Zack Olander - Why Myth Endures

 The main message that I have taken away from this class is the truth within mythology and the things we can learn about them. Due to my interest in the subject, especially about Norse mythology, it made me start to think about what specifically the myths that mean a lot to me actually mean. After thinking about them for a while, a couple specific examples being the Voluspa in the Poetic Edda or Volsunga saga, I realized that one can take the meaning of a myth in many different directions. Voluspa can be either an old creation myth or a summary of an ancient society's named divine beings or the message that life will come back after it dies out. Volsunga saga can be an example of the ideal family and ideal heroic representative of that family according to ancient Norse society or a condemnation of greedy hoarding of wealth. With all these apparent possible interpretations of these stories, they have led me to conclude that myth can be interpreted in many completely different yet valid ways, and this is the very reason for myth's longevity and timelessness. This is the perspective of myth I now hold, and this indicates to me that the truth that myth can reveal can be understood in many different, probably infinite, ways.

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