Thursday, April 15, 2010
M is for...
Monkeys!
Ok, not really. I just think he's cute. :)
As an author of fantasy, I love reading about myths and mythology. Not a personal fan of Zeus, mind you (philanderer), but I do appreciate the stories.
Then there's the mystical stories--legends, fairies, unicorns, etc. All of it has been looped into the same magic heading these days, but in reality it's not the same thing.
What I find interesting is how the perceived facts about legends are manipulated throughout history to suit an ideal. Vampires come strongly to mind here. The sun kills them. No, not really--it just makes them glimmer. They can't stand crosses. No, actually, the cross does nothing. They stay away from garlic. Actually, they love Italian food. And so on. Werewolves. That's all I'll say about that lol.
Unicorns, for instance, are seen as the symbol of purity. In some circles they are likened to Christ, though generally in those comparisons the unicorn is a solitary creature--and not seen as a participating member of a herd.
I have always loved unicorn myths. Growing up, I had a picture in my room my 3rd grade teacher had found in a magazine. Someone had tied a horn to a white horse and taken pictures to prove the unicorn was real. I don't have the article, but I still have the pictures. They were pretty good, considering it was the 80's. I've got books--stories, legends, etc--because I love drawing comparisons. Everyone seems to have a slightly different variation. No two stories are the same.
Which, of course, is true of life and writing. Even when I do my edits on existing stories, I never do the exact same thing twice. There's always a slight variation.
It's like magic. :)
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5 comments:
I think thre is something wrong with my browser because I see the pictures and a tiny corner of what looks like text.
I updated the pics. Does it work for you now?
Great post! And I prefer Vampires I can kill myself without the aid of big, furry dogs, thanks. XD
Every time we watch a movie (not to be named here, but you get the picture) my husband complains about the vampire change. I tend not to mind too much because it is just another author using their imagination (although I thought even in fantasy you have to stick to the rules, but then again what fun would that be). The reason I write fantasy is because I can make my own rules.
I used to love reading myths when I was a kid. I should look up some of those stories now. It might spur my muse, cause like you said, so many stories are merely variations of myths.
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