In common parlance the stories of the Greek and Roman deitiesand heroes are indiscriminately referred to as myths and

legends. If we wish to be more careful, however, we can differentiate between the two types of story, and between them and folktales and fairy tales, although a story may shift between these different categories, or may contain elements from each of them. Briefly, we can say that a myth gives a religious explanation for something: how the world or a particular custom began. There is usually no attempt to fix the myth into a coherent chronology related to the present day, though myths or a cycle of myths may have their own internal chronology. The story is timeless in that the events are symbolic rather than just the way it happened. In calling a story a myth we are expressing no opinion about whether it is true or not. In the days, when, at least publicly, Christianity was assumed to be true and other religions false by those writing about religion (say, the 19th and early 20th centuries), the specialists' use of the word myth was closer to the popular use to mean an untrue religious story, and it was only used for other people's religion. As anthropologists and students of religion came to take a more impartial view of the world, it was recognised that certain Christian stories shared many of the features of myth, and could be called myths if the idea that a myth was necessarily false was shed. A legend, on the other hand, is a story which is told as if it were a historical event, rather than as an explanation for something or a symbolic narrative. The legend may or may not be an elaborated version of a historical event. Thus, examples of legends are the stories about Robin Hood, which are set in a definite period, the reign of Richard I of England (1189-99), or about King Arthur, which were perhaps originally based on the exploits of a Romano-Celtic prince who attempted to resist the expansion of the Anglo-Saxons in what was to become England. The stories about Robin Hood and King Arthur have been elaborated and expanded on down the years. While myths and legends may be transmitted orally or in writing, folk tales tend to be transmitted orally, and although they are transmitted from generation to generation and so their origin or author is unknown, they are more definitely felt to be stories, i.e., fiction. Many European folktales were written down in the 19th century, and some at least were transformed into fairy tales, which tend to be more consciously literary productions with a definite author, such as Hans Christian Andersen. Typically, folk and fairy tales involve magic and magical creatures and people such as witches, dragons and dwarves rather than religion. Examples are Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk.

The Legend of the Sky

When the earth was new, the sky was so low that people could hang things on it. They hung their combs, necklaces, cooking pots, dippers, and other tools on it. One day, a woman was cooking supper for her husband. He would soon return home from the fields. She cooked while her child lay in a hammock, which was hanging from the sky. While

she was pounding some rice, the child began to cry. She tried to hurry her pounding, but the low-lying sky got in the way of her pestle and slowed down her work. In her irritation, she cried out, "I wish the sky were not so low so I could finish my pounding." They words were hardly out of her mouth when, with a great rushing sound, the sky began to rise. All the things hanging from the sky went up, too. Along with the pot and the fire went the baby in the hammock. From then on, the sky has remained very high. The pot and the fire became the sun, the comb became the moon, and " the man in the moon" is actually the woman's baby lying in its hammock. The necklace became the stars, and the dippers became what we know as the Big Dipper and the Small Dipper.

Myth vs Legend Every single world culture from Europe, to India, and from Australia to Africa have a body of traditional literature. Usually this literature was passed through the generations orally until the society developed language or an outsider came who wrote the stories down. There is still some debate as to the primary purposes of these stories, but since they are still captivating to modern man, considerable study has been done on traditional cultural stories, often known as myths and legends. Much care has also been taken to documents the differences between the two types of stories. Definition Myth is a traditional and often sacred narrative that explains important events in the birth and growth of a culture by relating supernatural acts that took place before our current time Legend is also a traditional story, but is very rarely considered sacred. It details the actions of men and women who were larger than life but still grounded in an actual historic timeline. Perceived Uses Myth was commonly thought to be told in conjunction with a religious festival. The myth would describe the actions of the gods or supernatural forces and it was believed that the retelling would allow those forces to come into play in the present day. Myths could also be used as morality tales

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society.

Legend lost much of its spiritual element. However, since it involved real, historical people, it was often used to foster group cohesiveness and loyalty, especially in times of war or oppression. Legends too were teaching tools for the younger generation. Common Characters and Events Myth feature gods, goddess, and human endowed with supernatural powers. They may interact with humans, but generally fight against each other or try to trick each other in an effort to establish primacy. Legend feature real human beings, often blessed with superior intelligence or strength, but not god like. They will struggle against their fate, external oppressive forces, or worthy adversaries. Examples Myth one famous Greek myth explains the origin of fire. Prometheus (meaning fore-thought) brings the fire of the gods down to men. For this gift he is punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock and having his liver pecked out by vultures. This myth explains from where fire came and the crucial importance of it. Legend the tale of Lady Godiva agreeing to ride naked through the streets of Coventry to free the peasants from an oppressive tax imposed by her husband is still a popular one in England today. Lady Godiva is an actual historic personage who can be found in the Domesday Book but the tale, meant to inspire patriotic sacrifice, could very well be apocryphal. Summary: 1.A myth is a cultural story told about the gods that may be religious in nature, but also instructs about the origins and norms a particular culture; legend also aspires to instruct, but by using real people, not gods. 2.Myths happen in faraway places a long time ago, while legends happen in the definable past.

