The Power Of Myth-The Goddess Was First

Chapter 6 of The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers was mostly about the Goddess.  Campbell talked about how most religions first worshiped a goddess.  From the Goddess came the earth and from the earth came the food the people ate.  As the cultures moved from agriculture to hunting and fighting other cultures for territory or animals, women were no longer as important.  The women did the "less necessary" tasks of raising the children and tending the plants in small gardens or hunting for plants in the nearby land while the strong men went hunting and gaining more wealth and prestige for the clan or town.  In most myths, as agriculture became less important than hunting or wars, a male deity overpowered the Goddess and often the Goddess seems forgotten or at war with the male deity.  From what I learned looking at the small Wikipedia article on Gaia, the Greek mother goddess and considered to be Earth itself, she was never conquered.  When Cronos killed Uranus, she became less popular, rather like the weak grandmother than an all powerful goddess.  It did mention that oaths sworn in the name of Gaia remained the strongest oath a person could take for a long time.  However, Campbell seemed to think that Hera was the Goddess, not Gaia, at least in this context.  According to Wikipedia, Hera does seem to have been worshiped before Zeus was popular in Greece and beyond.  I also recall a number of current fictional items (such as television shows) that are set in that time or speak of that time that refer to Hera and Zeus, or at least their cults, being at war with each other.  As in most cultures the Goddess (Hera) and the conquering male deity (Zeus) eventually made peace and were worshiped equally (although the male deity became the "king" and the female merely his queen).  In many cultures though, the male deity killed the Goddess and her body became the earth we live on and depend upon.  Oddly enough Christianity (including the Muslim and Jewish variations in this context) never had a Goddess figure.  As it spread, the faith destroyed all who worshiped the Goddess on the hills and destroyed her temples.  Although a short arguemment could be made of the Mother Mary being similar to the Goddess in how she was worshiped, Campbell made a point of saying that the one religion (that split into three and more over time) is the only religion he knows of that has no Goddess figure that created the male deity that would destroy or devalue the Goddess.
    Campbell also mentions that most ancient cities had their own deities that protected it.  Although the city-states acknowledged and worshiped the other known deities around, it focused it's worship on one, maybe two deities.  (The example that comes to mind is Athena and Athens.)  He also talks about the older religions that thanked the animals themselves for giving their lives to be dinner and mentions that most religions have some sort of "rebirth".  Most religions (Christianity included) strive to be dead to their animal nature or the desires of the flesh in order to be reborn to the desires of the spirit or universe.  Commonly referred to as a "rebirth" or "enlightenment" the goal is common in most faiths.
   Why do I bring all of these ideas to your attention?  You are here to learn to write better stories, create better characters, and take people to other places known only in your mind at the moment.  Why do you want to know about ancient myths in order to write science fiction?  First of all, your setting may be on an alien planet that still lives in ancient times or your ship may go down on a planet that still believes in ancient gods and goddesses ruling according to their whims.  More than likely, you will never write about prehistory times but it is important to remember that the future is built on the past.  It is the ancient myths and religions of a culture that create rituals and holidays of the present.  Just think about Christmas: the Catholic Church at the time wanted to stop a bloody celebration where people couldn't be punished for anything that happened in that week.  Instead they changed the reason for the celebration and over centuries turned the bloody celebration into a warm and fuzzy time for memories while merging other rituals and traditions with the old Roman holiday.  (Here is an interesting article I found on origins of Christmas and the accompanying traditions.  Caroling anyone?)
    Events and rituals of the past or of today create the culture and society of the future and knowing the origins of a few of the customs your characters encounter, being able to tell the story of the history or significance of a cultural event or item can make your culture and story come alive for your readers.

