The Essential Structures of Myth in the Ages of Tradition and Modernity; A Comparative Study Based on the Views of Twentieth Century Mythologists

Modernity has influenced the mythological attitude through scientific thinking and rationalism. Based on the views of prominent mythologists of the twentieth century and by using library sources and comparative method, in the present research, the impact of modernity on the structural-cognitive concepts of myth is analyzed. In order to understand the effects of modernity, the religious, historical, artistic, literary, temporal and spatial, philosophical and scientific aspects of myths in the period before the emergence of modernity and after its emergence have been compared. Also, differences and similarities in the structural-cognitive concepts of myths before and after the advent of modernity have been analyzed. The findings show that at the beginning of modernity, changes in attitudes in the structural concepts of myth, such as temporal, spatial, scientific and philosophical concepts have diminished the role of myths. However, after the decline of modernity, the scientific attitude with its expansion was able to include the mythological attitude.