Myth By Karen Armstrong: A Brief Summary

Myths have been around for centuries. They help humans cope with the unimaginable things that happen in their lives. They help fill in the blanks to history that other sources or people cannot. A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong provides us with a brief overview of how mythology grew and changed over time. As the human race grew as a society and as a people, the ideas and concepts of myth grew and changed as well. Mythology evolved as we did, adapting to fit our needs and to the ever changing technological advances in modern society. The title of the first chapter is, “What is Myth?” which starts off by talking about the ideas of humans always being interested in myth and being ‘mythmakers’. The first people who began the idea of mythology were the Neanderthals. While in today’s society many religions believe in the idea of an afterlife or reincarnation (Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism), the Neanderthals had no basis for this belief during this time period. However, Armstrong writes, “But the Neanderthal graves show that when these early people became conscious of their morality, they created some sort of counter narrative that

800 to 200. There was a great deal of new religions that came about during this period. This period is the start of the first religions blossoming into the ones we know today. (Armstrong, 79) The new religions helped people find the inner most them to discover who they really are. “New religious and philosophical systems emerged: Confucianism and Taoism in China; Buddhism and Hinduism in India; monotheism in the Middle East and Greek rationalism in Europe.” (Armstrong, 79) These religions helped lead the creation of great men who played essential roles in many religions today. “… Buddha (c. 563-483) in India; Confucius (551-479)…” (Armstrong, 79-80) These leaders and so many more are the product of this age most of who went on to inspire millions with their sheer