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A national myth is an inspiring or about a 's past. Such often serve as important and affirm a set of national values. A myth is entirely but it is often mixture with aspects of historic to form a , which itself has been described as "a pattern of beliefs expressing often symbolically the characteristic or prevalent attitudes in a group or culture". Myths, or mythoi, thereby operate in a specific social and historical setting that help structure national imagination and identity. A national myth may take the form of a , or it may be incorporated into a . Mythos derives from μῦθος, .

A national myth is a narrative which has been elevated to a serious symbolic and esteemed level so as to be true to the nation. The national folklore of many nations includes a , which may involve a struggle against or a war of independence or unification. In many cases, the meaning of the national myth is disputed among different parts of the population. In some places, the national myth may be and refer to stories of the nation's founding by a , several , leaders favored by gods, or other supernatural beings.National myths often exist only for the purpose of state-sponsored . In , the leader might be given, for example, a mythical supernatural life history in order to make them seem god-like and supra-powerful (see also cult of personality). In regimes they can inspire civic virtue and self-sacrifice

(1995). 9780198280477, Oxford University Press.
or consolidate the power of dominant groups and legitimate their rule.


National identity
The concept of national identity is inescapably connected with myths. A complex of myths is at the core of nationalistic ethnic identity. Some scholars believe that national identities, supported by invented histories, were constructed only after national movements and emerged.
(2025). 9780631212881, Blackwell. .

All modern national identities were preceded by nationalist movements. Although the term "" was used in the , it had usually an ethnic meaning and seldom referred to a state. In the age of nationalism, it was linked to efforts aimed at creating .

(2025). 9780631212881, Blackwell. .

National myths foster national identities. They are important tools of , which can be done by emphasizing differences between people of different nations.

(2025). 9780739107386, Lexington Books.
They can cause conflict
(1997). 9780585358079, MIT Press.
as they exaggerate threats posed by other nations and minimize the costs of war.

The nationalist myth of a stable is explained psychoanalytically as the result of the of relations within the external world and the incoherence of one's inner psychological world. Nationalist identity facilitates imagined stability.


Dissemination
National myths are created and propagated by national , and they can be used as instruments of political mobilization on demographic bases such as .

They might over-dramatize true incidents, omit important historical details, or add details for which there is no evidence; or a national myth might simply be a fictional story that no one takes to be true literally.


Mythopoeic methods
Traditional often depended on story-tellers — especially . Ancient adopted 's Ionian as a justification of its theoretical unity, and (70–19 BCE) composed the in support of the political renewal and reunification of the Roman world after lengthy civil wars. Generations of medieval writers (in poetry and prose) contributed to the Matter of Britain, developing what became a focus for English nationalism by adopting British Celtic material. Camões (–1580) composed in Macao the Lusiads as a national poetic epic for Portugal. attempted a similar work for French mythologised history in the (1723). came to foster German national enthusiasm.


Other methods
Modern purveyors of national mythologies have tended to appeal to the people more directly through the media. French spread the ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in the 1790s, and American journalists, politicians, and scholars popularized mythic tropes like "", "the Frontier", or the "Arsenal of Democracy". Socialists advocating ideas like the dictatorship of the proletariat have promoted catchy nation-promoting slogans such as "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "Kim Il Sung thought".
(2025). 9781861892362, Reaktion Books. .


National myths
The ideology of nationalism is related to two myths: the myth of the eternal nation, referring to the permanence of a community, and the myth of common ancestry. These are represented in the particular national myths of various countries and groups.


Armenia
Armenian national myth postulates the foundation of Armenia as a result of a battle between the Armenian founding father and Belus, a wicked giant, which allegedly ruled over Babylon. According to the legend in the History of Armenia by Movses Khorenatsi, Belus tried to impose his tyrranical rule on Armenian people, but as soon as Hayk's son Armaniak was born, Hayk led his people to Ararat, built a village at its slope and named it "Haykashen". Bel led a massive force to submit Armenian nation, but lost a battle near lake Van, which resulted in an establishment of Armenian nation.


Brazil
The national myth of as a was first advanced by Brazilian sociologist in his 1933 work Casa-Grande & Senzala, which argues that Brazilians do not view each other through the lens of race, and that Brazilian society eliminated racism and racial discrimination. Freyre's theory became a source of national pride for Brazil, which contrasted itself favorably vis-a-vis the contemporaneous racial divisions and violence in the .
(1998). 9780691002705, Princeton Univ. Press. .


