Mythology: Joseph Campbell’s Four Functions

1
MythologyJoseph CampbellsFour Functions

• Steve Wood
• TCCC

2
Four Functions of Mythology

• There are four basic functions of mythology,
  according to Campbell.
• The mystical function stories that express the
  awe and wonder of the universe
• The cosmological function stories that attempt
  to explain the processes of nature
• The sociological function stories that support
  and validate a certain social order
• The pedagogical function stories that explain
  how to live a full, happy life

3
Mystical Function

• The fact of that matter is that the universe in
  which we live is a strange, wonderful,
  awe-inspiring, and sometimes terrifying place.

4
Mystical Function

• Myths that fulfill the mystical function are
  myths that remind us of how strange and wonderful
  (and scary and miraculous) the universe really
  is.
• Ghost stories are one example of this function.
• Ripleys Believe It or Not stories are another.

5
Ghost Stories

• One famous ghost story is the story of the
  vanishing hitchhiker.
• This version of the story is from Snopes.com.

6
The Vanishing Hitchhiker

• A dozen miles outside of Baltimore, the main road
  from New York (Route Number One) is crossed by
  another important highway. It is a dangerous
  intersection, and there is talk of building and
  underpass for the east-west road. To date,
  however, the plans exist only on paper. Dr.
  Eckersall was driving home from a country-club
  dance late one Saturday night. He slowed up for
  the intersection, and was surprised to see a
  lovely young girl, dressed in the sheerest of
  evening gowns, beckoning him for a lift. He
  jammed on his brakes, and motioned her to climb
  into the back seat of his roadster. "All
  cluttered up with golf clubs and bags up here in
  front," he explained. "But what on earth is a
  youngster like you doing out here all alone at
  this time of night?"

7
The Vanishing Hitchhiker

• "It's too long a story to tell you now," said the
  girl. Her voice was sweet and somewhat shrill --
  like the tinkling of sleigh bells. "Please,
  please take me home. I'll explain everything
  there. The address is ___ North Charles Street. I
  do hope it's not too far out of your way."
• The doctor grunted, and set the car in motion. He
  drove rapidly to the address she had given him,
  and as he pulled up before the shuttered house,
  he said, "Here we are." Then he turned around.
  The back seat was empty!

8
The Vanishing Hitchhiker

• "What the devil?" the doctor muttered to himself.
  The girl couldn't possibly have fallen from the
  car. Nor could she simply have vanished. He rang
  insistently on the house bell, confused as he had
  never been in his life before. At long last the
  door opened. A gray-haired, very tired-looking
  man peered out at him.
• "I can't tell you what an amazing thing has
  happened," began the doctor. "A young girl gave
  me this address a while back. I drove her here
  and . . ."
• "Yes, yes, I know," said the man wearily. "This
  has happened several other Saturday evenings in
  the past month. That young girl, sir, was my
  daughter. She was killed in an automobile
  accident at that intersection where you saw her
  almost two years ago . . ."

9
Urban Legend

• In addition to fulfilling the mystical function
  of mythology, this story is also an example of an
  urban legend.
• According to Jan Harold Brunvand, an urban legend
  is a story that circulates from person to person,
  that is retained in a group tradition, and that
  can be found in different versions through time
  and space.

10
Ripleys Believe It or Not
11
Ripleys Believe It or Not
These strange-but-true stories are another
example of Campbells mystical function.
12
Cosmological Function

• Stories that are told to explain something in
  nature fulfill the Cosmological Function,
  according to Campbell.
• In addition to many native American myths,
  examples can be found in the Old Testament.

13
The Tower of Babel

• The story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis
  explains why there are so many different
  languages.

14
Sociological Function

• Stories told to back up, justify, or promote a
  certain social order fulfill the sociological
  function.
• These stories help bind people to a certain
  social group, or help explain to them their place
  within society.

15
Dishing the Family Dirt

• For example, when you tell a newcomer stories
  about your family to make them feel welcome or
  feel like a part of the family, you are using
  this function of storytelling.

16
Pandora

• Another example would be the Greek myth of
  Pandora.
• Since the Greeks were a patriarchal society, they
  naturally created a myth to justify this social
  order.

17

• From The Gods Gallery
• Pandora, whose name means "All Gifts", was
  fashioned when Zeus had her created by the
  Hephaestus to punish the human race , to which
  Prometheus had just given fire. Pandora was
  designed in the image of the goddesses, and
  became the first woman in a world of men. All the
  gods came forward to endow her with gifts
  Aphrodite gave her beauty, Hermes gave her
  cunning, and other gods and goddesses gave her
  special qualities such as grace, dexterity,
  cogency, and so on, while Hepaestus gave her
  lying and deceit. Finally she was presented to
  Epimetheus as a gift.

18

• Although he had been warned by Prometheus never
  to accept a gift from Zeus he forgot this promise
  to his brother and married her. She brought with
  her a covered earthen vessel (box or jar or
  barrel), which she was forbidden to open. But its
  unknown contents plagued Pandora (she had been
  given curiosity along with everything else). One
  day she could stand the temptation no longer and
  lifted the lid to peek inside. Out swarmed all
  the calamities of mankind, from tidal waves to
  premature balding. It was too late to stop them
  as they spread out through the window and across
  the world. Pandora dropped the lid back in time
  to prevent the escape of the final occupant of
  the vessel. This was Elpis (hope), and no matter
  how bad things became for people there was always
  hope remaining.

19
Pedagogical Function

• The most important of the four functions,
  according to Campbell, is the pedagogical
  function. These are stories that tell us how to
  live, how to be happy, how to be good, how to
  love.

20
The Parables of Christ

• One example of this can be found in the New
  Testament. Throughout his ministry, Christ often
  taught by telling a story the story of the Good
  Samaritan or the story of the Prodigal Son, for
  example.

21
Luke 1510-32 Likewise, I say unto you, there is
joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth. And he said, A certain
man had two sons And the younger of them said to
his father, Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his
living. And not many days after the younger son
gathered all together, and took his journey into
a far country, and there wasted his substance
with riotous living. And when he had spent all,
there arose a mighty famine in that land and he
began to be in want.
22
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of
that country and he sent him into his fields to
feed swine. And he would fain have filled his
belly with the husks that the swine did eat and
no man gave unto him. And when he came to
himself, he said, How many hired servants of my
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I
perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my
father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no
more worthy to be called thy son make me as one
of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to
his father. But when he was yet a great way off,
his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran,
and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
23
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. But the father said
to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and
put it on him and put a ring on his hand, and
shoes on his feet And bring hither the fatted
calf, and kill it and let us eat, and be merry
For this my son was dead, and is alive again he
was lost, and is found. And they began to be
merry. Now his elder son was in the field and
as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard
musick and dancing. And he called one of the
servants, and asked what these things meant.
24
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come and
thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because
he hath received him safe and sound. And he was
angry, and would not go in therefore came his
father out, and intreated him. And he answering
said to his father, Lo, these many years do I
serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time
thy commandment and yet thou never gavest me a
kid, that I might make merry with my friends
But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath
devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast
killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto
him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I
have is thine. It was meet that we should make
merry, and be glad for this thy brother was
dead, and is alive again and was lost, and is
found.