Mytheme

Mythemes are themes from which myths are thought to be constructed, from a structuralist perspective on mythology. These structures then lead to theories on myths from different cultures sharing a source. Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp formed a structuralist approach towards Indo-European myths, in which he treated the individual tale as one unit of analysis. However, others criticize the superficial nature to this approach and rather suggest a more intersectional perspective.

Examples

• The mytheme of the flood likely developed out of one or more historical events, which can be seen, for instance, in the ancient Mesopotamian epics Atra-ḫasīs and the Epic of Gilgameš, the Ancient Egyptian myth of the Destruction of Mankind, and the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
• The myths of the Greek Adonis and the Egyptian Osiris share several elements.
• Lev Manovich uses the term in his book The Language of New Media to describe aspects of culture with which computer images enter into dialogue.

References

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