Finland
The is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and oral and mythology,. The Kalevala is regarded as the of and It narrates an epic story about the , describing the controversies and retaliatory voyages between the peoples of the land of Kalevala called Väinölä and the land of and their various protagonists and antagonists as well as the construction and robbery of the epic mythical wealth-making machine . The Kalevala was instrumental in the development of the Finnish national identity and the intensification of Finland's language strife that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917.William A. Wilson (1975) "The Kalevala and Finnish Politics" Journal of the Folklore Institute 12(2/3): pp. 131–55


Great Britain
was a legendary noble king that united Britain, laid the foundation to medieval notions of in western Europe, and was later important for building a common .


Greece
According to , the descend from Hellen. He is the child of (or ) and , and the father of three sons, , , and Aeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of the Greek peoples.


Iceland
The sagas of Icelanders, also known as family sagas, are one sub-genre or text groups of Icelandic . They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in in the ninth, tenth, and early eleventh centuries, during the so-called . They were written in , a western dialect of . They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Icelandic settlers. The Icelandic sagas are valuable and unique historical sources about medieval Scandinavian societies and kingdoms, in particular regarding pre-Christian religion and culture and heroic age.


Italy
The Kingdom of Fanes is the of the in the and the most important part of the literature. Originally an orally transmitted , today it is known through the work of Karl Felix Wolff in 1932, gathered in Dolomitensagen. This legend is part of the larger corpus of the South Tyrolean sagas, whose protagonists are the Fanes themselves. Giuliano e Marco Palmieri, I regni perduti dei monti pallidi, Cierre Edizioni, 1996, Verona.


Iran
The is a long written by the Persian poet between and 1010 CE and is the of . Consisting of some 50,000 or couplets (two-line verses), the Shahnameh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the from the creation of the world until the Muslim conquest in the seventh century.


Israel
The is land that Abrahamic religions (which include , , , and others) claim their promised and subsequently gave to (the patriarch in Abrahamic religions) and several more times to his descendants.The concept of the Promised Land originates from a religious written in the , the .


Japan
In Japanese mythology, is the first emperor of Japan. He is described in the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC. He is said to be a descendant of the sun goddess , through her grandson , as well as a descendant of the storm god Susanoo. He launched a military expedition from Hyūga near the Seto Inland Sea, captured , and established this as his center of power. In modern Japan, Emperor Jimmu's legendary accession is marked as National Foundation Day on February 11. There is no evidence to suggest that Jimmu existed. However, there is a high probability that there was a powerful dynasty in the vicinity of Miyazaki Prefecture during the .


Korea
The first kingdom is said to have been founded by , the legendary founder and god-king of , in 2333 BCE. Dangun is said to be the "grandson of heaven" and "son of a bear". The earliest recorded version of the Dangun legend appears in the 13th-century , which cites China's Book of Wei and Korea's lost historical record Gogi; it has been confirmed that there is no relevant record in China's Book of Wei. There are around seventeen involving the worship of Dangun.


New Zealand
The Treaty of Waitangi is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, its constitution, and its . It has played a major role in the treatment of the Māori people in New Zealand by successive governments and the wider population, something that has been especially prominent since the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law, and has no independent legal status. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain as consul for the and by Māori chiefs () from the of New Zealand.

was a legendary explorer who was the first person to discover , according to Māori oral history. It is likely that Kupe existed historically, but this is difficult to confirm. His voyage to New Zealand ensured that the land was known to the Polynesians, and he would therefore be responsible for the genesis of the Māori people.


Serbia
The is a Serbian national myth based on legends about events related to the Battle of Kosovo (1389). It has been a subject in and literary tradition and has been cultivated oral epic poetry and poems. The final form of the legend was not created immediately after the battle but evolved from different originators into various versions. In its modern form it emerged in 19th-century and served as an important constitutive element of the national identity of modern Serbia and its politics.


United States of America
The American frontier (also known as the Old West or Wild West) is a theme in American mythology that defines the American national identity as brave pioneers who discovered, conquered, and settled the vast wilderness.
(2015). 9781405189781, Wiley. .
It affirms individualism, informality, and as American values. describes this myth as depicting "America as a wide-open land of unlimited opportunity for the strong, ambitious, self-reliant individual to thrust his way to the top." , , and are commonly appearing archetypes in this myth. The American frontier produced various mythologized figures such as Wild Bill Hickok, , , , Billy the Kid, , , , and . The mythology surrounding the American frontier is immortalized in the of fiction, particularly and .


See also

Notes

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