WHAT Do WE LEARN ABOUT ANCIENT CULTURES By STUDYING THEIR MYTHS?

Culture is sometimes used to explain the way of life that people have in society as a result of their values. Culture is the determinant of society and social status within a certain group of people. In Egyptian culture, various cultures carry out their practices in accordance with the instructions given to them by their elders. It provides a motivation to continue with as the forefathers did by handing on the traditions to future generations. Ancient culture and tradition were often practiced based on sex and age group with a primary target of shaping them into adulthood. The male population was led by their fathers, uncles, or grandfathers while the female population reported to their aunties, mothers, or grandmothers. Nevertheless, these duties included acts of hunting, food gathering, house constructions, and raising families. Additionally, the instance of not following the provided directions leads to punishments from the elders in the community. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the ideology that an individual attains from an ancient culture.

Terminologies

Anthropology

It refers to the study of human societies, cultures, and their development. According to Banton (2013, p.85), it is the study of human beings with reference to their ancestors relating to their culture, social relations, environment, and culture. Anthropology is also derived from natural languages describing the model of communication.

Nevertheless, the culture of a group often consists of shared, socially, learned knowledge and the patterns of behavior (Bailey and Peoples 2010, p.19).

Culture

Culture is often utilised to investigate the way of living that people lead within society as the reaction to their ideas. To a particular cluster of people, it is the determinant of civilization and status quo. It also includes the features sometimes considered as inconsequential or worthless of the thoughtful study.

Myth

A myth can be considered as the traditional story related to the ancient history of a particular group explaining some of the natural phenomena involving supernatural events. In compelling ways, people are always shrouded and entrapped with the prototypes that they comply with (Wessels 2013, p.2).

The aspect of culture has often evolved with new generations creating new ways of living. Significant changes have been witnessed in the society as people raise different demands based on their social ways of life. The current generation has distinct demands hence reducing the strength of ancient ways of living. Nevertheless, income is a significant determinant in the current culture that people live in the society (Bailey and Peoples 2010, p.30).

The people with less income are further classified under a given group with the belief that they cannot meet particular demands in their life. It can also be classified as the issue of discrimination in the society with reference to the culture that is being practiced in a given region. Therefore, people are forced to abide by the various beliefs with the need to get accustomed to that particular way of life. It is a common practice in Europe with different cities known for distinct activities that are being practiced in comparison to other places. On the other hand, Egyptian culture is linked to the ancient activities that were being carried out by their forefathers. The instance that may involve the act of deviation to other activities is considered as a taboo in the Egyptian society. It is further evident with the concept of ‘The eye of the sun.’ They are then forced to abide by the rules offered by their elders or seek for being neglected and forced out of the community. A relatively lower percentage of the public in Egypt has adjusted to the new ways of life as the majority of the population is focused on increasing the strength of the ancient culture rather than concentrating on the aspect of civilization as currently termed.

Lessons Learned about Ancient Culture and Study of its Myths

Evolution of Life

Various anthropologists present distinct information regarding the trend in human life and their model of social life. An individual can easily differentiate the type of the activities that were often practiced in that era compared to the activities that are currently practiced. In the ancient era, the man often practices wrestling as an entertainment sport, but presently considered a source of income for the current generation. According to the current media platforms, wrestling is considered as a fraudulent act with the majority of the scenes fabricated to persuade the viewers hence attracting a huge crowd.

The documentation by Jak (2017, p.1) further states that the current model of wrestling does not entail acts of people belting each other with chairs, but only involves compelling stories, heroic acts, and enough cultural complexities. It is further documented that the Romans in the republic despised athletics, but like the vigorous people who were found in strenuous exercise. According to Gardiner (2012, p.117), this group of people often rode, swam, or wrestled, but never applied any science during the sport.

Leadership Models

The aspect of war highly determined the leadership of a particular area. Kingship in Egypt defies the country’s religion as the population often believed that their kings were living gods. It was further believed that these kings were offspring of the creator by a human woman (Mother of God). Thus, much respect was offered to the leaders with limited instances of disrespect. According to Quirke (2015, p.43), the aspects of kingship can also be interpreted as the story of the reception with a gradual adoption across various societies. It was the common process that led to the creation of the elite in the 3rd millennium BCE. Nevertheless, the concept of Pharaonic Egypt is interpreted as an anomaly. In the current regime, Egypt has an organized model of leadership (hierarchical structure) demonstrating an aspect of competence to the public (Hill, Jones and Morales 2013, p.257).

