Pagans: Are the stories of pagan gods literal truths or allegories ?

[Lorgar-Aurelian]

This is a question more for pagans than anyone else. Are the stories of the gods literal truths? Did they happen exactly as described or are they representations of something else? How do you view the pagan gods ? What are they really?

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Most believe it's about 50/50. The myths are stories, but stories that tell of things (such as various Gods' parentage and families), teach lessons, and amuse. While the core narrative remains the same, the myths - originally being orally told - are able to and should change with new ages.

 

[Callisto]

This is a question more for pagans than anyone else. Are the stories of the gods literal truths? Did they happen exactly as described or are they representations of something else? How do you view the pagan gods ? What are they really?

Mythologies can have literal, allegorical, and symbolic components. As is the case with accounts of us mortals, over time stories can take on variations without necessarily losing truths core to the matter nor somehow render the individual they're about unreal.

 

[lovesong]

I personally believe in the gods as literal beings as they're described in their mythologies, and I do take most of their stories as literal truth with few exceptions. The only ones to which I apply some metaphoric overlay are the stories of the creation of the world and humanity, and stories of the afterlife. I view creation stories as metaphors and elaborated truths. If I'm honest, I don't give much thought to this section of mythology, the beggining just isn't an area that I have much interest in. The reason I also dig into the afterlife stories is because of my involvement in necromancy. It seems to me that the stories aren't lies, but simply people's best way of trying to describe what the afterlife is and how it works. The way I understand the afterlife would set the stories from mythology as poetic or metaphoric descriptions, which makes sense, since it isn't a place we can directly experience. But other than those exceptions I am very much a literalist.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

While I believe the gods themselves are real, I tend to view the stories about them as allegories which reveal their differing aspects of their nature and also have differing lessons for people to figure out & learn - one example being the concept of hubris, another being how intimately the gods are intertwined with the world of mortals.

 

[VioletVortex]

Most Pagans, including myself, believe that the myths are symbolic tellings of underlying truths. For example, the fact that Thor is the son of Odin shows that strength (Thor) comes secondarily to wisdom (Odin). The same is the case for Baldr (light). That is a lighthearted but easily understandable example.

 

[von bek]

I believe the gods are real beings, literally existing as independent personalities. As far as the myths go, I don't think there is one answer.

 

[VioletVortex]

While I believe the gods themselves are real, I tend to view the stories about them as allegories which reveal their differing aspects of their nature and also have differing lessons for people to figure out & learn - one example being the concept of hubris, another being how intimately the gods are intertwined with the world of mortals.

That sums it up for most of us, myself included. There is a lot of spiritual value to be seen in these myths though, and they are very interesting to read.

 

[dgirl1986]

I would be willing to bet that different types of pagans would have varying answers on this.

 

[von bek]

That sums it up for most of us, myself included. There is a lot of spiritual value to be seen in these myths though, and they are very interesting to read.

I fully agree there are many spiritual insights I gain from the myths. The Odyssey is a text I draw a lot of wisdom from. Loyalty to your friends and family, respect the gods, stay faithful to your goals, and always repay your favors...

 

[Quintessence]

I hate this question and that it gets asked. I'm not sure how that happened. Perhaps it came with a more nuanced understanding of the role and purpose of mythic storytelling. Perhaps it came with recognizing that the question is a false dichotomy. Who knows?

I don't even know what this is supposed to mean, this "literal" thing. I don't think about things that way. Things are, and we tell stories about the things that are. We experience territory, and we draw maps from those experiences. Always, without exception. The question is almost like "do you believe the the territory or the map?" Which is kinda like asking "do you need to drink or to eat in order to live?" You have to do both, or you die. It's truth and allegory. That's part of the entire point of mythic storytelling - to convey deep truths through allegory and weaving tales. Do people not study the role of story in this day and age? Have we forgotten so much the purpose?

Makes this bard cry, sometimes.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

I think the question was more geared towards how literally the myths are held. For instance, do we Heathens literally believe that the sky dome is Ymir's skull, and the clouds his brains?

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

I hate this question and that it gets asked. I'm not sure how that happened. Perhaps it came with a more nuanced understanding of the role and purpose of mythic storytelling. Perhaps it came with recognizing that the question is a false dichotomy. Who knows?

I don't even know what this is supposed to mean, this "literal" thing. I don't think about things that way. Things are, and we tell stories about the things that are. We experience territory, and we draw maps from those experiences. Always, without exception. The question is almost like "do you believe the the territory or the map?" Which is kinda like asking "do you need to drink or to eat in order to live?" You have to do both, or you die. It's truth and allegory. That's part of the entire point of mythic storytelling - to convey deep truths through allegory and weaving tales. Do people not study the role of story in this day and age? Have we forgotten so much the purpose?

Makes this bard cry, sometimes.

It arises because of the sheer level of scriptural literalism in other faiths like Christianity & Islam - it's easy to assume that because a lot of Pagans are former Christians and, more rarely, former Muslims, that they'll take this same sort of unquestioning lack of appreciation for nuance & metaphor and apply it to the stories of the Old Gods as Pagans.

It's a fair question to ask because scriptural literalism tends to go hand-in-hand with anti-science sentiments like belief in the Flat Earth claim or Young Earth Creationism. People might want to make sure that Paganism isn't similarly becoming a bastion of '**** you, intelligence' that will start to encourage people to discard modern knowledge & learning in favour of an easier lazier interpretation of the old stories.

 

[Callisto]

For anyone who might be interested, here are a few online introductory sources for interpreting myths:

Ways of Interpreting Myth
A basic intro to the various ways to approach myth interpretation.
Ways of Interpreting Myth

Intro to Structuralist interpretation
Classical Mythology/Structuralism - Wikiversity

Interpretations of Greek Mythology
A collection of essays by various scholars.
Interpretations of Greek Mythology

 

[Lucida Sidera]

I see Myths having to be interpreted with a certain kind of perspective, a certain kind of feeling and intuition which is way different of our more usual discursive, descriptive, objective-oriented speech.
This is usually described with deep symbolics perspectives of Myths, which is important, but it can also be more simple.
If we look for how people, specially in small cities and villages, tell their stories, tell their knowledges often via stories from the past or situations which doesn't have often to be interpreted literally... We see that in Myths there is something of "blinking" the eyes, something of saying what is need to be said but can't be said loud, can't be said clearly, or it's best said if not so clearly.
One example that I find quite amusing is the Myth that says that once Zeus found a way to enter an inexpugnable room where one of His adversaries was. He transformed Himself into Gold, and melted himself for passing through under the door... Nothing more must be said.

 

[syo]

the stories are literal.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Which ones, and how could they be?

 

[VioletVortex]

I fully agree there are many spiritual insights I gain from the myths. The Odyssey is a text I draw a lot of wisdom from. Loyalty to your friends and family, respect the gods, stay faithful to your goals, and always repay your favors...

The Odyssey is a great myth. Valuable messages, and great literary aesthetics. I also see it as a monument to the greatness of Classical Antiquity when it comes to spirituality and art. There is no way those people couldn't be advanced if they write something like the Odyssey. That said, I feel like it cheapens it when they teach it in schools. The problem is that it brings it down to the level of mundane, erudite schoolwork, meaning that rebellious teenagers like myself won't take it to heart as much as they could if they read it on their own will and on their own time.