What is the difference between legend and myth?

Answer 1

A legend is similar to a myth but it has at least a little fact in it. But a myth is make believe which has no fact or no supporting information. We must not think that they are the same.

Mythology:

In the 21st Century, we often refer to ancient Mythology (Greek, Roman, Norse, etc.) as total fiction; traditional fictional stories that people without knowledge of physics and other sciences used to explain the not as then yet understood things they witnessed in their world. However, to the people during those ancient times when these were their spiritual beliefs, they were more real than fictional. They were the things they relied on to make sense of their world and the meaning of life. Religious myth also involves parables which are stories told to illustrate moral, ethical, and religious lessons, many of these are believed to have started as oral stories of actual prehistory events or embellished accounts of real events. Many people then who practiced the religion, just as we have many who feel the same today about their religious stories, believed in all of these myths as literal fact. There may not have been substantive proof, just as today there is not 100% agreement on how many of each religion's stories are historically accurate and how many are based on fictional stories or ancient parables. It is because of these reasons that some people hold that there is likely more basis of fact behind these religious myths than perhaps other myths. They prefer not to differentiate the legends from myth or to define them using measures of fact and fiction, but rather relate to them both as simply historically traditional teachings or stories.

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More Information:

Some common threads can help to differentiate the two: Myths tend to come from the more distant past, while legends tend to come from the more recent past. For these same reasons, legends tend to be based in some truth, while myths tend to be message-oriented with little or no reliance on contextual truths. Also, myths tend to be associated with gods and religion, while legends tend to be concerned with heroes and heroins. Of course, overlap exists.

Apart from this, there appears to be little consensus concerning the differences between legend and myth. Attempts to organize this literary chaos have to deal with a number of other ill-defined terms, including folktale, parable, custom, taboo, saga, fairy tale, oral tradition, popular belief, Marchens or Märchen, Folk Music, popular conception, fable, proverb, joke, limerick, and tall tale. The literary water is further muddied by the divergent definitions and categorizations, of some or all of the above, between various groups, regions, ethnicities, religions, tribes, nations, families and even individuals.

The confusion is perpetuated by two inherent qualities: 1. All are living stories, that have been changed and adapted over decades and millennia. 2. All come to us from a past that is distant enough to make the verification of content impossible. If this were not the case, the truth of a story could be ferreted out, with the tale then being properly consigned to history, which for the most part, represents a minimalized state of confusion.

As consumers, meanwhile, we can derive use and enjoyment without requiring strictly defined categories in which to place these messages. We can hear, read, and use them with the grain of salt that all prior generations have added, while we take from them, the lessons we think can be applied to our own lives. This has always been their purpose, and their truth, or lack of it, is in their underlying messages. The ambiguity of their origins, the veracity of their settings, characters, and events are largely irrelevant.

Another perspective:

Legends are stories that are possibly true, or based on some actual person or event but firm evidence is lacking. They attempt to portray historical events but with inevitable bias. Some examples:

Robin Hood,

King Arthur,

Journeys of Abraham,

King David.

Myths very often discuss and attempt to explain religious concepts, while a myth might be just a created story, or even a lie. Some may have begun as legend but have been elaborated on so much that their credibility becomes more questionable. Some examples:

The battle of Ragnarok,

King Midas and the Golden Touch,

Voyages of Sinbad,

Odyssey of Ulysses.

Answer 2

A legend is a traditional story that may have some basis in historical events but includes exaggerations or supernatural elements. A myth is a traditional story that usually explains the origins of something or teaches a moral lesson, often involving gods or supernatural beings. Myths are usually more symbolic and have deeper cultural significance compared to legends.

Answer 3

A legend is something that is possibly true or is based on some actual person or event, but firm evidence is lacking.

• Robin Hood
• King Arthur
• Journeys of Abraham
• King David

A myth might be just a created story, or even a lie. Some may have begun as legend but have been elaborated on so much that their credibility is questionable.

• Mermaids
• King Midas and the Golden Touch
• Voyages of Sinbad
• Odyssey of Ulysses