Mytheme

Mythemes are themes from which myths are thought to be constructed, from a structuralist perspective on mythology. These structures then lead to theories on myths from different cultures sharing a source. Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp formed a structuralist approach towards Indo-European myths, in which he treated the individual tale as one unit of analysis. However, others criticize the superficial nature to this approach and rather suggest a more intersectional perspective.

 Examples 

 The mytheme of the flood likely developed out of one or more historical events, which can be seen, for instance, in the ancient Mesopotamian epics Atra-ḫasīs and the Epic of Gilgameš, the Ancient Egyptian myth of the Destruction of Mankind, and the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
 The myths of the Greek Adonis and the Egyptian Osiris share several elements.
 Lev Manovich uses the term in his book The Language of New Media to describe aspects of culture with which computer images enter into dialogue.

References

Category:Mythology