The constitution of a individual. comprehensive definition of myth has proved unwieldy to achieve. No one definition can satisfactorily encompass all the assorted sorts of narratives that can lawfully be classed as myths on the footing of one standard or another. The effort to specify myth in itself. serves to foreground the very qualities of the narratives. which make them so different from one another.

Joseph Campbell defined myths as holding four basic maps: the Mystical Function—experiencing the awe of the existence ; the Cosmological Function—explaining the form of the existence ; the Sociological Function—supporting and formalizing a certain societal order ; and the educational Function—how to populate a human life-time under any fortunes While. Mircea Eliade argued that one of the first maps of myth is to set up theoretical accounts for behaviour and that myths may besides supply a spiritual experience.

By stating or reenacting myths. members of traditional societies detach themselves from the present and return to the fabulous age. thereby conveying themselves closer to the Godhead However others define a myth as an organized aggregation of narratives. which we explain our beliefs and our history. Beneath the plot lines myths normally confront major issues such as the beginning of humanity and its traditions. and the manner in which the natural and human universes map on a profound cosmopolitan degree.

For illustration the Trojan ware exemplifies this definition: The narrative of the Trojan War has a metaphysical or mystical map. assisting those who hear it to accept the restrictions of their lives. The Gods in the narrative represent higher forces in the existence. which determine the destiny of worlds. For case. the sum of the judgement of Paris shows that human existences are frequently powerless as they are swept off by forces like war that affect their fates and alterations or end’s their lives.