Power Of Myth-The Evolution Of Myth

My latest reading of The Power Of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers had some fascinating ideas such as that following your bliss shows you that you are exactly where you want to be in live.  He went on to say that everyone needs their "bliss station", that place where they are at peace with the universe and nothing can affect them.  For me that is often as simple as putting on my headphones or, on really bad days, turning on my favorite television show.  It's a place that makes everyone relax and forget about that bully at work or the pressures of too many deadlines or responsibilities.  In ancient times, sacred spots were where people were allowed to find their bliss, to get a few minutes or hours away from the demands of this world and worship something they trusted.  He goes on to explain that when people settled a new spot, they "sanctified" the spot through rituals such as having their house face depending on their beliefs of the sun or spirits, or having their settlements a specific distance apart.
   One of the interesting ideas Campbell and Moyers talk about is that geography helps shape a culture and religion.  If you compare the nomadic cultures to the agricultural cultures, you can often see what they mean.  They often mentioned that the Goddess religions were often found in agricultural societies, where women domesticated animals and harvested the crops while the men would go on long hunts.  The women became very important in those days but the spread of Christianity, with the unusual idea of only one deity, a male, turned women into little more than a possession to power hungry men.  They also speak of the idea that most early religions were very familiar with the idea that from death comes life.  There was not the finality that death possesses in Christian cultures where death is the end of things on Earth, but an idea that one end really is a beginning for new life of something else.  It's an idea that Christians have forgotten.  Death is not the absolute end but merely a new beginning to a much longer life in Heaven or Hell.
   They continue to talk about how creation myths, such as the Native Americans and the Bible tell very similar stories but don't quite explain how two sons become whole nations when wives are not mentioned as being created.
   An interesting side note to think about when creating fictional societies comes from the Mayan version of basketball.  I remember learning about the game in grade school so I know it is at least partly common knowledge.  The teams would arrive at the huge court and play a hard game to get the balls through the vertical hoops while crowd watched and cheered.  Then the victory celebration was that the winners were sacrificed to the gods.  Unlike the Hollywood idea that the ancient sacrifices were forced to die or were resigned to their fates, these teams fought hard for the chance to die in honor of their gods.  It definitely creates a different possibility for religion.  What would a culture be like where the aim of people's lives was to be worthy of kill for their gods' pleasure, that to die of old age or sickness was a shame?  It would certainly be different from the modern American idea to accumulate material goods and live as long as possible as comfortable as possible. 
It’s interesting thinking about all the parts and pieces that go into the psychology of a budding society, according to historians.  Figuring out where your fictional society is in its evolution can do a lot in telling you the mythical history of your people.

The Power of Myth-Chapter 2

Last post I said that I hadn’t figured out how The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell With Bill Moyers could be useful to fiction writers. In the second chapter I found at least one explanation as it deals with what a myth is and how it was created and adapted through time. Although I don’t agree with his philosophy that, as I understood it, claims that the universal ruler, if there is one, isn’t as important as the bit of that creator inside each of us that unites us, I do recognize his usefulness in creating mythology for our fictional species.
Mythology is how people explained and related to the world around them before they had the time and technology to explain the world scientifically. Deities and mythical creatures helped the ancient people accept any natural disaster that occurred, entertained nomads then farmers around the nightly fires, and the worship rituals gave the people who had to spend all day everyday doing the same job, such as working the fields or caring for the family, that they may not have liked doing something to look forward to. The belief that the world was ruled and judged by unseen eyes provided order as people feared the wrath of a powerful being more than the punishment of a friend or a town. Ceremonies like asking the blessings of a god on planting or harvesting or a birth allowed people to leave the fields and gather together every few weeks or months and see family members and friends that may have moved away.
Mythology is an important part in the development of a culture and helps form the morals and laws of a culture or species. This book tells of what Campbell believes is a single truth that is retold throughout the world in different variations depending on the culture telling it. He believes the truth for Earth is to live in harmony with everyone and everything but the truth of your planet may be one creature that created the world from loneliness or a need for an army to defeat his enemies. I believe that to create a culture you need to decide what the focus is (is the creature a warrior’s culture like the Klingons, a merchant culture like the Ferengi, a culture aimed at watching other species without interfering, or any other type of culture) and decide how the planet created. Once you know those two things you can decide what myths entertained the early nomads or cave dwellers and how those myths progressed to create the current religion/culture.
Even if you have no intent of knowing the entire mythological evolution of the culture you are creating or that one of your characters comes from, you should still have an idea of what the “religion” or focus of society is whether it’s the reputation of a person or family like with the Klingons or money like the Feregis or understanding and peace like the Minbari spiritual caste or family or success or anything else you want your species to aim for and a few cultural