Creation Myths

Different communities have their interpretations regarding the aspect of creation and the context of control. In some areas, the creation is linked to the holy books as some relate to the context of rituals. The concept further spreads to all cultures in the world with the information spreading quickly among the oral traditions. The Greeks relate to the ‘Pelasgian creation myth’ through the context of ‘The goddess of all things.’ According to Leeming (2010, p.116), the creation of the story is linked to the Olympian religion as the Pelasgians were known as the goddess worshippers. On the other hand, the Egyptians had different interpretations of creation linked to the type of religion that an individual belonged. The traditional leaders in the community provided the ideal context of the creation to the public with the aim at strengthening culture.

‘The Conflict of Horus and Seth’

It is the famous story demonstrating the Egyptian culture in that era with the relation to the issue of kingship in the country. According to Sherman (2015, p.98), the significance of the story emerge from the influence of Osiris and his death as the last King. On the other hand, Horus is seen as the living king on earth as Isis is known as the king’s mother. These interpretations created various disagreements among the public. Seth often claimed to be the strongest of the gods creating the series of hate among the people. The story further states that the struggle for power began many years ago with a particular section demonstrating the aspect of strength to the others. The greed for power leads to the establishment of hate among the public as they may create movements which will facilitate the removal.

The Trojan War

Different empires in the ancient times often wanted to conquer the neighboring towns to attain wealth and workforce to execute their duties. According to interpretations by Hamilton (2011, p.70), the Trojan War was geared by the acts of abducting Queen Helen of Sparta as Menelaus assembled men to go and get her. The story can be linked to the aspects of respect and the chain of command that the leaders had during the ancient times. The entire community would team-up to go and rescue one of their loved members. It would also show the sign of bravery when sent to battle by their king. In relation to the current model of life, men will often fight for the rights of their wives and may also head into war to retain their wives. It is a similar act of the Trojan War as the king was searching for his wife in the streets of Paris. The Trojan War has also described the appearance of the great heroes that existed in Greece as they were defending the statements of their leaders.

Conclusion

To sum up, ancient history is often used to demonstrate the changes in life in the current community. It is also believed that certain activities were communally done with central guidance from their elders. Similarly, the paper discusses the ideology that an individual attains from an ancient culture. Additionally, ancient activities have led to the attainment of civilization as the current population has an ideal way of executing their activities. For example, people hardly settle the differences by the use of wars and the attainment of wealth is not earned through battles and annexation. Nations are signing the treaties that permit them to carry out the transaction that will help generate income.

Regarding the issues of civilization in modern Egypt, a relatively lower percentage of the public here have adjusted to the new ways of life as the majority of the population is focused on increasing the strengths of the ancient culture rather than concentrating on the aspect of civilization as currently termed. Therefore, people are forced to abide by the various beliefs within the society with the need for getting accustomed to that particular way of life. It is a common practice in Europe with different cities known for distinct activities that are being practiced in comparison to other places. The interpretation of various ancient traditions leads to the desire for civilization and rights to implement the strategies with no aspects of the forced rule.

References

Bailey, G.A. and Peoples, J.G., 2010. Essentials of cultural anthropology (2nd ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth/ Cengage.

Banton, M., 2013. Anthropological approaches to the study of religion (1st ed.). New York: Routledge.

Gardiner, N., 2012. Athletics in the ancient world (1st ed.). New York: Dover Publications.

Hamilton, E., 2011. Mythology: Timeless tales of gods and heroes (1st ed.). New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publisher.

Hill, J.A., Jones, P. and Morales, A.J., 2013. Experiencing the power, generating authority: Cosmos, politics, and the ideology of kingship in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (1st ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Jak, K., 2017. It’s all fake, right? A professional wrestler explains everything. ABC News, pp. 1-5. [Online] (updated 2017) Available at: [Accessed Oct. 4, 2017]

Leeming, D.A., 2010. Creation myths of the world: An encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Quirke, S., 2015. Exploring religion in ancient Egypt (1st ed.). The Atrium: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sherman, J., 2015. Storytelling: An encyclopedia of mythology and folklore. New York: Routledge.

Wessels, T., 2013. The myth of progress: Toward a sustainable future (revised ed.). Hanover: University Press of New England.