The idea of myth and mythology has been existent in the human world for centuries, with ancient myths still being told to this very day. I can’t really think of a single person that doesn’t know about Greek or Egyptian mythology and at least some basic knowledge of its stories. Myths are powerful, as they can influence society, shape culture, create religions, and more. Today, I’ll be showing you how to create your own myths for your fantasy world and add more depth to your story and world building.
Understanding the Role of Myths
Myths serve a lot of purposes in the real world and in your fictional world. For one, myths are used by society to explain things like nature and the world around them. Myths will typically provide explanations on why the world exists, how species came to be, why we have weather patterns, etc…
A lot of myths also reflect the cultural values of the society they came from, which allows for myths to give people in a setting a sort of identity. Myths are also used as lessons to each people about morals, ethics, heroism, and more.
Myths are also used to entertain and engage people, with fantastical stories of gods, angels, demons, heroes, and creatures.
What Makes Up Myths
1. Creation Myths
Creation myths typically explain how the world and the creatures on the world came into existence. Myths often involve some sort of god-like figure creating the world and these sorts of myths aim to explain how and why the world exists.
For example, in Greek mythology, the Ancient Greeks believed that in the beginning, the world was in a state of nothingness which they called Chaos. Suddenly, from light, came Gaia (Mother Earth) and from her came Uranus (the sky) along with other old gods (called primordials) like Pontus (the primordial god of the oceans).
2. Deities and Divine Beings
Myths often tell stories about divine beings and deities/gods who influence the world and its inhabitants. These deities will often be relegated to specific functions in society, such as love, war, agriculture, birth, death, etc…
For example, Ancient Egyptian mythology talks about Anubis, the ancient god that judges souls that enter the underworld.
Ancient Greek tales tell a lot about demi-gods, or the children of gods and humans, such as Perseus or Achilles.
3. Heroes and Legends
Many myths tell stories about heroes and legendary figures who do extraordinary things. These heroes are often depicted fighting against powerful beasts, slaying gods, going on quests, or changing as people.
I mentioned Perseus before. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, who slayed monsters like Medusa and was considered one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology.
There’s a lot of examples, which is why I recommend you research the mythology that inspires you the most and understand how these sorts of stories work.
4. Monsters and Mythical Creatures
Myths tell a lot of stories about mythical creatures and horrifying monsters, such as Bahamut from Arabian mythology, which is a giant creature that holds up the world. There’s also creatures like Cereberus, the three-headed hound of Hades in Greek mythology.
5. Moral Lessons and Cultural Values
Myths also often tell stories about moral lessons, cultural values, and societal customs and norms. They’ll portray these things through stories usually and these stories often involve strange creatures or situations that someone is put in to teach people about something particular.
How to Create Your Own Myths and Mythology
Step 1: Research and Take Inspiration
Creating your own myths starts with research, as you can take inspiration from already existing mythology systems to create your own. You don’t have to copy another system, but it definitely helps if you have a base to work off of and take ideas from.
It also helps to take inspiration from countries that you are using as a basis for your world. For instance, if you’re writing a world based on Ancient Greece, using Greek mythology as an inspiration is really helpful.
Step 2: Establish the Main Theme of Your Myth
When you go write an individual myth, you should be thinking about what the main theme of that myth happens to be. Is this myth going to be a creation story? Is it a story about a hero’s journey?
Looking at the second book in my series, Soldat, the first part of the book is a piece of lore which is technically a myth as well about how two beasts from an ancient world–Diabroka and Akala–fought and caused a lot of destruction on Earth. The main theme of this is a sort of story about monsters and mythical creatures.
Step 3: Develop the Setting
The myth’s setting can be within the world of your story or could take place in a distant world, such as things present in my series, The Fallen Age Saga, which talks heavily about distant planets that are based off of actual mythology from Earth (Olympus, Duat, etc…)
The setting of your myth must be important and have a reason for being that particular setting. Maybe there are cultural aspects that influence the story being told. Maybe the place your myth takes place in is a very vital holy site in the world’s religious system.
Step 4: Create Characters, Creatures, and Beings
Your myth likely has important characters, beings, and creatures that make up the foundation of that particular myth or play an important role in the story. Like I said before, Diabroka is a central piece in many myths in The Fallen Age Saga, but there’s also names like Akala and more that are also important. Think of the characters in your myth and why they’re important to the overall story.
Step 5: Work on the Plot
The plot of your myth is important, as it helps you keep track of what the main idea of the story at its center will be about. Even if your myth is just a single page, there should be a beginning, middle, and end.
Step 6: Integrate Cultural Elements
If your story has a unique culture in it, you should definitely weave pieces of that culture into the myth that you’re writing about. If you don’t have a culture yet or aren’t sure how to create one, check out this post.
The culture’s elements will definitely play a role in the plot of the myth and it will play a role in the way that the myth itself is disseminated in society. It can definitely reflect cultural values and norms, as well as expectations, gender roles, familial structures, etc…
Integrating Myths into the Overall World
After you’ve written your myths, it’s a good idea to integrate that myth into the overall world in your story. If you’re writing a fantasy story, you’ve likely already worked on the major pieces of world building before getting to the part about writing about myths. However, if you haven’t yet, check out this post to get started with world building.
You can integrate your myth into things like the architecture, the art, the names of people, iconography on buildings, the practices of a culture like festivals and rituals. You can also have the myth itself play a role in the story that you’re writing around your world.
For the most part, when you create lore for your world, you want to make sure that it actually has an impact on the overall story, which is why your myth needs to have an impact on the story or at least has a presence in the world.
To create myths for a fantasy story is a lot of fun and I personally find it a very interesting world building practice that you should definitely try out once you’ve created the majority of your world already. Writing a piece of mythology is also similar to writing your actual story but usually takes on a more fantastical feeling and tells grandiose tales.
Before you head on out, be sure to check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga and sign up for my newsletter to get updates on my WIPs, posts and more!