Replicator or Not?

Something we should probably stop and think about before deciding what is in the ship is if your ship has what in Star Trek is called a replicator. In essence it creates things out of seemingly nothing. The technology behind the action shown on screen is that matter, usually waste or stored material is kept somewhere whether in a random shape of minerals or in pure energy form. When someone wants something they go to the replicator, input their desire, and matter is sent to that replicator to be changed into whatever the person asked for. On TV stuff seems to show up out of nowhere with no explanation of how it got there, although in the Enterprise series the engineer nearly tells school kids that bodily waste is broken down to be made into new food and materials. Here is an article on how such material may be in its early stages already. To use this technology you will likely need to decide the ration limit each person gets (does it exceed the daily replenishment amount?) and how much raw material is brought for emergencies such as broken parts or new crew members. Are your replicators strong enough to repair battle damage? How long does it take to replicate massive things? If you don’t want to store much or the ship only stays out a few days a trip it may be possible to not keep stores of extra materials. Personal waste can recreate the food needed and the broken parts can replace themselves by being put in the replicator and the material replaced. What if things get lost in space, either by needing to jettison cargo holds for faster flight or by holes in the ship from a battle. What will your crew do then? How will they get more spare material?
Keep in mind that though replicators are an awesome explanation in stories, they may be expensive to obtain or hard to maintain. If you decide not to have a replicator, or whatever you call it, you will need the cargo space for food, spare parts, and emergency supplies.

Name Your Ship

Now that you know the basic look of your ship, you may want to name it. That may seem simple but don’t just pick a name that sounds cool. Names have meaning or are meant to imply something. Although a parent may pick a favorite name or a relative’s name for their child, a ship’s owner has likely saved up for a long time to buy their dream ship. Serenity, from Firefly is a good example. Mel dreamed of being his own boss and sticking it to a government that he didn’t agree to so his ship was named after a battle that reflected those thoughts. If your ship is part of a fleet and not owned by any one person, such as all of the main Star Trek ships, the name needs to be more generic. Many US Navy ships today are named after battles, people rewarded for heroism, and cities.
Something else to decide is what the name of the class your ship is from. Even commercial companies won’t build a different ship for each customer without a substantial extra fee and even then they would likely continue making that class, maybe with a few differences on the hull or switching rooms around inside. That being the case, your ship is likely one of many and has a class name. Here is a Wikipedia page saying how some countries name their classes.
Another thing to mention at this stage is usage. Although you probably already know if your ship is designed for exploration, colonization, conquering worlds, rummaging asteroids for debris or minerals, or commanding the fleet, it’s good to have a clear picture of what your ship is designed for. If you need ideas, here is a list of general ship types and specific classes.

The Space Age

I’ve suggested an order to use when building a fictional world and given you some ideas on how your culture could evolve from non-sentient to sentient beings. Now that your culture is developed on the planet, it’s time to see how you want it to develop in space. Most species will be able to send satellites into orbit before ships or stations are created. Even if a species was able to go to space immediately without dealing with satellites or stations first, they will likely have some sort of fleet of ships or satellites orbiting their planet as defense. You may want to decide what all is orbiting your planet and what defenses your planet has before focusing on an individual or class of ships or a nearby space station. Common planetary defenses are missiles and stations/satellites capable of stopping weapons or destroying ships.

