After viewing the videos in class on ancient civilization myths, what do you think are the elements of those myths that modern Western religions have retained? It might be the moral, a religious belief, the perception of gods and humans or anything else you consider. Use one example from each of the class videos to support your answer.
After creating our video about the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece and watched it, I realized that it shared some factors with the modern religions we have today. For example, one of the main elements that is retained in the religions from the myths is the concept of good and evil. In the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Jason is perceived to be the hero and the good character. His main enemy, the serpent is considered to be the evil character. This can be related to one of the modern religions. This religion is Christianity. In this religion, God and Jesus the son of Christ is perceived as the good character. The saviour, messiah of the earth. His main enemy is Satan who only brings suffering and sins to the earth. Another main elements that is retained in modern religions is that the main character in the myth and the God in the religion have a good moral about life. Jason had to undergo his quest with truth and dignity in order to achieve and attain what he wanted. In Jesus' case, he had to undergo a spiritual journey which lead to his death but was resurrected in order to save the earth from sin. Both of their journey's was essential in getting what they really wanted and this was to bring peace and happiness to everyone. Thus, good moral is an important element. Another important element that is a part of the modern religions and ancient myth is the concept of a mentor. In Jason and the Golden Fleece, Jason was mentored by a centaur and taught him how to live and how to live life correctly and the truthful way. This was important and played a big part during his journey to obtain the Golden Fleece, the centaur definitely helped his cause and in the end, he was able to attain it. Jesus' mentor is obviously the God our Father. Through prayers and spiritual conversations, Jesus was able to proclaim his ideas and save the world with the guidance of his father and successfully saved the earth and even sacrificed himself in doing so. Friendship or fellowship is also another important element. In Jason and the Golden Fleece, although his journey was tough, he had the assistance of his girl companion to help endure the challenges and attain the Golden Fleece. In Christianity, Jesus had many loyal disciples to help him spread the word of Christ and to make them believe in Christianity. Although the ancient myths or from the distant past, some of its elements was passed on through different religions. I think that it was an important building block in the creation of different religions and had a tremendous effect on the religions we believe today.
