible differences between myth and legend is the temporal or spatial context in which they appear. Generally, we can observe that the legend is limited to a concrete and real historical moment, in a territory perceptible as existing or even imaginary contextualized in a specific part of the world.
In the case of myth, the time period or location in which the events occur is located outside the real world, being unrecognizable In some cases we talk about the beginning of time or its end, or they are located on a plane of existence different from ours.
The type of characters that appear in the story also changes between myth and legend. While in the legend, although fictitious or supernatural beings usually also appear the characters are human beings who have existed or they are part of real people, in myths the protagonists are directly supernatural beings, gods or heroes who, as a general rule, have not had representation in the real world.
5. Supposed origin
Although this aspect is linked to the temporal-spatial situation, it is interesting as a difference between myth and legend. We are talking about the origin to which the story told within the story itself is attributed.
Legends are generally attributed to the testimony of people who say they have lived or seen the event being talked about, being the product of direct observation of the events. However, the myths They refer to metaphysical aspects that man has not been able to observe for himself. In this way, as a general rule its creation is attributed to the transmission of information by gods or spirits, who have decided to communicate certain knowledge to man.