5 Steps from Animal to Sentient

The Formation of the Camp
Unifying the Camp
The Formation of the Nuclear Family
From Equal Labor to Female Suppression
From Mentally Capable of Thought to a “Civilized Culture”.

From Equal in Labor to Female Suppression

Now that we have the nuclear family slightly separate from the camp, we also notice that the female job of getting the plants for food has been mostly taken over by the male raising the food for eating while still maintaining his role with the animals. That leaves the female with the role of raising the kids, keeping house, and making meals. Of course it also leaves men away from their wives all day not knowing what they’re doing. With this idea of one man/one woman relationship comes some problems. First of all, it wouldn’t have taken men long to realize that by getting another man’s wife pregnant they could be sure their bloodline would continue without having to bother with raising the child. Also, it could give the woman the security to get another mate, one likely not as safe or already taken, as she has assurances that any child she gives birth to will be raised by her legal mate. Given those facts and men’s natural possessiveness and competitiveness, is it any surprise females were so repressed for the last few centuries? After all, a man’s child has often been his greatest accomplishment. At one time the number of children he had would likely have been his greatest pride (just look at the idea of harems) and eventually his place in society would be dependent on his legal son being able to take the father’s place in that society and protecting the mother and sisters. However, that is one way a culture could evolve. What if men hadn’t taken over the woman’s place in society when they were all equal all those years ago? How would life and history be different if women had become dominant? After all, a woman knows that a child she gave birth to is her own (unless something artificial happened…) and there would be no need to subjugate males. They were only around to conceive the child, do hunting and other distance things like trading and war if needed. Of course, this is disregarding the pride of a male and any emotional attachment. Then again, what man wouldn’t want to be able to mate with a female and not be bothered with raising a child or providing for a family?
Okay, so I’m getting carried away now with story ideas now that the facts are put out there but it is another idea for a culture. After all, there are still matriarchal societies, just no pure ones.

The Formation of the Nuclear Family

Now that we have all the males, females, and children around one large campfire (no one knows when or how our ancestors started using fire but let’s assume that has happened by now) population should be booming, right? One would think so but somewhere along the way our ancestors figured out that it was best for everyone (physically on the mother and emotionally on the youngster who the mom could focus on better) to not be constantly pregnant. That meant fewer children so fewer couplings. That would mean that the men started competing for who got the best females to raise their child. Somewhere along the way the males realized that it was smarter to have one specific female that would bear their children and the females realized it would be helpful if the father raised the male children after a certain age to help them function well in the male area of society. Also, as society progressed status would have developed and it would be beneficial if the best male in the group was protecting her and their young as well as sharing his portion of food with them. (The best hunters got more of their kill than lesser hunters, let’s say). If a man was going to raise a male child he would want to be sure both male and female children are his genetic offspring. (Speaking from an evolutionary stand point: who wants to see another man’s child prosper? That means less for his own kids.) With those facts in mind it makes sense that the nuclear family was created (mom, dad, children) and as people lived longer the grandparents or ill relatives joined the family. Eventually the males would have realized that training animals to help with hunting (horses to ride, dogs to herd) would be a good idea followed by raising animals for food (less hunting needed). At some time in history the villages became towns and people moved away from others to have room to raise animals and farm. The nuclear family moved with and they started new towns and villages. At least that is how the webmaster said it happened. I think it is possible that the males needed to live away from the camp to herd animals or grow lots of plants for food and they needed company and knowledge that their bloodline would continue so women were forced to leave the camp and go live with the male who needed kids. It makes some sense to me and since I’m a writer (not a sociologist) and am writing to give other writers ideas on how to create their species, I thought I’d throw that in. Of course, this is also ignoring emotions as no one knows when they evolved in our ancestors. For all we know our ancestors started out monogamous before they separated from the other apes and other species merely forgot such emotions.

