Mytheme
Mythemes are themes from which myths are thought to be constructed, from a structuralist perspective on mythology.[1] These structures then lead to theories on myths from different cultures sharing a source. Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp formed a structuralist approach towards Indo-European myths, in which he treated the individual tale as one unit of analysis.[2] However, others criticize the superficial nature to this approach and rather suggest a more intersectional perspective.[3]
Examples
- The mytheme of the flood likely developed out of one or more historical events, which can be seen, for instance, in the ancient Mesopotamian epics Atra-ḫasīs and the Epic of Gilgameš,[4] the Ancient Egyptian myth of the Destruction of Mankind,[5] and the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
- The myths of the Greek Adonis and the Egyptian Osiris share several elements.
- Lev Manovich uses the term in his book The Language of New Media to describe aspects of culture with which computer images enter into dialogue.[6]
References
- ↑ "mytheme - definition of mytheme in English | Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ↑ "File:Propp Vladimir Morphology of the Folktale 2nd ed.pdf - Monoskop" (PDF). monoskop.org. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ↑ Dogra, Sapna (2017-08-18). "The Thirty-One Functions in Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale: An Outline and Recent Trends in the Applicability of the Proppian Taxonomic Model". Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities. 9 (2). doi:10.21659/rupkatha.v9n2.41. ISSN 0975-2935.
- ↑ Tigay, Jeffrey H. (2002). The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 978-0-86516-546-5.
- ↑ "Destruction of Mankind Stella | PDF | Ancient Egyptian Religion | Middle Eastern Mythology". Scribd. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ↑ "Google Books". books.google.com.mt.
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