Demythologizing Myth: How Violence Gives Rise to Sacred Narratives

Project summary

Myth tends to flourish in life situations marked by war, illness, loss, aging, and epidemics—transforming danger and suffering into bearable, meaningful experiences. Human beings struggle to endure violence and often seek to rationalize it, even though violence may become self-perpetuating. In this sense, violence—and the threat thereof—serves as the primary catalyst for mythmaking. The more violent a culture becomes, the more urgently it requires mythological frameworks to process and contain that violence. Contemporary psychiatry appears to confirm this dynamic: traumatic experiences often become mythologized in the psyche. In moments of existential threat, individuals are transformed into gods or demons; nature, perceived through the lens of fear, becomes enchanted or hostile. From life’s dangers emerge foundational concepts such as ethics, providence, and immortality. Through narrative and ritual, people attempt to impose meaning on suffering and restore order to chaos. In this way, myth and the sacred function as mechanisms of psychological and cultural protection.