Unifying the camp

With the camp came a sense of home and possessiveness. The family group the apes travelled in eventually realized the things needed for them to stay in one place for a while (access to the best plants, nearby water, animals nearby, good weather) and the different groups would fight for the land, even die for it. The webmaster thought this was against evolution (people willingly dying for a thing instead of just giving it up) but I disagree. Don’t parents in every species die to protect their children? By fighting, and yes even dying, for the camp they assured their offspring would be cared for well into the future by staying on the best land around. Now that the group had a stable home (sorta, they were still nomads who moved at least with the seasons and travelled with the herds), they were also getting united. In ape communities, they travel in smaller groups and most have multiple partners. That meant that the males could have any number of children to carry on their genes (evolution’s main purpose) and the females could mate with whoever was around. As we know, that didn’t last. However, males were individuals. They didn’t tend to mix well with groups. This worked well in hunting where most times it is a single male stalking an animal or it is a group of males some distance from each other herding a few animals somewhere. However, it doesn’t work so well in camps. We know that females often travel with other females and trade responsibilities for childrearing. (The pregnant ones that can’t move so well or the old ones can watch the ones that can’t walk or the rambunctious children while the mother gets dinner.) If the males want to get together with a female, it tends to help if the male is where the females gather, which in this case is around the central fire instead of a smaller one the males would sit around. (Even males now a days know that factor so it’s not too hard to realize some smart male figured it out centuries ago and the others decided to get in on his action.)

The formation of the camp

The ancestors of humans diverged from monkeys about three million years ago. I found it interesting to find that according to another Wikipedia site there were three or four other species that diverged from monkeys as well and are in the same subtribe but only humans exist of their ancestors. It could be thought that all the subtribes eventually mated into one subspecies, but I found no research suggesting that or what happened to those species. However, I did find information on how humans likely developed.
Apes travel in packs, though generally loose ones. They live in forests and are designed for moving about in the trees. Somewhere in our history our ancestors moved out of the forests to begin standing on two feet and they moved away from the plentiful forests. (That could be a byproduct of the Ice Age if their forests disappeared or didn’t produce enough food for the whole family.) Once out of the trees it was faster for the large apes to move and run on two legs than the uneven four legs so they became bipeds, as we are today. They also decided, somehow, that it was best to have a single location everyone congregated, or a camp. From there the apes could travel out to find food each day, mostly plants, and return to divide the food found among the whole camp, not just themselves as most apes do. The camps allowed for safety in numbers as well as somewhere to return. While the females went to pick and dig up plants while caring for or carrying their young, the more mobile males went hunting for animals farther away. When they came back they shared their meat with the camp and the days they brought nothing back they ate what the females and children had found that day. Eventually as the camp grew more meat was needed and they started hunting bigger animals and figured out tools to help them. Meanwhile the females were likely realizing that where small pieces of plants (seeds) fell, new plants grew and started to plant things so they wouldn’t have to journey so far each day. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Sentient Evolution

Now that you’ve created the planet and the nonsentient species on it you can start working on how your main species evolved. To find information on that, I inserted “cultural evolution” into Google and looked at a few sites. I am by no means an expert and didn’t plan to get deep into this, merely to give you a general idea of how humans are thought to have evolved from animals to the many cultures we now have. I quickly found out there are many theories on how society evolved, as mentioned on the Wikipedia site. (On a side note, this site is full of theories but rarely explained them. It’s a good site for a basic overview but is definitely not light reading. Be sure this is something you’re fascinated in or that you have some way to stay awake. It’s long and not written to be interesting, merely informative.) However, I got more understandable information from another site I found. Combining all the tidbits I picked up, my own ideas on how creatures would evolve, and the useful second site, I’ll give a simplified version of evolution of the main species on Earth: humans. This may give you an idea of how your species evolved or it may give you ideas of how your species is different from ours. Use it as you will, this is just a rough timeline.