Read more: Difference Between Myth and Legend | Difference Between | Myth vs Legend http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-myth-andlegend/#ixzz1RK90wzvQ

The Legends of Mt. Mayon

Like all Philippine legends, theres more than one story that attempt to capture the essence of the majesty that is Mount Mayon. Mayon is derived from Magayon, which means beautiful in Bicolano. Theres the story of two lovers not unlike Romeo and Juliet, as told by Laura Agpay, a native of Bicol: Once there was a princess named Daragang Magayon (Daraga means lady, Magayon is beautiful) who lived in Bicol. Shes so beautiful. She came from the family that reigns over the entire Bicol. Because of her beauty and influence, warriors, princes and datus from different parts of the country desired to have her as their wife. But Magayon fell in love with a warrior named Handiong, a prince who came from a tribe that was, unfortunately, the rival of Magayons tribe. The two suffered so much from their respective familys attempts to separate them that they finally decided to flee. Unfortunately their families found out and fought a bloody tribal war. This caused the young couple so much pain they decided together to commit suicide. The tribes buried the lovers separately. Months passed when Magayons tribe saw a volcano growing in the place where Magayon was buried. They named it for Daragang Magayon. Bulkang Magayon describing its perfect shape like their beautiful Daraga. And then theres the story of an uncle Magayon*, whose anger depicts how violent the mountain can become. It seems that there once lived a very beautiful native princess who had an uncle named Magayon. He was so possessive of his niece that no man dared to challenge his wrath by courting the favors of the young maiden. One day, however, a brave and virile warrior was so smitten by the princess that he threw all cares to the wind, clambered up through the window of the royal chamber and enticed the girl to elope with him. With Magayon at their heels, the couple prayed to the gods for assistance. Suddenly from out of nowhere, a landslide buried the raging uncle alive. Local folks now claim that it is Magayons anger bursting forth in the form of eruptions. (* now I dont know about you, but having a male name that means beautiful would definitely evoke such anger in me. *joke, joke, joke*) I heard still another story that tells of Daragang Magayons lover being killed by her family that she fled from them in anger. The next day, a beautiful but angry mountain grew where Magayon was last seen

What are myths?

explained by Oban

Myths are made up stories that try to explain how our world works and how we should treat each other. The stories are usually set in times long ago, before history as we know it was written.

People have always asked questions like How did our world come to be? or Why do tornadoes happen? Some myths answered these questions. In other myths, gods or super-beings used their powers to make events happen. Or the stories were the adventures of gods, goddesses, men and women. These myths described the big things that happened to people and the choices they made. They might be about triumph (achieving something), tragedy (losing something), honour (doing the right thing), being brave even when you are frightened, or being foolish and making mistakes. People might be heroes in these stories and gods and goddesses could use their powers to help them or make things more difficult for them. Around the world, myths were shared by groups of people and became part of their culture. Storytellers have passed the stories on from generation to generation and through families. Some myths are told in many cultures, but with variations in the events or characters. For example, most cultures, tribes or groups of people have their version of how our world came to be. For early people, myths were like science because they explained how natural events work. Today we dont always know if myths are true or not. Some of the stories or characters may seem impossible, and science gives us different explanations for some of our questions. But people all over the world still like to read myths and we all like to think about what they might mean. Myth comes from the Greek word mythos which means word of mouth. What are legends? >>>

What are legends?

explained by Oban

Legends are also stories that have been made up, but they are different from myths. Myths answer questions abouthow the natural world works, and are set in a time long-ago, before history was written. Legends are about people and their actions or deeds.The people lived in more recent times and are mentioned in history. The stories are told for a purpose and are based on facts, but they are not completely true. Either the person never really did what the story says, or the historical events were changed. The purpose was to make the story more interesting or convincing, or to teach a lesson, like knowing right from wrong. Examples of people in English legends are King Arthur, Robin Hood and Queen Boadicea. A man who may have been King Arthur is known to have lived in the 5th or 6th century. But the stories about the Knights of the Round Table and Merlin the Magician may not be true. The point of the story was that the knights and their king defended their people and helped them. The character and deeds of Robin Hood may have been based on someone else. Robin of Loxley lived in Nottinghamshire around the time of the story, and he did help the poor. But did he live in Nottingham forest with a band of robbers? Probably not, but helping other people is important and the legend hasnt been forgotten.

Boadicea was first female queen in Britain. History tells us she lived in the 1st century and led her people in their fight against the Romans when they invaded. The Romans won and conquered Britain. Boadicea was captured and died in prison, but legends say that she escaped and fought on. This story was intended to encourage people in countries invaded by the Romans, to resist and fight. Like myths, legends are passed down from generation to generation.

How we use the word 'legend' today

Today people use the word legend in a different way when they talk about people and their deeds. They may describe a basketball player, football player or runner as a sporting legend, or an actor as a film legend. What they mean is the person is famous because of their skills or things they have done. This is similar to the earlier use of the word, and the legend stories.

What are folk or fairy tales?

explained by Oban

Folk and fairy tales are stories written specially for children, often about magical characters such as elves, fairies, goblins and giants. Sometimes the characters are animals. Hans Christian Andersen is famous for writing fairy tales. He was born in Denmark in 1805. Examples of his stories are The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina and The Red Shoes. In Copenhagen there is a statue of the little mermaid, sitting on a rock on the beach at the harbour, in memory of the writer. Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm were brothers, born in Germany in 1785 and 1786. They are famous because they collected together many old fairy tales from different parts of Germany and wrote them down for people to read. We know them as the Brothers Grimm and their collection includes Cinderella and The Frog Prince.

What are fables?

explained by Oban

A fable is another type of story, also passed down from generation to generation and told to teach a lesson about something. Fables are about animals that can talk and act like people, or plants or forces of nature like thunder or wind. The plants may be able to move and also talk and the natural forces cause things to happen in the story because of their strength. The most famous fables were written by a man called Aesop. We know them as Aesops Fables, and he wrote more than 600 of them.

Ive retold some of my favourite Aesops Fables for you. You can read about the Fox who thought he was cleverer than the Cat, or how the Tortoise won a race against the Hare.